Denise Schmidt
Director of Water
Denise Schmidt leads EPIC’s water program, guiding a team that combines research, data analysis, policy expertise, technical assistance, and cross-sector collaboration to advance practical solutions that strengthen communities, protect public health, and build a more sustainable water future. Under her leadership, the team works with utilities, states, federal agencies, and partners across the country to improve access to water infrastructure funding, modernize policy, and help communities navigate complex implementation challenges.
Denise brings more than 30 years of experience working with utilities, local, regional, state, and federal agencies, technical assistance providers, and nonprofit organizations to address the financial, regulatory, and operational challenges facing water systems. Prior to joining EPIC, Denise served as Administrator of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s Division of Water Utility Regulation and Analysis. In that role, she led initiatives on outreach to financially troubled utilities, lead service line replacement, conservation and efficiency, utility workforce and stakeholder training, rate design, capital project approvals, and other programs that help ensure Wisconsin’s public water utilities provide safe, reliable, and affordable service. Denise has served in numerous professional and volunteer roles across the water sector, including as a regulator, private consultant, instructor at Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Utilities, and in leadership positions in state and national water industry organizations. She has also served as an elected official and as chair of a local plan commission. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree in environmental health science from Purdue University.
Get to Know Me Further
I am the daughter of two retired Milwaukee Public School teachers who instilled in me a love for nature and a dedication to public service. My undergraduate science degree and graduate degree in public policy cemented these core values and fueled my curiosity about governance structures, policies, and processes and how to make them work better for the people and ecosystems they’re intended to serve. I believe in the power of possibility, civic engagement, data, partnerships, and transparency to drive better decisions that ultimately transform communities. I also believe in the restorative powers of playing outside in all the glorious seasons and places Wisconsin has to offer, especially the lakes and forests of my beloved Northwoods and the prairies, streams, and wooded hills of the Driftless region.