Wendy Garcia, PhD, is a senior electromembrane R&D and technology development expert and Founder of Geennovation, with more than 15 years of experience advancing electrodialysis-based solutions for desalination, brine treatment, and resource recovery.

Her work focuses on the development and scale-up of advanced electromembrane systems, including ion-exchange membranes, materials, module design, stack architecture, and bipolar membrane electrodialysis. Wendy has strong hands-on experience supporting technologies from early-stage laboratory development through pilot validation and industrial deployment.

She is particularly recognized for her expertise in salt-splitting, brine conversion into acids and bases, and the design and evaluation of novel electromembrane configurations for circular water and chemical processes. Her approach also integrates environmental performance and Life Cycle Assessment into technology development, helping clients align technical performance, scalability, and sustainability from the outset.

Wendy’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

George Iacovou is a distinguished salicultural technologist and sea salt flakes innovator with more than 23 years of experience in sea salt production, crystallization, product development, and international market expansion.

His career has focused on transforming salt production systems into high-quality, export-oriented operations. George has worked across large-scale pond crystallization, flake crystallization, washing and processing systems, and Mechanical Vapor Recompression crystallization, with a strong emphasis on product consistency, crystal morphology, operational efficiency, and compliance with demanding food and pharmaceutical standards.

He has helped scale premium salt products into international markets, supporting exports to more than 20 countries while advancing sustainable production practices, including closed-loop water recycling and energy-efficient crystallization. Through Salt Xperts, George also provides specialist consultancy on salt technologies, production optimization, and commercial strategy.

George’s expertise also extends to litigation support, including technical analysis and expert input for salt-related disputes involving patents, contamination issues, and proprietary production methods.

George’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Edwin Muller is a veteran industrial water expert with more than 25 years of experience across water, energy, and heavy industry, including major roles in refineries, gas, petrochemicals, power generation, hydrogen, and ammonia projects.

His career has focused on solving complex water challenges in high-reliability industrial environments, where process performance, asset protection, energy efficiency, and operational continuity are critical. Edwin brings deep hands-on expertise in integrated water treatment design, boiler and cooling water optimization, desalination, water reuse, ultrapure water production, and zero liquid discharge systems.

He has supported large-scale industrial facilities and megaprojects in developing robust water strategies, improving plant reliability, reducing operational risks, and identifying opportunities for circular water use and resource recovery. His experience also includes high-stakes troubleshooting, HAZOP and HAZID support, water master planning, and owner’s engineer roles for complex industrial assets.

Edwin’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Prof. Eric M.V. Hoek, PhD, is a leading expert in membrane science, water purification, desalination, and environmental innovation, with more than two decades of experience across research, entrepreneurship, technology development, and policy advisory.

As a professor at UCLA and Director of the UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, Eric has played a major role in advancing next-generation membrane technologies and sustainable water solutions. His work bridges fundamental science, applied engineering, technology commercialization, and strategic water planning, supporting the development of scalable solutions for water reuse, desalination, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Eric’s expertise spans nanotechnology, materials science, interfacial phenomena, advanced separation systems, and the water-energy nexus. Beyond academia, he has co-founded and advised water technology ventures, helping translate scientific innovation into practical solutions with industrial and societal impact.

As Strategic Advisor for Advanced Water Technologies, Eric strengthens Brine Consulting’s ability to support clients working at the intersection of water, energy, climate, and deep-tech innovation.

Eric’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Prof. Basel Abusharkh is a senior water technology expert, industrial innovator, and ZLD specialist with extensive experience in brine valorization, high-recovery desalination, and climate-adapted water solutions for arid regions.

As CTO of Osmosys Technologies OY and founder of Khair Inorganic Chemical Industries Company – InoChem, Basel has worked at the intersection of membrane technology, industrial chemistry, and commercial-scale water innovation. His work includes the development of membrane-based technologies for recovering lithium, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and other valuable resources from seawater and industrial brines.

Basel has also played a leading role in industrial development, including the establishment of Saudi Arabia’s first soda ash industry, while advising national agencies on the deployment and scale-up of advanced water technologies. His experience combines technical depth, industrial execution, commercialization insight, and strategic understanding of water security in water-stressed regions.

Basel’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Steve Coffee is a senior produced water expert and global oil and gas advisor with more than 30 years of experience supporting innovation, optimization, and technology deployment across upstream water management.

As President of the Produced Water Society and Director at Produced Water Solutions, Steve has been deeply involved in advancing the global conversation around produced water treatment, reuse, and sustainable energy-water integration. His work spans hydrocyclones, sand management, separation systems, produced water handling, and practical technology implementation for demanding oil and gas environments.

Steve brings a strong combination of technical, commercial, and industry leadership experience. He has contributed as a founder, product developer, mentor, and advisor, helping companies move from technical concept to operational impact. His perspective is especially valuable for clients seeking to improve system performance, reduce operational risk, evaluate treatment technologies, or develop more sustainable produced water strategies.

Steve’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Cesar J.M. Chu Ortega is a water-tech strategist, electrocoagulation specialist, and industrial reuse expert with experience supporting water and wastewater projects across Asia and Europe.

As Founder of Aquaeous and Senior Consultant at QStone Capital, Cesar works at the interface of practical treatment technologies, project delivery, investment strategy, and technology commercialization. His expertise includes electrocoagulation, ZLD, textile wastewater, membrane system optimization, and reuse applications for industrial and municipal clients.

Cesar brings a commercially grounded perspective to water technology evaluation, helping clients assess which solutions are technically viable, financially scalable, and suitable for real operating conditions. His experience is particularly relevant for sectors where wastewater complexity, discharge compliance, reuse targets, and investment decisions must be addressed together, including textiles, chemicals, and emerging-market municipal water projects.

Cesar’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Dr. Jauad El Kharraz is a senior international expert in sustainable energy, desalination, water management, and climate resilience, with more than 25 years of experience across policy, research, innovation, and global project development.

As former Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and CEO of WECEN, Jauad has supported major regional and international initiatives at the intersection of water, energy, climate, and development. His work includes strategic advisory, policy development, RDI coordination, business development, and multilateral cooperation involving leading institutions, public agencies, and international organizations.

Jauad brings a rare ability to connect high-level policy frameworks with practical technical and institutional implementation. His expertise is especially relevant for clients working on desalination strategy, renewable-energy integration, climate adaptation, water security, and cross-border innovation programmes.

Jauad’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Josh Walter is a consultant specializing in decentralized water infrastructure, off-grid water systems, and tokenized resource models for sustainable infrastructure.

As Founder of NEXUS WATER, Josh has worked for more than a decade across atmospheric water generation, greywater reuse, AI-enabled monitoring, IoT-integrated water systems, and blockchain-enabled sustainability applications. His work spans deployments and project development across island, remote, emergency-response, and smart infrastructure contexts, including experience in the Pacific Islands, North America, and the Middle East.

Josh’s expertise sits at the intersection of water technology, digital infrastructure, humanitarian deployment, and new financing models. He supports the evaluation and development of decentralized water systems where conventional infrastructure is limited, delayed, or vulnerable to climate and disaster-related disruption. His work also explores tokenized water, energy, and carbon credits, real-world asset financing, and public-private partnership models for sustainable infrastructure.

Josh’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Osis G. Kalache, P.Eng., is a senior wastewater process engineering and optimization expert with more than 17 years of experience in industrial and conventional wastewater treatment.

His work focuses on improving treatment performance, reliability, and efficiency through a combination of process engineering, operational troubleshooting, modular system design, and data-driven optimization. Osis brings strong experience in industrial wastewater, oil and gas applications, modular treatment solutions, piloting, and engineering project delivery for complex client environments.

A distinctive strength of Osis’ profile is his ability to bridge practical process engineering with innovation, using data analytics and AI-supported approaches to improve plant performance, identify bottlenecks, and support better operational decision-making. His experience is especially relevant for clients seeking to optimize existing assets, validate new treatment concepts, or deploy modular systems in challenging industrial settings.

Osis’ contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Panos Spatharos is a chemist and field engineer with extensive international experience in mobile, modular, and emergency water treatment systems for industrial, power, and high-pressure field applications.

His work covers the operation, optimization, and troubleshooting of complex treatment systems, including reverse osmosis, ion exchange, activated carbon and AFM filtration, desalination units, demineralized water production, effluent treatment, sludge treatment, leachate treatment, and other high-contaminant streams. Panos has supported projects where fast deployment, field reliability, water quality assurance, and operational continuity are essential.

His profile is particularly valuable for clients requiring practical, site-based expertise rather than purely theoretical design input. Panos brings strong hands-on capability in commissioning support, QA/QC, fault diagnosis, plant operation, performance optimization, and rapid-response water supply solutions for industrial facilities and emergency scenarios.

Panos’ contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Dr. Kingsley Amakiri is a chemical engineer, researcher, and consultant specializing in advanced water treatment, nanotechnology, photocatalytic processes, and process simulation.

With a PhD from the University of Huddersfield and experience across academia and consultancy, Kingsley develops data-driven and scientifically grounded solutions for challenging water and industrial process environments. His work focuses on the application of nanomaterials, photocatalysis, and advanced treatment concepts for difficult water streams, including produced water and other complex industrial effluents.

Kingsley also brings strong capability in process simulation, chemical plant optimization, technical analysis, and multidisciplinary project leadership. His background enables him to support clients at the interface of scientific innovation and practical engineering implementation, particularly where emerging treatment technologies must be assessed, optimized, and translated into scalable solutions.

Kingsley’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Paolo Mattiuzza is an executive advisor specializing in brine management, Zero Liquid Discharge, Minimum Liquid Discharge, and industrial resource recovery, with more than 20 years of international leadership experience in the environmental and industrial B2B sectors.

As Founder and CEO of BrineACT, Paolo has focused on developing compact, energy-efficient technologies that transform industrial brines and wastewater residuals into recoverable resources. His work combines deep technical knowledge of crystallization, brine treatment, and circular economy systems with strong commercial experience in scaling water technologies across international markets.

Paolo is particularly active in advancing the economic and environmental case for brine valorization, helping clients assess how complex saline waste streams can be reduced, treated, and converted into value-generating products. His perspective is especially relevant for industrial clients seeking lower-discharge strategies, resource recovery pathways, and more sustainable alternatives to conventional brine disposal.

Paolo’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Dimitra Aravani is a senior consultant specializing in industrial wastewater treatment, water reuse, resource recovery, and water efficiency strategies, with more than a decade of experience supporting industrial and municipal clients.

Her work covers the full project development pathway, from early-stage concepts and technical assessments to treatment strategy, project coordination, and implementation support. Dimitra has worked across sectors including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas, helping clients close water loops, reduce discharge, improve system performance, and align treatment solutions with operational and sustainability objectives.

She brings a strong combination of technical depth, commercial understanding, and market insight. Her recent consulting work has included water efficiency studies, system audits, troubleshooting, technology due diligence, and technology-market assessments for global industrial stakeholders. Dimitra’s systems-level approach allows her to connect treatment design, business priorities, water stewardship, and long-term sustainability goals.

Dimitra’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Ghazi Ozair is a senior consultant specializing in desalination, water treatment, produced water management, and marine environmental protection, with more than 45 years of global experience across water, energy, and environmental systems.

His work spans membrane and thermal desalination, wastewater treatment, reclamation strategy, water quality management, and the design of pre-treatment and post-treatment systems for complex water infrastructure. Ghazi has held senior technical roles across major institutions and has contributed extensively to international best practices in sustainable water reuse, desalination performance, and environmental protection.

He has authored more than 115 technical publications, holds a U.S. patent related to brine discharge impact assessment, and has received international recognition for his contributions to the water sector. His expertise is particularly valuable for projects where desalination design, brine management, environmental monitoring, marine ecosystem protection, and operational reliability must be addressed together.

Ghazi’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Dr. Tijjani El-Badawy is an interdisciplinary specialist working at the intersection of produced water, desalination, critical minerals, circular economy, and sustainability.

His work focuses on produced water desalination, beneficial reuse, critical mineral recovery, contamination mapping, remediation, and decarbonization strategies for complex water and energy systems. With academic and professional experience spanning the UK, Brazil, Malaysia, and Nigeria, Tijjani combines technical innovation with broader systems thinking, allowing him to connect water treatment, environmental performance, governance, and stakeholder priorities.

As an Executive Committee member of the Produced Water Society, Tijjani contributes to global discussions on produced water reuse, integrated water management, and sustainable resource recovery. His expertise is especially relevant for clients working on upstream water challenges, infrastructure-linked water systems, circular economy pathways, ESG strategy, and community-sensitive environmental projects.

Tijjani’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Juanita Ayala is a water and climate specialist with more than 7 years of global experience supporting institutions, public-sector stakeholders, and development organizations across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Her work focuses on climate-resilient water policy, water and climate risk assessments, ESG integration, stakeholder governance, and WASH strategies. Juanita has advised and collaborated with organizations including SIWI, UNICEF, AGWA, and the Inter-American Development Bank, contributing to programmes that connect climate adaptation, water security, policy implementation, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.

She has supported multi-country climate programmes, Nationally Determined Contributions, institutional capacity building, and practical strategies that help governments, organizations, and businesses translate sustainability ambitions into actionable water-smart decisions. Recognized as a young leader by the International Water Association, Juanita brings a next-generation perspective to climate resilience, ESG performance, and sustainable water governance.

Juanita’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Aris Armaoglou is a consultant and project manager with more than 8 years of experience across environmental engineering, renewable energy, technical sales, sustainability innovation, and strategic advisory.

His work combines technical understanding with project execution, communication, and stakeholder-facing delivery. Aris has supported large automation and energy transition projects, advised on stakeholder engagement strategies, and contributed to initiatives where infrastructure innovation, sustainability objectives, and long-term resource optimization need to be aligned.

He brings a practical and entrepreneurial profile to Brine Consulting’s work, helping bridge technical solutions with business priorities, client communication, and implementation needs. His background is particularly relevant for projects involving sustainability strategy, infrastructure development, energy transition, water management, and executive-level communication.

Aris’ contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

A Chemical Engineer with a Master’s degree, Mahmoud brings deep expertise in salt valorization from seawater desalination, with a sharp focus on crystallization processes and the recovery of high-value salts like potassium and magnesium.

With a strong consulting background and hands-on experience in brine stream preprocessing, separation strategies, and zero liquid discharge (ZLD), Mahmoud’s work is rooted in the circular economy, developing scalable, sustainable solutions that unlock value from every stream.

Mahmoud’s contribution strengthens our capabilities across:

Dr. Zacariah L. Hildenbrand is the Chief Scientific Officer at Infinity Water Solutions, a role that allows him to further his unconventional research in environmental stewardship within the energy sector. With a distinguished career spanning multiple roles, he has made significant contributions to research and academia, specifically in water science and reclamation. His work spans two decades and three continents.

In addition to his role at Infinity Water Solutions, Dr. Hildenbrand is a partner at Medusa Analytical and serves as a director at the Curtis Mathes Corporation (OTC:CMCZ). Prior to joining Infinity, he held the esteemed position of Research Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.