Ron Penrose
Project Manager
With 30 years of experience in water engineering, Ron Penrose is as knowledgeable as he is dedicated. After graduating with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Nevada in 1975, he got his start as an intern at Sierra Pacific Power Company. From there he worked his way up through the company, serving in design and planning roles as an operations superintendent, an engineering supervisor and a plant manager for the Chalk Bluff treatment plant. When Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) took over the water division, Ron became project manager once again.
"I have come full circle in my career," he said. "I started doing design and construction-engineering projects, then I moved into the supervisor realm and now I'm back doing project management. It's a lot of fun," he added.
At TMWA, Ron oversees various design projects, including the Glendale Diversion Project and the Truckee River Fund. Recently, he has become even more involved with environmental issues related to the Truckee River after completing his masters in Environmental Engineering last year.
"I enjoyed doing that because it sharpened me up, it was a challenge," he recalled.
Ron's dedication doesn't just stop at TMWA. He is also a devoted husband to his wife of 26 years, Doreen, and the father of two young adults; Luke, a senior at Annapolis Naval Academy and Sarah, a college sophomore, who is spending a semester in W. Virginia as part of a domestic exchange program through the University of Nevada.
"They are both 3,000 miles away," Ron said. "They have adjusted really well. I think I had a harder time with it."
This devotion to family is something that Ron says he learned from a hero of his, his father, Stuart.
"My father grew up during the depression," Ron reminisced. "He attended 15 schools before graduating high school. He served in WWII and fought in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. He was an engineer for the Bell System for 36 years and he helped save many lives while serving in the ground wing of the Civil Air Patrol. In addition to all of that, he also coached my brother and me in youth baseball and football. He is a great man."
It must run in the family.
