Dr. Maal-Bared started working as the environmental microbiologist at the CDM Smith Bellevue Research and Testing Laboratories in September 2023. Before that, she was the wastewater treatment specialist and senior microbiologist at EPCOR Water for ten years, where she supported monitoring, operations and process optimization in 18 communities across western Canada. She completed her PhD in Environmental Microbiology at the University of British Columbia and her MSc degrees at the Harvard School of Public Health and Dalhousie University. She is the chair of the WEF Waterborne Infectious Disease Outbreak Control focus group, which received the WEF 2020 Water Heroes award for their work on COVID-19. She also received the Empowering Women in Industry “Leadership in STEM/STEAM” award in 2020, the WEF Volunteer Service Recognition in 2021, and the Western Canada WEA WEF Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award in 2022. She serves as the current WEF Community Leadership Council chair and lends her expertise to the editorial boards of Science of the Total Environment, Water Practice and Technology, Frontiers Public Health and Data in Brief. When she’s not working, she enjoys travelling and playing Dungeons and Dragons with her family.