Our Team

Timothy Harris

Chief Operating Officer
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Timothy Harris brings more than 30 years of public sector water utility experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer for Central Alabama Water. He oversees four water treatment plants, five raw water pump stations, water quality, electrical and mechanical maintenance, SCADA and operational technology. His career reflects steady progression through technical, supervisory and executive leadership roles, grounded in operational excellence, fiscal management and commitment to community service.

Raised with a deep appreciation for public service and accountability, Harris began his professional journey with technical and mechanical training through the U.S. Army and National Guard, where he served as an aircraft mechanic. That experience shaped his disciplined leadership style, focus on safety and understanding of complex systems operating under mission-critical conditions. Following military service, Harris transitioned to the water sector and began a long career at what is now Central Alabama Water.

Harris commenced his tenure at the utility as a temporary employee, serving in this capacity for nearly three years before being appointed as a full-time maintenance supervisor. He dedicated more than 15 years to overseeing both preventive and corrective maintenance at water treatment facilities. Throughout this period, he cultivated robust expertise in asset management, equipment redundancy, calibration programs, and operational readiness. His efforts have been instrumental in ensuring uninterrupted service and enhancing the long-term reliability of the systems.

In 2017, he was promoted to plant superintendent at the Carson Filter Plant, assuming full responsibility for operations, regulatory compliance and workforce management. Harris directed daily treatment operations and compliance reporting to maintain alignment with state and federal drinking water standards.

Harris later advanced to senior superintendent of the Shades Mountain Filter Plant – the largest water treatment plant in Alabama. He oversaw all plant operations and supervised more than 25 employees and supported oversight for the filtration division with nearly 80 employees. He played a key role in integrating a $60 million filter building upgrade, ensuring construction activities did not disrupt water quality or service.

Harris has a Water and Wastewater Certificate from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and an Executive MBA from Faulkner University. He graduated from the Water and Wastewater Leadership Center and is a Grade IV water treatment operator certified by the state.

Harris holds many emergency management and safety certifications, including FEMA ICS-400 and National Incident Management System credentials. He is also an active member of several professional organizations, such as the American Water Works Association, the Water Environment Federation, and the Alabama Water Pollution Control Association, where he has served as chairman of the water treatment plant awards.

Cameron Holly

Chief Technology Officer
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Cameron Holly brings nearly three decades of information technology and operations leadership to his current role as Chief Technology Officer for Central Alabama Water. His professional record demonstrates consistent high performance in achieving business goals across a wide variety of industries up to an international scale.

Holly joined Alabama’s largest water utility from RICOH Latin America where he served as senior manager of service performance and strategy planning analysis for 12 years. He led enterprise-wide modernization of technology across a $500 million multilingual, international service region with more than three dozen direct and indirect operating entities. His leadership contributed to 30% year-over-year operating income growth. Holly invented a predictive asset and supply-fulfillment model that increased operational reliability to more than 95% while reducing costs, service interruptions and delays. He increased billing accuracy by 300% through automated meter readings and redesign of workflows. Holly built and governed an enterprise-wide business intelligence ecosystem using Azure, PowerBI, Artificial Intelligence and RPA to deliver real-time operational, financial and workforce insights.

Holly’s Information Technology (IT) career began in 1996 as an IT Manager for The Parker Group where he built a ~150 Unix terminal call center infrastructure taking them from a paper to paperless process. From 1999 to 2001 he excelled as a Xerox technician specialist and progressed into owner of a Xerox Service Agency. In 2002 he joined RICOH US as a technology services supervisor and computer systems specialist. There he created new IT service lines and ranked in the top 1% nationally for technical proficiency. Those early results brought a promotion to district service support manager in Texas where he doubled IT services growth in less than 12 months. Holly then moved to Minnesota to become a district technology services manager where he built an IT outsourcing operation from the ground up into a top performer in sales, operational reliability and workplace performance. He then held management roles in technology services in Florida and Minnesota where he likewise elevated those operations to national top performers operationally and financially.

These early career achievements led RICOH US to promote Holly to Area Operations Manager for Technology Services in Minnesota and Iowa. In that role, he oversaw the field operations and technology performance of more than 200 people. He created a scalable customer education and training program that generated recurring revenue and improved customer adoption of digital tools. Holly also led a nationwide post-merger enterprise system harmonization across operational functions which improved service accuracy, billing integrity and customer retention for a $2 billion organization.

Holly earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bethlehem College & Seminary and is fluent in English and Spanish. He also taught a master’s level two-year program at the Bethlehem Institute.  He also holds the CompTIA Network+ certification.

Brian Lewis

Chief People Officer
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Brian Lewis, SPHR, serves as Chief People Officer for Central Alabama Water, where he leads the organization’s people strategy and ensures strong alignment between employees, customers and the organization’s public image. With more than 35 years of experience in human resources and culture building, Lewis understands the critical connection between employee engagement, organizational culture, customer satisfaction and overall business performance. His extensive experience enables him to align human capital strategies with long-term organizational objectives, fostering stability, resilience and sustainable growth.

Lewis joined Central Alabama Water following leadership roles in human resources for America’s largest provider of geriatric primary care culminating as a Director of Employee Relations. In that role, he met employees and leaders at the intersection of law, policy, accountability, compliance and engagement. Before that, Lewis was a decorated United States Air Force veteran who attained the rank of Colonel. He earned a Bronze Star for his military service in Iraq in 2011. He served in senior leadership roles across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, providing strategic operational, personnel and organizational leadership in complex, high-pressure environments. A two-time Chief People Officer in uniform, Lewis served both the U.S. Southern Command and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency where he led global human capital and leadership development initiatives supporting tens of thousands of employees while advising senior executive leadership, including a four-star Admiral, on the full human resources lifecycle. He spearheaded organizational transformation and operational excellence through innovative communication, talent acquisition and Lean Six Sigma–based redesign. This resulted in improved performance, full staffing in complex labor environments and mission-critical outcomes on a global scale.

Prior to that service, as Deputy Chief of Staff and commander, Lewis managed large-scale mission-support operations, led major organizational transitions and facility relocations and merged diverse teams into high-performing units. This drove significant improvements in efficiency, financial performance with taxpayer dollars and mission readiness through disciplined execution, collaboration and innovative problem-solving.

Lewis earned a Bachelor of Science in Military History from the United States Air Force Academy. He holds two master’s degrees: Aviation Operations and Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Military Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College. He earned his Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resources Certification Institute and a certificate in Pastoral Leadership from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition to the aforementioned decoration, Lewis also received multiple prestigious honors, including the Legion of Merit, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Excellence in Competition badge (pistol) and was named Air Force Personnel Officer of the Year.

Ray Sloan

Chief Reliability Officer
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Ray Sloan serves as Chief Reliability Officer for Central Alabama Water, where he is responsible for the reliability, integrity and performance of the utility’s distribution and transmission systems serving thousands of customers across central Alabama. His oversight includes system maintenance and construction, metering and advanced metering infrastructure, billing, non-revenue water, new customer installments and operations support.

Sloan’s path to executive leadership reflects a progressive career built from the ground up. He joined the utility in 2009 as a customer service agent. This role gave him direct exposure to customer needs, billing systems and the importance of trust in public utilities. That foundation continues to shape his approach to customer service, which balances strong relationships and clear communication.

In 2010, Sloan shifted into an engineering-focused role as a water auditor. He spent more than a decade designing, managing and implementing systemwide telemetry, analytics and meter testing programs across wholesale, commercial, residential and production meters. During this period, Sloan designed and implemented the utility’s annual water audit and elevated its American Water Works Association audit validity scores to the highest levels in North America.

Sloan’s growing technical reputation led to expanded responsibilities as medical and beverage liaison, where he ensured critical system needs were met for hospitals, dialysis clinics, breweries, bottling companies and other high-reliability customers. Known for his “lead from the trench” philosophy, Sloan believes in sharing responsibility with his teams and fostering a culture of ownership, safety and continuous improvement.

In 2023, Sloan was named critical operations support manager, overseeing operations, compliance and mutual aid for more than 100 critical customers across the region. He regularly worked with mayors, board members, managers, CEOs, consultants and council members to align utility operations with community priorities and emergency preparedness needs.

Sloan earned a Master of Science in Engineering in Construction Engineering Management and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His technical expertise is enhanced by a strong understanding of utility finance, revenue protection and operational strategy.

Sloan is an active member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) where he serves on multiple committees including Water Loss Control, Water Meter Standards and Electronic Revenue Meters. He is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences on water loss control, metering and system reliability and has authored several items for the AWWA.

Lester Smith

Chief Financial Officer
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Lester Smith serves as Chief Financial Officer of Central Alabama Water, where he is responsible for ensuring financial integrity, transparency, capital investment strategy, debt management, compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements and long-term sustainability of a critical public utility serving communities across central Alabama. With more than 30 years of experience in public finance, municipal operations and regulated environments, Smith brings a steady, service-driven approach to managing resources entrusted to the utility on behalf of its customers and stakeholders.

Prior to his appointment, Smith served as finance director for the City of Homewood, Alabama, overseeing financial operations for a $70 million municipality serving approximately 25,000 residents. In that role, he directed budgeting, capital expenditure management, grant compliance, pension oversight and debt administration, working closely with elected officials and external auditors to ensure fiscal accountability.

Before joining Homewood, Smith served as interim chief financial officer for Southern Research Institute, where he led financial operations for a $40 million nonprofit scientific research organization. He was responsible for cash management and provided financial leadership for the planning and oversight of a new $125 million research facility, reinforcing his experience in long-term capital expenditure and project management.

Smith previously held the roles of chief financial officer and finance director for the City of Birmingham, Alabama. In that role, he managed financial operations for a $451 million municipality serving more than 200,000 residents. His responsibilities comprised capital asset management, grant oversight, pension administration and debt restructuring.

Earlier in his career, Smith served as a chief financial officer and controller for the YMCA of Birmingham, where he managed financial operations for a community-based organization serving more than 40,000 individuals yearly across multiple facilities. He reinforced financial policies and procedures and assisted with development of short and long-term strategic planning.

Smith’s private sector experience includes senior finance leadership roles with Kysor Warren EPTA U.S. Corporation, where he served as director of finance, and Honda Manufacturing of Alabama where he was department manager of accounting and compliance. At Honda, he advanced through leadership positions in accounting, financial reporting and compliance over more than a decade. His responsibilities included capital budgeting, tax reporting and financial oversight under U.S. and international accounting standards.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in accounting from Auburn University. He is a Chartered Global Management Accountant. His career reflects a steady progression through increasingly complex leadership roles, grounded in public service, regulatory compliance and community trust.

David Walker

Chief Administrative Officer
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David Walker, CPP, brings more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience to his new role as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Central Alabama Water. His career journey is a unique blend of security operations, safety management and operational oversight.

As CAO, Walker is responsible for security, safety, facilities management, transportation and warehouse operations. He oversees a multi-million-dollar budget that enhances operational efficiency and effectiveness and coordinates essential administrative and logistical functions that support the utility’s mission.

Prior to his new role, Walker was security manager for the Birmingham Water Works Board. In that role, he directed security operations for 15 facilities spread across several counties, led a 10-member security team and managed contracted security services. Walker partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to assess and mitigate risks for the utility’s critical infrastructure. He led upgrades to security systems across all sites and oversaw building renovations that integrated advanced security features. Walker also developed a comprehensive emergency response plan for the 2022 World Games.

Walker’s career began in the U.S. Marine Corps where he rose to the rank of corporal and received the U.S. Navy Achievement Medal. As a detective for the New Orleans Police Department, Walker led homicide, narcotics and fraud investigations and was commended for exceptional crisis response during Hurricane Katrina. There he established strategic collaborations with the FBI, U.S. Marshals and other federal agencies.

Later in his career, Walker was an investigator and emergency operations coordinator for the Port Orchard Police Department in Port Orchard, Washington. Walker also coordinated and maintained the city’s emergency operations and continuity of government plans.

Following his career in law enforcement, Walker transitioned to the utility industry as a senior security specialist for Puget Sound Energy. He provided security management for more than 4,000 employees and contractors, 500 substations, 60 office locations, warehouses and a statewide vehicle fleet. He also designed and implemented training programs on personal safety, security awareness, crime reporting and asset protection.

Walker holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Homeland Security from St. Joseph’s University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Bellevue University. He earned his Certified Protection Professional (CPP) certification through ASIS and is Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)–certified in Louisiana and Washington.

Jonathan Wilson

Chief Engineering Officer
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As Chief Engineering Officer for Central Alabama Water, Jonathan Wilson, P.E. provides executive leadership over the engineering, system development, surveying, land administration, and pressure-complaint response functions. In this role, he is responsible for planning, design, construction oversight, and operational support for the utility’s treatment, pumping, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

Mr. Wilson began his career in the water utility industry in 2006 with the Birmingham Water Works Board. Throughout his tenure, he has advanced through positions of increasing technical and managerial responsibility by consistently delivering high-quality infrastructure projects while maintaining a strong focus on fiscal responsibility and operational efficiency.

Early in his career, Mr. Wilson led and supported initiatives to implement power-saving technologies and optimize operations at raw-water pumping stations and water filtration plants, resulting in measurable reductions in electrical power consumption. He also played a key role in supporting filtration plant capital budgets and project delivery.

After transitioning to the System Development Department, Mr. Wilson designed, bid, and managed major transmission pipeline projects, coordinating extensively with municipal and county governments and the Alabama Department of Transportation. His leadership later expanded as Principal Engineer for the Engineering Department, where he oversaw capital programs for filtration plants and raw-water pump stations and managed major operational outages affecting treatment facilities, pumping stations, and large transmission and distribution mains.

Mr. Wilson subsequently served as Manager of the Water Resources and Land Administration Department, supervising more than 40 employees, including land surveyors, erosion control specialists, land management professionals, and staff responsible for 24-hour pumping-station operations.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Engineering Officer, Mr. Wilson served as Interim Chief Engineer and Engineering Manager, leading multidisciplinary teams responsible for the design, bidding, and construction oversight of projects across the utility’s treatment, pumping, and distribution systems.

Mr. Wilson holds a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Alabama and holds Grade IV water treatment plant operator certifications. He is an active member of several professional organizations and has presented at national industry conferences. He is also a graduate of the City of Birmingham’s Project Corporate Leadership Program.