Samarhia Giffel

Sam is the Administrative Services Officer for the City of Grand Rapids Utilities. She has operated in this role for over eight years, with a key focus on billing operations, community engagement, innovation, and continuous improvement. Sam has been tasked with developing a regional AMI program and focuses on water affordability for the City of Grand Rapids and its system’s users. She is a member of the Kent County Community Action Advisory Board and also volunteers as the Communication Chair for the Michigan Section of AWWA. She is past recipient of the MI-AWWA Chuck Van Der Kolk Volunteer of the Year Award and the MI-AWWA Professional Excellence Award. Lastly, is a mentor for her alma mater, Grand Valley State University, master’s in public administration students and a mom to two remarkable teenagers.