Suzanne Coffey

Suzanne Coffey
Chief Executive Officer
Great Lakes Water Authority
Detroit, MI

Suzanne R. Coffey. P.E. is the Chief Executive Officer for the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Before being named CEO in 2022, Coffey served in the role of interim CEO for nearly one year. Prior to that, she was Chief Planning Officer, a position she held since 2015.

As Chief Planning Officer, Ms. Coffey bolstered the Authority's asset management capacities, capital improvement program execution and lead long-term planning efforts, including the Wastewater Master Plan. Also while serving as Chief Planning Officer, Ms. Coffey served for a two-year period as Interim Chief Operating Officer of Wastewater, having responsibilities for the Water Resource Recovery Facility and GLWA’s Combined Sewer Overflow facilities.

Coffey initially became familiar with GLWA through her role as manager in the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office (WRC) where she worked for 12 years, and she was an integral part of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department-GLWA transition efforts. At the WRC Coffey was responsible for supervising engineers, field staff members, administrative and technical support personnel and supporting operations and maintenance of wastewater interceptor systems, local municipal wastewater conveyance systems, drains and lake level control structures, as well as oversight of staff members who perform construction project management and construction inspection.

Coffey is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Michigan. She graduated Cum Laude from Lawrence Technological University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.