Alumna Losli seeks to improve the world through water
As president of Illinois American Water, Rebecca Losli credits WashU for opportunities
Growing up near Mobile Bay in Alabama, Washington University in St. Louis Engineering alumna Rebecca Losli experienced being on the water as “a way of life,” shaping her desire to make an impact on the environment at an early age.
“I didn’t know where I’d work, but I knew I’d somehow contribute to improving the world,” she said.
Today, Losli is president of Illinois American Water, the largest regulated water utility in Illinois, providing water and/or wastewater services to about 1.4 million people. In her role, Losli reinforces and strengthens customer, regulatory and local government relationships, drives operational and financial excellence and is the principal external contact for the company. She leads more than 600 employees.
It’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly.
“Water is personal,” she said. “It is the only utility we ingest. There’s a real underappreciation of the importance of water in our lives and the large amount of work utilities perform to provide clean water and wastewater services.”
As a leader in the utilities sector, Losli says her three biggest priorities are providing clean safe and reliable water service to customers and communities, the reduction of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, in drinking and wastewater, and the replacement of lead service lines. The latter two are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Illinois American is making significant investments to address them.
The unique nature of water makes it different from other utilities.
“Water is very fragmented,” she said. ”Improvements can’t just be pushed out across large areas, like electricity grids. Much of it happens at the local community level.”
Consistently working on those improvements keeps Losli on the road.
“As a leader, I need to be on the ground, in these communities throughout the state,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite parts of this job.”
Losli’s road to Illinois American Water began as an undergraduate student at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. When a WashU Engineering School recruiter visited campus to discuss the Dual Degree program, she was drawn to the additional opportunities the school offered.
Losli found the Dual Degree program to be “a great opportunity to test drive WashU” that made her decision to “stick around” easy. She ultimately earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degrees in environmental engineering and business administration from WashU, and a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from Samford University.
Looking back on her time at WashU, she recalls taking a statistics class taught by Kevin Truman, formerly the Albert and Blanche Greensfelder Professor of Civil Engineering, during the J-Term, the three-week term in January during which liberal arts students explore introductory engineering courses to test their interests.
“I loved every minute of that class,” she said. “It really sold me on civil engineering.”
Losli’s experiences in the classroom continued to shape her interests. When Dan Giammar, the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering, brought civil engineering alumnus Charlie Buescher, who was then the President of St. Louis County Water, to speak to Losli’s water resources engineering class, she was impressed.
“It was the exposure to people and experiences that you might not find elsewhere,” Losli said. “The opportunities were just bigger and better at WashU.”
Those opportunities extended beyond the Engineering School, including Losli’s stint as an intern at the Environmental Law Clinic in the School of Law. But it was her decision to pursue an MBA at WashU that led to an unexpected new venture in her engineering career.
While taking an entrepreneurship class taught by Cliff Holekamp, formerly a senior lecturer in the Olin School of Business, Losli was required to pitch a business proposal to 70 Olin students. Her proposal was chosen to move forward, with the business students doing a feasibility study and helping her develop a business plan.
“I felt there was room for another women-owned engineering firm in the St. Louis marketplace,” Losli said. “And this class really helped make it happen.”
After owning and serving as president of Losli Engineering for six years, she sold the company and subsequently worked as the manager of program planning for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District before joining American Water as director of engineering in 2021.
Losli’s ties to WashU continue. She serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for the McKelvey School of Engineering and was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in 2023.
“I had no idea when leaving WashU that I’d be the leader of Illinois American Water someday,” she said. “I’ve said ‘yes’ to a lot of opportunities along the way, and each one of those yeses compounded to lead me where I am today.”
