Ari Herrera is a Distinguished engineer, life-long volunteered in organizations that make people’s lives better, technology innovator and business owner. His expertise is in water and wastewater treatment processes. His knowledge and experience in multi-cultural
settings with cross-discipline teams provides the basis for his strategic leadership and planning. He possesses a refined approach to orchestrating and securing key partnerships to assure successful and sustainable results.
He is a consultant and technical advisor to national engineering firms, water treatment equipment manufacturers and municipal and industrial clients. His broad experience extends to consulting activities, preparation and teaching of capacity building courses, planning and design services, technology evaluation and selection and sustainable applied research innovation.
Designated as the Presidential Candidate for the Pan American Federation of Engineers (UPADI) election 2021 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to represent the Engineering of the United States of America, he is the UPADI President (2023-2025). UPADI is the most prestigious engineering organization in the American Continent. He served as the Organization’s President of the Technical Council in two occasions from 2013 – 2017 and as the Secretary of the Executive Board for four years since 2017. He held the position of Research Affiliate since 2005 in the Master of Engineering Program of the Department of Civil Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) leading the Applied Water and Sanitation Research for Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2010 he has been conducting leading innovative water and wastewater treatment technology research with professors at the UNESCO-IHE Water Institute, in Delft, the Netherlands. He is the UPADI representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) Member Countries. He has served for years as a Reviewer of Environmental Engineering Project Proposals for the National Secretariat for Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Republic of Panama, SENACYT.
In October 2020, Mr. Herrera became a member of the Pan American Academy of Engineering (API).
He is the author and co-author of acclaimed peer reviewed articles regarding High Mix Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) in MBR Systems and alternate aeration technologies.
He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas.