Upon seeing seasoned workers leave for retirement and take many years of institutional knowledge with them, Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., met with department and industry colleagues and came up with a way to address the problem.
At the same time, Baltimore was experiencing widespread underemployment among young people, and city officials wanted to help address that, as well. Chow, director of public works, partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and the Chesapeake Water Environment Association. After eight months, they had developed a three-phase program known as YH2O, piloted in 2015.
Chow wanted to target younger workers and get them
