Our Management

Brian Hoelscher, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), has over 40 years of engineering and management experience. He is responsible for overseeing all district operations and managing all financial, leadership and regulatory responsibilities, including the multi-billion dollar, multi-decade capital program for the District. He began his career with the District in May 1995 as Manager of Construction. Prior to being named Executive Director and CEO in March 2013, he ran MSD’s Capital Program from 2003 thru 2013 as the Director of Engineering. Prior to joining MSD, he was the St. Louis area office manager for CTE, an AECOM Company.

Mr. Hoelscher earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, where he has been recognized with an Alumni Achievement Award by the School of Engineering. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in MO and IL. He is a member of the Engineers Club of St. Louis, serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and serves on an Executive Committee at Washington University in St. Louis.

Since 2001, Susan Myers has represented the District as in-house counsel, Interim General Counsel, and in April 2011 became the General Counsel. Her experience at MSD includes being a key member of the negotiating and implementation team for the District’s multi-decade, federal consent decree, in addition to representing the District in general litigation and corporate governance. She has a unique combination of environmental engineering and legal experience. Prior to joining MSD, Susan served as an environmental engineer with EPA Region VII in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permitting and worked on a billion dollar Department of Energy Superfund Clean-up project.

Susan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering from the University Missouri-Rolla (Missouri University of Science & Technology) and her law degree from Saint Louis University. She is President of AMCA (Association of Missouri Clean Water Agencies) and a member of Association of Corporate Counsel, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and the Missouri Bar Association.

Tim Snoke is the Secretary-Treasurer for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and, as such, is the keeper of the District’s public records. Tim’s internal team is responsible for treasury operations/cash management; debt issuance, management, and compliance; investment management; internal audit; oversight of defined benefit, defined contribution, and deferred compensation investments/options; and financial planning and analysis.

Prior to MSD, Tim spent his professional career with Ralston Purina Company and Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., working his way from a temporary employee to, most recently, Assistant Treasurer. In this role, he negotiated more than 35 financing and refinancing deals totaling more than $5 billion, integrated cash management and financing function of acquisitions, and improved working capital by more than $40 million through an incentive-based performance plan, among other significant accomplishments.

Tim earned an MBA from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Valparaiso University. He also earned the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Financial Manager designations and is actively involved in the St. Louis community through his participation with local trade associations and leadership positions with St. John’s Lutheran Church and School.

Rich Unverferth is the Director of Engineering for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, overseeing the development, implementation, and management of MSD’s ongoing multi-billion dollar, multi-decade capital improvement program. His responsibilities include the planning and implementation of the District’s long range plans to address combined and sanitary sewer overflows, stormwater issues, asset management, and other Regulatory initiatives. Rich has worked at MSD in numerous engineering and management positions since 1987.

Rich earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Missouri. He is a member of the Engineers Club of St. Louis, and represents MSD as a member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers.

Marion Gee is the Director of Finance for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. Marion is responsible for the management and coordination of all accounting, financial planning, and rate modeling, accounts receivable, purchasing, and related activities of the District.

Prior to joining MSD in 2015, Marion spent 23 years in the utility industry serving as Assistant Finance Director for the City of San Antonio, guiding their Public Utilities Division in the performance of comprehensive reviews of proposed rate adjustments and debt issuances, and overseeing the development of multi-year revenue projects for various utilities owned by San Antonio. In addition, he previously served as Finance Director for the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Corporate Controller for the Louisville Water Company.

Marion is a Certified Public Accountant. He earned a MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Louisville. Marion serves on the Executive Board of the Government Finance Officers Association and is a member of the American Water Works Association.

Tracey R. Coleman is Director of Human Resources for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. She leads all facets of the department including Benefits, Employment, Training & Organizational Development, Payroll and Risk Management.

Tracey joined the District in 2014 as the Manager of Training and Organizational Development. She brings 19 years of leadership experience from previously held positions at Laclede Gas, Edward Jones, HealthLink and A.G. Edwards.

She holds a Master’s Degree from Webster University and a Chancellor’s Certification in Database Technology from the University of Missouri- St Louis. She also held a General Securities Representative (Series 7), Investment Advisor (Series 66), and Missouri’s Life & Health Producer’s Licensures.

She is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and The Association for Talent Development.

Ginny Kienstra is the Director of Information Technology for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD). Ginny is responsible for corporate technology strategy as well as for the operation of MSD’s technology infrastructure and applications.

Prior to her current position, Ginny was the Assistant Director of Technology at MSD. In that position, she provided strategic input for information technology and security, directed the department on use of critical enterprise business systems, and provided strategic vision for long term infrastructure technology development.

In the past 20+ years, Ginny has held senior technology leadership positions with Scottrade/TD Ameritrade as Vice President of Infrastructure Operations and several successive promotional positions in Information Technology with Anheuser-Busch/AB InBev.

Ginny is a St. Louis native with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a master’s degree in Information Technology Management, both from Webster University. She is also certified in ITIL, COBIT and Lean Six Sigma. Her experience and education have allowed her to be successful in leading and cultivating IT organizations to achieve excellence in service delivery.

MSD’s Board of Trustees has selected Bret Berthold, the current Director of Operations, as the next Executive Director. With 14 years of experience at MSD, Bret has demonstrated strong technical, management and leadership skills and commitment to MSD’s mission. His tenure will begin on June 30, 2024.

Bret took on the Director of Operations role in 2018, where his responsibilities include the overall management and strategic leadership of the collection system, treatment plants, pump stations, and support services divisions. He also ensures that the operation and maintenance activities are efficiently executed, and costs are optimized to provide value for MSD customers. In the last five years, he has perfected compliance to the Capacity Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM) program as defined in the Consent Decree and successfully led the negotiation team to reach four-year Collective Bargaining Agreements with the six union labor organizations within the District.

His career with the District in 2009 began as the Operation Division Manager at the Bissell Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, after which he transitioned to the Assistant Director of Operations position in 2011, where he led the collection system divisions ensuring compliance with the consent decree inspection, maintenance, and repair activities.

Prior to joining the District, Bret held several positions over a 12-year period at Spectrum Brands, Inc. ranging from Project Engineering Manager to Manufacturing Manager. His responsibilities at Spectrum Brands included leading and implementing numerous continuous improvements projects aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing variable costs, increasing production rates through reduced changeover times, increasing equipment reliability, and efficient production scheduling.

Bret earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly, University of Missouri – Rolla) and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University. He is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Missouri.