NEWPORT -- William Riccio Jr., the city's director of Public Services, was recently designated a Public Works Leadership Fellow by the American Public Works Association (APWA). His role will be to mentor public works professionals enrolled in the APWA Donald C. Stone Center for Leadership Excellence (DCS Center) throughout the next year.
Riccio is among 96 public works professionals from across North America who were recently inducted as Leadership Fellows (PWLF) at the APWA 2011 International Public Works Congress in Denver, Colo. in September. The APWA Donald C. Stone Center’s Program Council determines the selection of recipients for the PWLF designation, and Riccio and the other 95 PW Leadership Fellows are in the inaugural group.
With almost half of the current public works executives nearing retirement age, there is a critical need to pass their accumulated wisdom on to the next generation of leaders. The PWLFs have pledged to assist those who aspire to become leaders through a focused mentoring program. The PWLF is a senior executive service designation that recognizes commitment to the public works profession.
As the Director of Public Services in Newport, Riccio directs and administers the multi-divisional department comprised of administration, engineering, highway maintenance, facility maintenance, parks and grounds maintenance, vehicle fleet maintenance and solid waste and recycling operations, and oversees 40 full time employees and additional seasonal employees.
Riccio’s educational background includes a Master of Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, and a Bachelor’s of Science degree with High Distinction in Civil Engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute of Worcester, Mass. He also studied at Harvard University’s Senior Executives program in State and Local Government in Cambridge, Mass. and the Executive Management Program for Transportation at Pennsylvania State University at State College, Penn.
