Tommy leads technical assistance efforts in Alabama, working with partners to deliver water and wastewater infrastructure solutions.
Tommy Ricks has dedicated his 36-year professional career to helping small communities navigate critical water infrastructure project development, providing capacity building technical assistance and training, and local strategic asset-based community economic development.
Tommy is an honorably discharged veteran and has served communities as a certified water operator, regional utility manager, technical assistance provider, and program director overseeing other technical assistance providers. He has worked in states throughout the southeast as well as designed and delivered board governance training to local officials across the country including his capacity as a former adjunct faculty member of the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities at West Virginia University. In 2024, he joined WFX as its Community Support Director and is directly responsible for engaging and providing water sector financial assistance to communities primarily in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Tommy holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Administration from Louisiana State University in Shreveport, LA and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS.
