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News Article
Pursuing STEM, finding a career in public finance
Denver Water CFO’s resilience, determination breaks through gender barriers.
As chief financial officer at Denver Water, Angela Bricmont oversees more than 100 employees responsible for the utility’s financial health.
It’s a role in which she finds great fulfillment.
“When I was trying to decide the specific type of finance career I wanted, I was drawn to the mission of public finance. Being able to do what I love, while also having a meaningful impact on our local communities to deliver water to the Denver-metro area in a financially responsible manner is incredibly rewarding,” said Bricmont.
Join people with a mission, passion. Dam good jobs at denverwater.org/Careers.
Reflecting on her career journey, Bricmont recalled the challenges she faced entering the finance field during a time when few women were working in the industry. Overcoming various obstacles, she successfully pursued her goals and carved a path for herself in the finance sector.
Bricmont’s early life was shaped by the influence of her parents — both educators with an entrepreneurial spirit. Raised in an environment where academics were paramount, she grappled with the high standards set by her mother and father, who urged her to find a career that merged passion with independence.
She attended high school in Trinidad, Colorado, and recalled her guidance counselor's attempts to steer her away from a college-prep track due to her gender and Hispanic heritage.
"When I told my father what the counselor said, he was livid. He told me, 'As a woman, you’re not going to get the same opportunities as men. You need to go to college and find something you love that will allow you to be independent.'"
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Bricmont took her first computer course in high school, during a time when schools didn’t really have many computers.
“There was a single computer at the teacher’s desk, and each student in the computer programming class would write our scripts on a piece of paper. We’d then carry it up to the teacher and she would enter it into her computer to see if it worked,” Bricmont said.
Read about Angela Bricmont’s invitation from The World Bank where she spoke with Chinese financial leaders in 2017.
Undeterred by her high school experience, and with the support and persistence of her father, Bricmont enrolled at the University of Denver, where she took courses in business, statistics and computer science.
She landed her first student job as a computer lab analyst, where she was responsible for turning on all of the computers and inserting the floppy disks before classes.
Reflecting on those early days, Bricmont said, "I got the job because of that one computer programming class I took in high school where we never even touched a computer. I was the only woman working in the lab, and I remember asking all the other guys working there if there was a manual for how to turn on and use the computers."
After graduating from DU with a bachelor’s degree in finance, Bricmont entered the workforce as a financial analyst consultant, and had Denver Water as a client.
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While she loved her work and was energized by the mission of working in public finance, Bricmont also faced the challenges of being the only woman in her office.
Despite encountering setbacks, including gender-based pay disparity, Bricmont took a valuable lesson with her when she left that first job after five years — she needed to advocate for herself if she wanted to succeed.
Taking the next steps in her career, Bricmont earned a master’s degree in business administration from DU and accepted a position as a rate analyst with Denver Water, where she analyzed customer consumption data and completed rate structure work, finding inspiration and satisfaction in the mission-driven work.
Denver Water’s strong credit ratings and financial management help bring in $350 million, record low interest rates.
After two years, looking to grow her career and gain expertise in other parts of the finance industry, Bricmont left Denver Water to pursue other professional experiences.
She continued navigating a male-dominated landscape over the next 15 years, expanding her expertise and finding support and mentorship from colleagues.
"In my next several positions, I didn’t have many female colleagues and certainly never had a female boss, but I found many wonderful male mentors over the years,” she said.
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As she grew in her professional career, Bricmont also kept in touch with people at Denver Water.
“I loved working there as an analyst, and I knew that’s where I wanted to be eventually,” she said. “And when the stars aligned and a position opened at Denver Water, I was finally prepared, experienced, confident and ready for the role.”
Bricmont was hired in 2010 as the utility’s director of finance, and in 2016 was named its chief financial officer.
At Denver Water, her goal is clear: "Having strong financials is a cornerstone to Denver Water’s successful delivery of clean, safe water to the 1.5 million people who depend on us every day. We balance near-term investments with sound long-range planning to ensure we are maintaining a good value for our customers.”
Denver Water women discuss how their interests led to careers in STEM.
Bricmont also currently serves as vice chair on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority Board and was appointed in 2020 to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board. In 2017, the World Bank invited her to speak with financial leaders in Chengdu, China, to explain how Denver Water uses bonds to finance necessary, but expensive, infrastructure projects.
And as a member of Denver Water’s senior leadership, she aims to create a safe place for the people on her teams to be themselves, make mistakes and celebrate differences.
Emphasizing the importance of diverse teams, she adds, "Diversity gives a better work outcome, brings more balance, and makes it possible to benefit from all the team members’ different strengths."
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As an adviser for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Burridge Center for Finance, Bricmont has witnessed a positive shift with more women being represented in the finance industry.
"I no longer see a great divide between men and women in the financial fields. It’s inspiring to see the landscape change," she observed.
Denver Water engineering manager encourages women engineers to embrace unique skills and viewpoints.
“I don’t see women struggling to get into finance anymore — the real challenge is deciding how to narrow their field of study because there are so many different opportunities available. It’s inspiring to see that transition.”
Bricmont has this advice for women and girls pursuing a career in finance or any other STEM field: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Approach any new moment like a science experiment — try new things and find out what works. And if they don’t work out, ask for help, learn from others and look for trusted mentors.