At the Water Table: Conversations with River Network

Learn more about the important water and climate justice work led by four individuals in the U.S. Midwest region who received funding through River Network's Climate Justice Flow Fund Circle. These leaders and organizations were selected by Monica Lewis-Patrick, President and CEO of We the People of Detroit and Climate Justice Flow Funder. Enjoyed this episode? Learn more and join the national network of water, justice, and river advocates at rivernetwork.org.

From healthcare to “filter sharks” to advocacy on every level, no one understands the drinking water issue in California better than Susana De Anda. As Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Community Water Center, Susana is an expert in community organizing and building a movement in which residents are empowered to engage in local governance and stand up for their right to clean and affordable drinking water. Susana says that building solutions in collaboration with residents is the...

Many water organizations offer environmental education and training for the next generation of climate leaders, but what happens when youth age out of these programs? Plaster Creek Stewards is the lead organization of Project GreenER, an adult educational program in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that fosters understanding and builds agency for watershed care. In this episode of At the Water Table, Andrea Lubberts, Haley Kornoelje, and Matt Hubers reflect on the differences and similarities in worki...

What’s your environmental advocacy origin story, and does it have anything to do with the disaster movies of the 2000s? In this episode of At the Water Table, Hana Katz, Policy and Project Manager at the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), traces her environmental activism journey, from influential movies to her experience growing up with flood evacuations. These days, she’s a volunteer firefighter, co-founder of a Gen-Z climate action organization, and an enthusiasti...

What does urban tree planting have to do with healing a city’s relationship to water? In this episode, Brenda Coley and Kirsten Shead, Co-Executive Directors of Milwaukee Water Commons (MWC), weave together some of the many threads that make up Milwaukee’s environmental justice story. Guided by principles from generations of resilient communities – Indigenous folks, Black feminists, and LGBTQ+ activists, to name a few – Brenda and Kirsten describe MWC’s journey to truly, deeply listen to the ...

What does it mean to engage in equitable development – and to center community health and needs at every step of the way? Arif Ullah, Executive Director of South Bronx Unite (SBU), joins River Network's Ayana Harscoet to tell the story of this small but mighty community-founded organization. Tune in to hear about SBU’s journey to transform the South Bronx’s polluted waterfront into a hub for recreation, gatherings, education, and more – while making sure the local community of Black, brown, i...