Water is where climate change often hits first, and hardest. On Tuesday, October 27, three UWC-USA alumni who approach water from very different angles will come together for “Beyond the Brink: Climate Adaptation & Resilience — A Focus on Water,” the next conversation in the Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series. The conversation features three remarkable alumni:
- Moderator Dr. Len Necefer ’07 is the founder and CEO of NativesOutdoors, a media and consulting company focused on environmental advocacy, outdoor recreation, and sustainability. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, serves as board president of the Honnold Foundation, and has spent recent years on expeditions and films exploring the Colorado River.
- Joel Larson ’02 is associate director of the University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Center, where he connects research with the farmers, public works crews, and communities who need it. He previously led federal climate initiatives at the USDA and worked with the Bureau of Land Management.
- Hugo Contreras Zepeda ’87, an economist, is regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at WaterConnect, which develops water infrastructure projects. He previously led The Nature Conservancy’s water security strategy for Latin America.
The conversation will ask where water is headed and what is driving it there, from the Colorado River’s two-decade drought and century-old decisions that still limit today’s choices to small Minnesota towns where the person who plows the streets also runs the water treatment plant. The speakers will look at both quantity and quality, including aging infrastructure, private wells, and contaminants such as PFAS, and at how to bring governments, investors, and researchers together to pay for solutions. They will also take on a harder question: how should we value water? As a price, as a human right, or, as some Indigenous communities teach, as a family member? The industry likes to say that “water is free, but infrastructure is costly.” The truth is more complicated. Expect personal stories, a lively exchange, and ideas you can act on.
Join us Tuesday, October 27, at 6:30 p.m. MT on Zoom. The virtual event is free and open to alumni, families, friends of UWC-USA, and prospective students. RSVP here to receive the Zoom link.