Delta Confluence: Celebrating the Ripple Effect of Representative Water Leadership

“We are all the collective solution.”

In November 2024, we were proud to convene many of our Delta grantee partners in Philadelphia. These leaders are supporting the next generation of municipal water leaders who will chart a new course toward water equity.

The Delta Confluence fostered vibrant discussions and collective insights around the future of water resource management, infrastructure, sustainability, and community leadership. With the convening taking place a week after Election Day, partners used the time together to reflect and emerge even more resolved and motivated to create an inclusive water future. Themes that emerged include:

• Amplifying diverse voices, lived experiences, and community interests
• The intersection of infrastructure and justice
• Funding and resources
• Partnerships and collaboration
• Workforce and leadership development

In collaboration with The Funders Network, we also brought local funders and workforce experts together with our Delta network for a day to explore how to advance an inclusive infrastructure workforce.

A Ripple in Memories

Delta Partners in Attendance

Thank you to the partners below for coming together to share their stories, spot connections throughout the network, and chart a course for the future of the sector.

Click on their names and organizations to learn more about them!

💧 April Ingle, River Network

💧 Paula Conolly & Mami Hara, US Water Alliance

💧 Amber Weaver, Urban Sustainability Directors Network

💧 Barbara Hopkins, Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange

💧 Olga Morales Pate, The Rural Community Assistance Partnership

💧 Octavia Abell, Govern for America

💧 Manny Teodoro, University of Wisconsin-Madison

💧 Caroline Koch, WaterNow Alliance

💧 Alicia Smith, The Junction Coalition

💧 Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari, The Center for Water Security & Cooperation

💧 Patricia Lindsay-Harvey, Black Water Professionals Alliance

💧 Laura Lipps, Duke University School of Environment

💧 Paula Figueroa-Vega, New Jersey Future & New Jersey Water Works

💧 Arianne Shipley & Chelsea Boozer, Rogue Water Lab

💧 Julia Kumari Drapkin, I See Change

💧 Brenton McCloskey, The Water Center at Penn

💧 Marguerite Sheehan, Moonshot Missions

💧 Jose Luis Aranda Nucamendi, Water Hub

💧 Josh Sendejar, Texas Water Foundation

💧 Maureen Cunningham, Environmental Policy Innovation Center

💧 Travis Loop, waterloop

These and other Delta partners improve access to safe and affordable water services by expanding community representation in utility leadership. Their initiatives ensure the decision makers at water services reflect the communities they serve, by increasing diversity and elevating promising talent. Together, these leaders are working towards a future in which more people have access to healthy, reliable drinking water. Click here for more information.