Co-hosted by the Pacific Institute
The UN formally recognizes the human right to water and sanitation, but in the U.S. today more than two million people still live without running water or safe plumbing, and tens of millions more face chronic water quality violations, supply disruptions or unaffordable bills. These challenges cut across the country from poor urban neighborhoods and rural communities to tribal nations, and they fall hardest on people of color, low-income households, and other marginalized groups. And climate change is magnifying these inequities, but even amidst these challenges, communities and leaders across the country are advancing practical solutions and building grassroots power to protect and expand the right to water. This panel brings together water justice activists from across the country who will share on-the-ground stories, policy insights, and emerging models for change and explore what it will take to finally realize the human right to water for all. Hosted by Heather Cooley, Chief Research and Program Officer, Pacific Institute. With: Dr. Khalid Osman, Assistant Professor, Stanford University; Monica Lewis-Patrick, President and CEO, We the People of Detroit.
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March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm
Panelists
Chief Research and Program Officer
Pacific Institute
Heather Cooley, Chief Research and Program Officer at the Pacific Institute, a pioneering, Oakland-based non-profit organization dedicated to creating and advancing solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges, has led its research and programs since 2004, focusing especially on sustainable water management, water resilience, and the water–energy nexus. Her work bridges science and policy to inform decision-making at local, state, and national levels. Heather, who holds multiple degrees from UC Berkeley, has served in leadership and advisory roles on a number of major state and national water policy bodies.
President and CEO
We the People of Detroit
Monica Lewis-Patrick, President/CEO of We the People of Detroit, is an educator, entrepreneur, scholar, and human rights activist especially renowned for her tireless activism for safe, affordable water. A member of: the National Water Affordability Table, All About Water/Freshwater Future Subcommittee, PolicyLink’s Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus (WECR), End Water Poverty, and the Governance Board for Healing Our Waters/Great Lakes Coalition (HOW), Lewis-Patrick also co-chairs the Water Committee on the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice.
Assistant Professor
Stanford University
Khalid K. Osman, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford, also holds faculty affiliations at the King Center for Global Development and the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. His research focuses on ensuring equity and justice in the provision of infrastructure services, currently focusing on the water sector, including frameworks for equity in the adoption of new water technologies and sanitation justice challenges in rural communities. Khalid has had many collaborations with local community-based organizations and leads Osman Lab, which develops new approaches to equitable and just infrastructure in vulnerable, climate change-challenged communities.