General Counsel and Advocacy Director Dan Estrin, CEO Marc Yaggi, President Gloria Reuben, and Senior Attorney Kelly Hunter Foster outside the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office.
Knowledge and Team Building
The third day of the conference offered Waterkeepers the chance to keep learning in the breakout rooms and also enjoy some team building opportunities offsite.
The day began with a host of informative panels. Kelly Hunter Foster, Senior Attorney, led a session on ACT50 priorities and strategies related to the Clean Water Act, Nick Kohomban, digital coordinator, discussed social media in a changing world, and Chris Wilke, global advocacy manager, presented on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. There were also sessions on how best to form collaborative partnerships with other Waterkeepers, poultry industry impacts on water, and how to best use technology like QR codes and drones.
Spotlight
During Friday’s dinner, Vivek Maru spoke about how our climate predicament is a justice crisis and hosted a deeply informative Q&A with Waterkeepers from Nepal, India, the U.S., U.K., and others. As a social entrepreneur, human rights activist, and pioneer in legal empowerment, Vivek believes we can advance social and environmental justice by deepening democracy. Armed with an undergraduate degree from Harvard and law degree from Yale, Vivek used his knowledge and years of experience working with Human Rights Watch and World Bank to create Namati in 2011.
As the first global network dedicated to legal empowerment, Namati’s network has grown to more than 2,400 groups from every part of the world, and along with its partners, supports grassroots legal advocates in 10 countries. Their successes include a new anti-bribery policy for the health sector in Mozambique, stronger sand-mining regulations in India, and greater protection for women’s rights in Sierra Leonean land law. In addition to his role as Namati CEO, Vivek has co-authored a book, Community Paralegals and the Pursuit of Justice, and his TED talk, “How to Put the Power of Law in People’s Hands” has been collectively viewed by more than 1 million people.
Celebrating our Sacred Bond with Water
In the afternoon, we left the breakout rooms behind and loaded onto buses for a Sacred Waters Ceremony at nearby Hains Point. This DC park, where the Potomac River, Anacostia River, and Washington Channel all converge, was an ideal setting. Among the many highlights, water and stones brought by our Waterkeepers from watersheds all over the world were combined and blessed. There was also a recognition of the Waterkeepers we have lost since 2018. The ceremony concluded with a joyous group dance session in the grass.
Meanwhile, across town, Gloria Reuben, President, Marc Yaggi, CEO, Dan Estrin, Legal Counsel and Advocacy Director, and Kelly Hunter Foster, Senior Attorney met with staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the Administrator, Office of Water, and Office of Public Engagement to talk about PFAS, CAFOs, the Clean Water Act, and more.
Spring of Light Medicine Woman Rabiah Nur led Waterkeepers through a very special Sacred Water Ceremony.
Waterkeepers pose for a group shot following the Sacred Water Ceremony.
