As the network continues to address compounding challenges surrounding water access, public health, and community resilience, River Network is thrilled to recognize seven exemplary advocates whose dedication and persistence are paving the way toward an equitable water future. 

“The river culture is two generations gone,” said Chief Anne Richardson in the 2020 short film, Return to the River. “If we don’t do something, it will be lost forever to [the Rappahannock] Tribe.” That day, she designed a youth program. Today, Tribal youth learn fishing traditions and river ecology on their own ancestral shoreline.

There is certainly a utility to youth-centered environmental education—passing essential stewardship knowledge from one generation to another—but every educator knows that it is the experience that makes stewardship values stick. Like Anne, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance knows how to build a meaningful educational experience rooted in empowerment, cultural relevance, and ecological stewardship.

The team at WAWA are educators, but also practiced advocates who began collecting policy wins—like preserving 400 acres of green space from development—even before they incorporated as a 501(c)3. They are deeply knowledgeable about the tools needed to fight for equitable development and protect residents from displacement in West Atlanta.

Similarly connected to her community and local ecology, Andrea Lubberts’ leadership of various programs including a high school Green Team, which provides paid work whereby students learn hands-on watershed ecology and environmental justice solutions, began with her volunteer participation through her church. This deep knowledge and care for community is also evident in Kaiya Giuliano-Monroy‘s work. A river ecologist for the Coastal Watershed Council, Kaiya’s River Stewards program creates job training and support for her unhoused neighbors. She built real trust, transforming the river’s ecology and broader community perception of the unhoused community members through the program. 

Also dedicated to advancing water justice in their city is Bayou City Waterkeeper. “A lot of people don’t know that [Houston’s] namesake is ‘the Bayou City,’” shared Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Executive Director of Bayou City Waterkeeper, on the waterloop podcast. “Two things that you’ll see woven in our work is the importance of nature-based solutions and the importance of equity and justice.” Recently, their bold legal action and grassroots advocacy have led to major achievements in equitable infrastructure spending.

This year, we are honored to recognize two Legacy Awardees. Brenda Coley’s model for water justice leadership and community activism will have ripple effects for many years to come. She is a truth-teller who made environmental justice central to Milwaukee Water Commons’ work. “Water soothes me, water calms me, water beautifies my thoughts and imaginations,” she said in Episode 8 of Milwaukee Water Commons’ Water Connects Us series. Beyond her leadership, her legacy includes the environmental justice, multi-racial and anti-racist cultural movements she has built on behalf of our shared waters.

Brenda shares her leadership and coalition-building expertise with Jennifer Walker, also a Legacy Awardee, who was among a group of citizens that helped develop Texas’ first comprehensive integrated water management plan. In her role at National Wildlife Federation, Jennifer leads the Texas Living Waters coalition, which has advocated for significant investment in resilient and  community-centered water infrastructure. These efforts led to the creation of the Texas’ $20 billion Texas Water Fund and its approval by 70% of voters through Proposition 4 in 2025. Her success advancing equity-centered water policy in a conservative state offers a compelling model for advocates nationwide.

Each of these awardees show us how to work differently on our watersheds—beyond the extractive and toward community- and nature-based solutions. “We would like to be able to teach [non-extractive natural resource management] to other children, who are not Native, and who may not learn anything like that in the culture of America today,” says Chief Anne Richardson. 

These awardees are also proof of what can be accomplished when we lead with joy and human connection. The throughline of all of this work is a deep concern for the separation between people and their watersheds. These awardees have repaired those rifts to bring people back to their local waters. We share a deep appreciation for their courage, determination, and love for their communities’ water futures.