As the backbone for water protectors around the country, River Network is uniquely situated to amplify the voices of leaders across the network, both to educate and inspire others and to provide a national platform for these leaders. In this spirit, we awarded the first Emerging Leader Award at River Rally 2019. A direct response to 2018 feedback encouraging us to recognize more young people through our awards and inspired by former Board Member Leslie Lowe, this award lifts up those individuals who are working at the intersection of water and justice, and it provides a mechanism for connecting new voices in water. 2019 and 2020 recipients Kevin Jeffery and Megan Nguyen, respectively, have already made impacts, and an ad hoc group of young leaders has begun to form.

Megan, Kevin, and other participants at the Young Professionals Happy Hour during River Rally 2020.

We also work diligently through Meet Your Network interviews, other written communications, website imagery, and keynote presenter and trainer selection to lift up the work and successes of a more representative set of leaders in our network.