Water In Real Life

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Latest Episodes:

EP110: Innovation Inside and Out Oct 22, 2021

Show notes

Innovation is a buzzword beyond the water industry. We met with our innovation guru, Cristina Ahmadpour, and broke open the buzz to get to the nitty-gritty. We discussed concrete ways organizations can create cultures of innovation that result in increased deployment of innovative practices and technologies. Guess what...communication is a key component. Culture change, gaining buy-in for your innovation program, collaboration, and creativity all require an ability to not only communicate your vision but to do so in a manner that inspires others to come along with you. We also dive into ways you can innovate your team culture, even when managing a fully remote team. Cristina serves as Managing Director of Isle’s North American business. She leads a team that supports the most progressive water utilities in their interest to identify, evaluate, and engage best-available solutions that drive value to their services and business operations. Facilitating an assessment of needs and identifying solutions that respond to top priorities, and how to build a culture of innovation, is an integral part of how she works with water utility leaders today. Cristina is a graduate of WEF’s Water Leadership Institute and has been recognized by the Water and Wastewater Digest in 2016 and 2018 as a top water professional under the age of 40. Cristina is married to her middle school sweetheart and enjoys life in San Diego with their cat Vera Rubin. Backpacking and being in nature is her most cherished pastime, followed by traveling, cycling, and tending to her plants.

Bonus Episode: The State of Communication and Water, Tarot Card Edition Sep 19, 2021

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You can't say we're not down to try new things. This was a fun one. We can't promise you an eye-opening communication or leadership takeaway but we can promise some legit entertainment. Would you believe we did a tarot card reading for communication's impact in the water industry? Yes, our dear friend and co-conspirator Duke Greenhill (episodes 4,65,105) took us on a journey. While tarot card readings are usually either punchlines or plot twists in movies, ours was actually pretty fun and meaningful to the work we do for the industry. Enjoy!

EP108: The Social Impact of Water: The Confluence of Data and Story Sep 09, 2021

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“Science informs sound-decision making. Storytelling inspires change. Science, not storytelling, should drive policy and management in the water sector, but we need both to ensure safe & affordable water.” - Manny Teodoro Join the H2duO and Manny Teodoro for this conversation about citizen-based brand equity and its power to influence public trust, messaging for rate increases, the role of politics in water issues, and some hard truths about inequities in drinking water compliance. Resources: Class, race, ethnicity and justice in safe drinking water act compliance. Citizen-based brand equity: a model and experimental evaluation Issue framing and public willingness to pay water and sewer rate increase (in review, coming soon) Meet Manny: Manny Teodoro is an associate professor at the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He researches and teaches environmental policy and public management. He’s also engaged in a great deal of applied research on utility management, policy, and finance. Beyond academic study, Manny has worked directly with utility leaders and policymakers on equity, affordability, and regulatory implementation for nearly 25 years. Twitter: @MPTeodoro

EP107: Creativity’s Power to Unlock your Resiliency Aug 25, 2021

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Did you know that creativity plays a vital role in your resiliency? According to a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, creativity encourages positive emotions that unlock our inner resources for dealing with stress and uncertainty. Being "creative" regularly helps build your creative resilience; the capacity to generate and act on positive solutions under the pressures of challenges and change. Creativity requires time and space to reflect and experiment. Have you been giving yourself enough of either the past two years? Or ever? The good news is resiliency is built through ordinary, everyday actions and you can start today! Greg Wukasch (San Antonio Water System) and the H2duO chat about their own experiences with creativity, resilience, and the combination of both. They share some ways you can build more creativity into your life. Greg Wukasch is the External Affairs Manager at San Antonio Water System. Greg in a nutshell: A boat rocker of most things. Pastor. Gardener. Disney Parks Nerd. Has a passionate love for people and doing #WorkThatMatters Twitter: @greg_wukasch

EP106: Mindfulness at work, what the pandemic taught us about ourselves Aug 11, 2021

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Stephanie recently attended her first in-person conference in 18 months. The question of the day - "How have you been?" The standard reply - "Good, busy." At our Virtual Catalyst 2021, our focus was on the communicator (the person) versus the end product they create. Why? Because when we're not operating at full capacity, our work suffers, our culture suffers, and the people we serve suffer. In this candid episode, we put down our "fine," "good," and "busy" replies and opened up about things the pandemic inspired us to let go of or adopt. It's made us better leaders, parents, and human beings. We hope it inspires your own journey.

EP105: Rebuilding Confidence: The Consumer Confidence Report’s Role in Public Trust Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

The H2duO chat with a panel of experts about ways to level up the annual water quality reports. Hear feedback from various stakeholder groups through the research conducted by the Environmental Policy and Innovation Center (EPIC) team. Seasoned communication and marketing professionals weigh in on the power of the CCR to build public trust plus learn how collaboration across states can benefit our community members. Watch the episode on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube. Check out EP105 here. Meet the panel. Sam Villegas is Director of Strategic Communication Services for Raftelis and has been conducting public outreach for public works for more than 25 years. After 20 years in movies and advertising in New York, Duke Greenhill is now the chair of Advertising & Branding, Graphic Design & Visual Experience, and Branded Entertainment at SCAD. His work and writings are cited in over half a million industry and academic journals. Wendi Wilkes is the Regulatory & legislative affairs manager at the association of state drinking water administrators (ASDWA) and a policy grad student at Johns Hopkins. She’s a self-described water problem solver living in Washington, DC. Sri Vedachalam is the Director of Water at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center and is constantly working to demystify water policies to bring the fastest improvements in equity and environmental outcomes.

EP104: The Adult Learner’s Journey, Leveling Up How We Teach Water Jul 14, 2021

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The H2duO chat with Doug about the biggest misconceptions people have about adult learning, ways to overcome those challenges, and tools to build clarity. Meet Doug Kueker, Co-Founder and Director of Learning Services at Vivayic. Doug is the steward of Vivayic’s Learning Solution Model™, which defines Vivayic’s unique approach to helping organizations use learning as a key strategy to advance their mission. In this role, he provides leadership to Vivayic’s team as they work to apply their knowledge of learning and development to help build other’s capacity to good in the world. Since starting Vivayic in 2006, Doug has designed and implemented numerous learning solutions. Our experiences range from helping several Fortune 100 companies and global NGOs striving to ensure a safe and sustainable food supply to consulting with numerous state agencies and educator groups trying to make classrooms and educational systems more relevant and engaging. Doug earned his undergraduate degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Missouri. He holds a MS Ed from Purdue University in Educational Psychology and a Ph.D. in Information Sciences and Learning Technologies from the University of Missouri. He lives in Lake Ozark, MO.

How might we solve the water sector’s most pressing challenges with design thinking? Jun 30, 2021

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Meet Chris Pacione, CEO and Co-Founder of LUMA Institute. He’s passionate about universal design literacy, and he’s a frequent speaker on the topics of design and innovation around the world. He is co-author of the LUMA System and the book “Innovating for People.”

Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities.

Check out the video recording of our chat on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube channel. View EP103 here.

How might we solve the water sector's most pressing challenges with design thinking? Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities.

Check out the video recording of our chat on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube channel. View EP103 here.

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