One would be hard-pressed to find someone to disagree with the precept that water is essential to all facets of life. However, beyond that generality, things tend to get fuzzy. How water is procured and delivered to our homes, fields, and businesses feels obscure and often fades into the background when things are functioning normally. The regulatory and legal regimes that manage groundwater and surface water are a complicated tangle. Antiquated and inadequate water infrastructure is the norm in many places. Within this set of wicked problems some key questions remain ever present: How do we make sure there is sufficient water for all human and non-human communities in the present and the future? How do we ensure equitable access to quality drinking water for all? In Texas, where communities are frequently dealing with either too much or too little water and our growing urban centers place added strain on water resources, these questions become more important and urgent. This year we will gather various folks across academic, non-profit, government, advocacy, and artistic sectors to discuss the way water shapes our lives. For this first iteration, join us as our panel of experts lays out some of the key issues and questions surrounding the groundwater and surface water resources of Texas as well as the key scientific, technological, and social contours of water conservation and planning.
Assistant Professor,
LBJ School of Public Affairs
Patrick Bixler is an assistant professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs with a joint appointment in the Community and Regional Planning program in the School of Architecture. His interdisciplinary appointment contributes to the work of Planet Texas 2050 and he serves as a core faculty member of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. His current research focuses on climate and environmental governance, urban sustainability and resilience, hazard preparedness and response, and network science. Dr. Bixler is particularly interested in how public, private and nonprofit institutions collaborate to solve complex social and environmental problems and promote social innovation. Through his research and teaching he emphasizes the importance and impact of civic and community engagement.Â
Dr. Bixler co-leads a Planet Texas 2050 Flagship Project and leads the Austin Area Sustainability Indicators project, which won the 2020 Community Impact Award from the Community Indicator Consortium. His research has recently been published in Cities, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Science and Policy, Sustainability and Nonprofit Policy Forum.Â
Director, Surface Water Division,
Texas Water Development Board
Dr. Carla Guthrie is Director of the Surface Water Division at the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) where she serves to guide and support staff and programs working to understand the quantity and availability of surface water resources for Texans and the environment. She began her career with the Brazos River Authority before departing to study community ecology and species interactions in tropical systems. In 2005, she joined the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) as a coastal ecologist. In 2019, she served as a lead author of the first State Flood Assessment for Texas and subsequently steered the initial development of TWDB's new flood science programs. She serves as the TWDB representative on the Nueces Estuary Advisory Council, the Coastal Coordination Advisory Committee, and the Texas OneGulf Agency Council. When not working on water, she serves as Vice-President of the Board of Directors for Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklorico de Texas. She holds degrees from Baylor University, Texas Tech University, and The University of Texas at Austin. She is a 6th generation Texan and a Certified Senior Ecologist through the Ecological Society of America.
Chief Executive Officer,
Texas Water Trade
Sharlene founded Texas Water Trade in 2018, bringing a decade of experience in sustainable water finance long-range water planning and water transactions. Previously, she directed the Texas Environmental Flows Initiative, a collaboration of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, the Harte Research Institute, The Nature Conservancy and several other groups, to purchase water for the bays and estuaries of the Texas Gulf Coast. She also chaired the Austin Water Forward Task Force, which developed a groundbreaking 100-year water plan approved unanimously by the Austin City Council in 2018.Â
Sharlene is a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur and holds a BA in Physics and English from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a fellow in the MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative. She serves as founding Board Chair of Vida Water PBC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas Water Trade, which aims to provide clean and affordable drinking water for underserved populations in Texas.Â
Executive Director & Chief Water Policy Officer,
The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
Robert Mace is the Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and a Professor of Practice in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Texas State University. Robert has over 30 years of experience in hydrology, hydrogeology, stakeholder processes, and water policy. Robert has a B.S. in Geophysics and an M.S. in Hydrology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from The University of Texas at Austin. He recently published a book on groundwater sustainability.
Director, Texas Coast and Water Program,
National Wildlife Federation
Jennifer Walker is the Director of the Texas Coast and Water Program at the National Wildlife Federation. She focuses on statewide water policy issues with an emphasis on water planning, infrastructure funding, urban water management, and bay and estuary protection. Jennifer is a water resources expert with twenty years of experience helping city, utility, and state agencies achieve ambitious water supply management and conservation goals. She has helped develop and inform strategic action by utilizing scientific and technical expertise, engaging stakeholders, and approaching resource management challenges with a solutions-oriented perspective.Â
Jennifer is Chair of Austin’s Water Forward Task Force, a team working to implement Austin’s groundbreaking 100-year water plan that is focused on deploying One Water solutions to meet future water needs. In 2021, she was appointed by the Texas Water Development Board to represent Environmental Interests on the Texas Water Conservation Advisory Council. Jennifer has a BS in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.
