CREWS 2022 Convening

Mami Hara

US Water Alliance
CEO

The US Water Alliance brings together diverse stakeholders to identify and advance common-ground, achievable solutions to our nation’s most pressing water challenges. Water utilities, public officials, business leaders, agricultural interests, environmental organizations, community leaders, unions, and policy organizations comprise the diverse membership of the US Water Alliance. The Alliance educates the nation on the true value of water, accelerates the adoption of One Water and water equity policies and programs, and celebrates innovation in water management. The Alliance also manages the Value of Water Campaign, a coalition of leading water sector organizations that are building public and political will for investment in water infrastructure

Mami (she/her/hers) was previously the General Manager and CEO of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). She was a board member of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, a founding member of the Water Agencies Leadership Alliance, and the founder of the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange. Through her work in Seattle, at Philadelphia Water and as principal of a leading planning and design firm, she has developed just, climate resilient, and community centered land and water management investment approaches and practices. Mami brings her experience in green infrastructure, affordability and assistance, environmental finance, service equity, utility management, and urban planning to advancing water equity and One Water practice.

She has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University and holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University and advisor to several environmental, philanthropic, planning and design advocacy organizations.

Yeou-Rong Jih

Kresge Foundation
Program Officer, Environment Program

Yeou-Rong Jih (she/her/hers) serves as a program officer for The Kresge Foundation’s Environment Program, which helps communities build resilience in the face of climate change. Yeou-Rong supports the foundation’s Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative grantmaking efforts, which advance equitable solutions to climate-related urban flooding.

She joined the foundation in 2021, bringing a history of engagement in urban climate resilience efforts and a commitment to action on equity and racial justice. Previously, Yeou-Rong served as the director of urban initiatives at Greenlink Analytics, where she co-led equity mapping and clean energy planning efforts, working with cities and community-based organizations to create climate plans, policies and programs that center the equity and energy justice needs of residents. She has also worked with the City of Atlanta, supporting the development and implementation of its resilience, energy and equitable water strategies.

Yeou-Rong earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavioral biology from Emory University and a master’s degree in research psychology from the University of Oxford. In 2021, she was named a Grist 50 Fixer, which recognizes emerging leaders in climate, sustainability and equity, who are creating change across the nation.

Kate O’Brien

Catalyst Collaboratives LLC
Founder and Principal

Kate O’Brien is founder and principal of Catalyst Collaboratives LLC, a boutique consultancy specializing in adaptive change management, facilitation, and capacity building. In her work, Kate draws from her twenty-year career in the nonprofit and public sectors. Trained as a social worker, Kate began her career as a case manager for people with serious and persistent mental illness. After navigating behavioral health systems, she moved into community development while pursuing graduate studies in urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. Kate’s management experience grew significantly during the eight years she led transformative projects, programs, planning initiatives, teams, and operations at Groundwork Lawrence in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Following nearly a decade of ad-hoc coaching of executives and teams, Kate formalized and led Groundwork USA’s first-ever technical assistance program, funded by US EPA and focused on building trusting partnerships between CBOs and municipalities in pursuit of equitable brownfield redevelopment and environmental justice outcomes across the country. Drawing on her years coaching and managing a portfolio of technical assistance clients, Kate set out as a solo entrepreneur focused on supporting clients who are navigating and co-creating culture change rooted in equity and anti-oppression at interpersonal, organizational, network, and systems levels. She is currently serving in her second term as Chair of the Board of Trustees for Portland Trails in her chosen hometown of Portland, Maine, where she has been leading the organization’s multi-year cultural transformation and strategic planning processes.

Benny Starr

US Water Alliance
Hip-Hop Artist & Filmmaker, Arts & Culture Senior Fellow

Black music and southern culture intersect with deep roots in hip-hop, gospel, jazz, blues, and rock. They’re woven with rich history, resiliency, and storytelling that elicits a quest for a higher calling in those who connect with them. The same rings true in the music created by South Carolina Lowcountry artist Benny Starr (he/him/his). His most recent solo project, A Water Album, was released on Juneteenth 2019, and in 2020, Native Son, a duo comprised of Benny Starr and singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Rodrick Cliche, was formed. In partnership with The Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund and The Black Farmers Appeal: Cancel Pigford Debt Campaign, Native Son screened “Restoration: A Concert Film” on Juneteenth 2020.

The US Water Alliance welcomed Benny Starr as their inaugural One Water Artist-in-Residence in October 2020. Through his 18-month residency with the Alliance, Benny worked with staff and the Alliance network to infuse arts and cultural strategies into thinking, problem-solving, and programming. Benny currently serves as a Senior Fellow of Arts & Culture with the US Water Alliance, integrating artistic approaches and cultural strategies to help advance and accelerate our ability to achieve a sustainable water future for all.

Minna Toloui

Upright Consulting Services
Independent Consultant

Minna Toloui (she/they) is an independent consultant with Upright Consulting Services, which specializes in working with governments, philanthropies, nonprofits, and business to advance racial equity, economic inclusion, and deep sustainability. Minna comes to the work with a background in city-community relationship building and facilitation, climate justice, and environmental literacy in the nonprofit and public sectors. Her work focuses on the interstitial spaces between racial equity, health, housing, energy, and beyond. She is based in her born-and-raised home of the Bay Area, CA. Minna is driven by an ancestral lineage of justice work and love for our people, planet, and collective future.