The Water Equity & Climate Resilience Caucus’s vision is to live in a world that honors water, promotes generational climate security and water affordability, and builds frontline leadership for systems change.

Our mission is to achieve water and climate justice for all by centering low-income, frontline, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in solutions through federal policy, narrative change, leadership capacity building, and movement alignment, guided by a three-year strategic plan and governed by a robust steering committee.

Six values guide how we approach our mission, Caucus relationships, and external partnerships:

  • Equity and Justice: We recognize the historical context that contribute to racial and economic disparities in access to water, sanitation, and exposure to the impacts of climate change, and address the root causes of these disparities.

  • Love and Regeneration: We honor our connections with water and nature, each other, our communities, and the broader movement for human rights and environmental justice. We intentionally build vibrant, joyful, loving pathways and a community that nurtures these connections, and creates space for rest and rejuvenation as we work to repair systemic harms.

  • Community Power: We build power by connecting communities most affected by disparities in water access and impacts of climate change to each other as the necessary foundation of our movement for water and climate justice.

  • People and Nature: We recognize the inherent dignity of all people and nature, holding close that the fate of our people and the environment are inextricably intertwined.

  • Leadership and Service: We celebrate and nurture leadership from Caucus members as we amplify community voices at all levels of decision-making. We lean into the act of service, make space at the table for each other, and build a community that operates on mutual trust, respect, and compassion.

  • Bold Action: We speak truth to power regarding our values and the kinds of transformative solutions needed for our communities and the planet. We hold one another, the sector, and our governments accountable to these values.

Our Strategy

Federal Policy

The Caucus models and advocates for federal policy priorities and solutions reflective of the lived experiences of frontline communities, communities of color, and low-income communities across the United States. Follow our federal advocacy work.

Narrative Change

We advance community-driven narratives and culture change that decomodify water, move away from extractive narratives, and build water stewardship. Through narrative change we will ensure that access to a healthy environment and clean water are not determined by who can afford it, that data collection and policy integrate this lived experience, and reimagine our futures. Learn more about narrative change.

Leadership Capacity

We model leadership on water and climate solutions that center those most impacted in governance and decision-making structures. We invest in strengthening the capacity of frontline organizations to lead on local, state, and federal solutions through skill-building training and resource distribution.

Movement Building

We expand the collective power of the Caucus by increasing membership and deepening coordinated regional leadership on water and climate. We are building a network of leaders and strategies to create an inclusive, comprehensive, and civically engaged water and climate justice movement. Learn more about what we do through in-person convenings, regional efforts, and focused workgroups on climate justice and water affordability.

Steering Committee

The WECR Caucus Steering Committee sets strategic direction, annual goals to advance Caucus priorities, and governance processes to ensure inclusion, accountability, and results. The Steering Committee meets monthly to share updates and solidarity actions, and develop or improve operational processes including membership, pass-through grants, training opportunities, and more. The Committee is comprised of core members, including regional co-chairs, and allies.

15 steering committee members posting at in-person convening

Steering Committee members include:

  • Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud, Executive Director, Bayou City Waterkeeper (TX)*
  • Celina Mahabir, Federal Policy Advocate, Community Water Center (CA)*
  • Jessica Dandridge, Executive Director, The Water Collaborative (LA)
  • Joe Fitzgerald, Water City Program Manager, Milwaukee Water Commons (WI)
  • Julian Gonzalez, Earthjustice (national) 
  • Kendall Dix, National Policy Director, Taproot Earth (national)
  • Kyle Jones, Policy Director, Community Water Center (CA)
  • Monica Lewis-Patrick, Founder & CEO, We the People of Detroit (MI)
  • Rebecca Malpass, Policy & Research Director, The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans (LA)*
  • Roselyn Ponton, Water Justice Coordinator, Verde (OR)
  • Sonia Kikeri, National Director of Policy & Civic Engagement, Emerald Cities Collaborative (national)
  • Tara Houska, Founder, Giniw Collective (MN)
  • Tiana Starks, Communications Director, We the People of Detroit (MI)
  • Val Z. Schull, Water Equity & Ocean Program Director, Green Latinos (national)
  • Yasmin Zaerpoor, Director of Water Equity & Climate Resilience, PolicyLink (national)

*Organization is also a Regional Co-Chair