Water We Talking About?: Recent Episodes
Jim Lauria and Adam Tank
Water and wastewater technology vendors have historically struggled to market themselves effectively. Hosts Jim Lauria and Adam Tank interview the industry’s leading communicators who share their secrets and help demystify the art of industrial storytelling to build better brands, engage more customers, and grow sales.
On this episode of Water We Talking About, we are joined by James Adduci. He breaks down the strategy behind building meaningful industry relationships and the specific ways storytelling can influence stakeholders and lead to better project outcomes. James proves that while the water industry is built on engineering, it truly runs on human connection.
Visibility is a form of currency in the water sector. This week, we sit down with Suzan Marie Chin-Taylor to discuss the strategic importance of PR. From managing public perception to the "nuts and bolts" of media outreach, Suzan provides a roadmap for professionals looking to influence the influencers. Learn the exact tactics needed to win over editors and ensure your message is acted upon.
Water is at the heart of the climate conversation, but how do we share that message effectively? We’re sitting down with Sheldon Young and Jason Moreau (hosts of the No Footprints podcast) to talk about the intersection of water technology and storytelling. From innovative waste management to energy efficiency, learn how these Alfa Laval experts are highlighting the people and tech driving the industry toward a net-zero future.
Noemi Kis is a founder, speaker, and entrepreneur known for building and scaling multiple businesses — including a 7-figure industrial water treatment supply company — while emphasizing freedom, systems, and value creation over conventional “hustle” narratives. She’s active as a personal brand on LinkedIn (150k+ followers), writes and teaches on entrepreneurship, automation, and mindset, and works with founders on building lean, profitable businesses.
David LaFrance is the president of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). He's spent decades in the water industry as a utility leader (former CFO of Denver Water) and shares compelling ways to tell water's story.
Ralph Exton is the Executive Director of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). His decades of experience in the water industry as a CMO (GE Water, SUEZ, Veoila, Grundfos), salesperson, and now non-profit director make this conversation a compelling one!
Brian Sheng is the Co-Founder & CEO of Aquaria, an atmospheric water generation company changing the way our water is delivered. He talks about how the business model of water will change, likening it to Starlink, Solar, and lots of storytelling.
Kelsey McWilliams is the Founder & CEO of Point of Shift, a boutique consultancy focused on toilet design, access, and much more. She tells incredible stories about sanitation around the world and how we can be more inclusive as a water industry.
Dani is a former sports journalist who's now Cleveland Water's Manager of Communications. She discusses key tips for communicating to the public from a sportscasting point of view, and ways to keep cool under pressure (think boil advisories!).
Haley Falconer is the Deputy Public Works Director for the City of Boise, Idaho. She shares incredible stories about the work the City of Boise and their Water team are doing from a communications perspective - and brings up great points about how engineers should think about communicating their work to the public.
Steve Werblow is an accomplished agricultural journalist based in Ashland, Oregon, just north of the California border. He holds a degree from Cornell University's College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, graduating in 1988. Since 1995, Steve has been a freelance writer, covering agriculture on six continents for various magazines.
Steve's work has been recognized with multiple awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association/Ag Communicators Network and the Livestock Publications Council. He has been named AAEA/ACN Writer of the Year five times and has earned the organization's Master Writer, Master Photographer, and Fellow honors.
In addition to his writing, Steve serves as the current president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), a role he assumed in 2024. His involvement with IFAJ has provided him with opportunities to bring stories from around the world to readers of The Furrow.
Beth Boeh (pronounced bā) is a water industry insider who knows a little something about what you’ve got on your plate. She’s put together a team of strategists, creatives, public relations and media experts who know water and, better still, how to create meaningful content.
Shawn is a Chief Plant Operator and founder of The Wastewater Enthusiast YouTube Channel. He brings a wealth of 'boots on the ground' knowledge into how to communicate wastewater treatment concepts for people considering getting operator certified, as well as tips for vendors interesting in selling solutions to treatment plant leaders.
Andrew discovered copywriting while working as a water infrastructure engineer. With guidance from seasoned writers, he began leveraging his experience as a manufacturer's representative and civil engineer to support the water sector's demand for writers.
Marketing, PR, and communications teams save time and energy by hiring writers who know their industry. WaterWrites' goal is to support water-related utilities, organizations, and companies searching for words that catch attention, change opinions, and inspire.
Tom Freyburg spent nearly a decade travelling the globe and reporting on projects from Latin America to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, which opened his eyes to the water challenges and solutions available around the world.
A graduate of the University of Exeter, Tom founded Atlantean Media in 2018 as a boutique digital content and media company. Born out of a need to bring engineering-based content to life, the organization now represents and advises public and private-sector clients across the water and climate-tech space. The mission? To connect people to water through creative content.
As well as the content director for Aquatech Global events, Tom is the co-creator and co-host of 'The Stream with Will and Tom' podcast together with Will Sarni, host of online talk show QTalks by Qatium, as well as co-founder of KnowH2Ow - a marketing and communication training hub for water professionals. He is also an ambassador for UK charity, Frank Water.
In this episode Robert Strand, the Founder & Executive Director of the World Water Film Festival, discusses film as a medium for telling water's story. The annual festival is coming up mid November, be sure to check it out here ---> https://worldwaterff.org/2024-film-festival
Ravi Kurani is passionate about building products that help society and the environment. His core focus in recent years has been building Sutro, the world's leading water testing device company. He's also a fellow water podcaster, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
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Christopher Peacock has worn many hats in the water industry; entrepreneur, author, and now CEO / Founder of Agcor, by AQUAOSO. In this episode Chris talks about how to tell water's story to a variety of stakeholders, and not just the same ol' way we've been talking about water for decades.
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Doug is preacher. Yes - that kind.
But also a preacher of the value of water! As the President of Ag Water Chemical, Doug has spent countless hours with the agricultural community telling water's story in unique and compelling ways.
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Milin holds one of the rarest titles of our time: water sommelier.
Wait... that's a real thing? Yes. According to Patel, a water sommelier is someone who can spark people’s imagination and elevate a drinking water lifestyle as well as teach individuals about a water’s taste, source and its geology.
Having vowed his life to advocating for safe, clean water, he puts an honor into teaching people how to respect and appreciate water.
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Christopher Gasson is an authority on water finance and markets. After a degree in politics and economics at Oxford University, he worked as a financial journalist and investment banker, before acquiring Global Water Intelligence in 2002. He's built GWI into one of the world's foremost research firms in the water industry, and on this episode he lays bare all of the secrets of the trade in telling water's story.
Chelsea is one of the water industries most public - and fun - personas. She currently leads Rogue Water Lab as Executive Director, working to bolster public trust for sustainable water solutions through community engagement and storytelling by equipping, inspiring, and empowering service providers to collaborate with communities and policymakers.
As the Chief of Treatment for HRSD, Christel has a wealth of experience in telling water's story... but she also wears another hat - a first time author of "Lemon and Cedar", an illustrated children's book. Learn more about how she's telling the story of water, the environment, and more in creative ways on this episode of Water We Talking About.
David Sedlak, Professor at UC Berkeley, is well-known in the world of water. His most recent book, Water For All, explores the myriad of water issues facing the entire world, and how water crises are linked to one another. By applying a passion for water technology and innovation, David understands the demands of water and helps others to do the same.
Dr. Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute, is a scientist by trade and prefers using books to tell the story of water. His recently published work, The Three Ages Of Water, tells the story of water as far back as the evolution of our solar system.
After college, Tom Ferguson, managing partner of Burnt Island Ventures, was an actor. Now, he uses the lessons that he learned in improv class to help in assessing startups and ensuring success.
A background in technology helps Isaac Pellerin, VP of Marketing at 120Water, remember that data tells a powerful story. Now, he puts that background to good use by helping to create tools that make life easier for water operators.
After retiring from the water industry, Robert Wimmer, former CEO of Aqua-Aerobic Systems, realized he still had a lot more to give back to the business. Now, he emphasizes the importance of having a set of core values in the industry and keeping in mind the 5 P’s: Purpose, Passion, People, Products, and Profit.
When Peter Yolles, founder and managing partner of Echo River Capital, speaks to founders of water tech companies, there is one thing he wants to know: What is their personal “North Star?”
After a career delivering heavy trucks to utilities and using short training videos to educated operators and supervisors, James Blackman, Founder of Vitendo Training Solutions, finally took the plunge to creating that content full-time. Now, he is an educator and advocate utilizing multiple media spaces: newsletters, podcasts, and videos.
After becoming burned out working TV news, Kelley Dearing Smith took on a new challenge with Louisville Water. Now, the VP of Communications and Marketing helps Louisville Water tell stories -- and it all starts with listening.
One of the best ways Joe Zuback, Principal at Global Water Advisors, has found to connect with an audience is to establish commonality with them, and he does so by researching each audience in detail before presenting or speaking.
As a lover of both science and art, Aoife Kelleher, Business Development Manager at BlueTech Research, started her career using art to promote a science gallery, to make it more accessible for more people. Aoife has carried that approach with her in the water industry, including while working on the Netflix documentary “Brave Blue World”.
As an early adopter of the podcasting medium in the water industry, Travis Loop, Founder & Producer of waterloop, uses his platform to focus on and sharing solutions, as well as sharing success stories, and inspiring people to not give up.
After breaking into the water industry with PennWell, Angela Godwin became the face and voice of the industry through her work with Endeavor Business Media, and now as Principal Partner with Rogue Monkey Media.
What does the design aesthetic of a logo tell us about a business? Lorenzo Falzarano, founder of Orb, shares his unique perspective on design and talks about how we validate that our water is safe for use and reuse.
After spending a decade working on the utility side of the industry, Hugh Sinclair, Vice President – National Practice Lead For Asset Management at Arcadis, now spends his time focusing on the people who do the work – the heroes of the industry – and finds that understanding someone’s story is the most effective vehicle to create empathy and context around their collaborative partnerships.
For Mike Wade, Executive Director for the California Farm Water Coalition, spending north of $140,000 in crowdsourced funds for an ad and campaign to get the word out to policymakers and the entire country on the devastating effects of the droughts in the west was worth the cost.
To Michael Stanley Gallisdorfer, affectionately known as MSG, the message for water is simple: Water matters. When sharing water’s story, MSG says to make it simple and direct – and use words that everyone can understand.
For Mary Conley Eggert, Founder of Global Water Works, it’s of the utmost importance to solve the global water crisis in this generation. And that takes everyone working together.
Shea Dunifon, aka Lady Caca, the Education Coordinator for Pinellas County Government finds that the best way to share stories is to start with the basics and keep the message simple.
Candice Jansen, a water sommelier, gives people a water experience worth remembering by hosting water tastings – elevating water the same way we do wine – allowing others to learn the emotional value of water.
Being a steward and educator for the water industry in his community is of the utmost importance for Jeff Kalmes from the Billerica Water Resource Recovery Facility.
For Herve Buisson from Veolia Water Technologies, when it comes to effectively communicating with an audience, it takes listening, looking for non-verbal signals, and being an interesting and engaging presenter.
When it comes to your online presence, you own and control your personal narrative, so says Austin Meyermann, the Water and Wastewater Industry’s Headhunter.
For Trace Blackmore, it’s all about helping others. When you help others, they innately help you, too. The host of the Scaling UP! H2O podcast loves to give and is encouraging others to join him on the World Vision Global 6K for Water, too.
After cutting her teeth in the news business as a journalist and news anchor, Andrea Hay now helps shape the story of the water industry as the Director of Communications for Green Bay Water Utility.
Utilizing her experiences as both an engineer in the water industry and an art history buff, Susan Guswa, from Woodard & Curran, has learned that there is no one way to communicate or share stories and finds value in meeting people where they are to communicate effectively about projects and their importance.
In order to move the irrigation and agriculture industries into the future, Cassandra Toves knows it takes more than just technology to do so. It comes down to relationship-building and knowing how to tell your stories -- and share your content -- with your audiences in different ways.
Between supporting innovation in the water sector and helping engineers learn how to share their stories with utilities, Jen Murphy from Parametrix believes integrity and technical competency paired together help build trust between utilities and engineers.
From conducting webinars to sharing water industry news and tips, Alex Passini from AWC Water Solutions talks about what it takes to build a community.
From engaging polls on LinkedIn to gaining business through social media engagement, Walid Khoury, General Manager for Desalytics, talks about what it takes to be a pro when it comes to engaging with the water industry on social media.
In addition to being a facilitator and connector in local communities with British Water, Lila Thompson also teaches suppliers how to share captivating stories.
Prior to joining Xylem to head up their Innovation Labs, Sivan Zamir cut her teeth on grassroots marketing with water industry startups. In this episode, Sivan shares the tactics and guiding philosophies she developed to get her companies noticed.
When it comes to working with utilities, Cristina Ahmadpour says it all comes down to understanding their story, their goals, and working to build a relationship based on trust and understanding.
When Richard Restuccia started his first Company blog back in 2010, who would have thought that his content syndication efforts would lead to a training and engagement practice now generating over 100,000 views of Jain Irrigation’s podcasts, videos, webinars, and website content.
Recognizing that the majority of sales presentations in the water industry put participants to sleep, Callioni began experimenting with a new breed of engagement – one he refers to as relationship marketing, utilizing modern communication tools and dependent on the deep knowledge from within his organization seldomly shared with others.
How many international models are heading up companies in the water and wastewater industry? As the youngest environmental engineer in New Zealand, Zac MacFarlane is bringing a unique appreciation for aesthetic design to visually showcase the installations and success stories of Clemens Water Engineering and the Pure Group.
Wim Audenaert, CEO and Founder of AM-TEAM, explains the hardware and software tools he uses to translate the deep science behind his company’s mission into commercial value for the water industry. Among other advice, Wim encourages listeners to be authentic and not overthink their narrative.
Recognizing the conservative and technology-focused nature of the water and wastewater industry, Björn Otto shares some of the modern marketing methods he deploys to help companies grow within the context of the water and wastewater market.
John Farner, Chief Sustainability Officer for Netafim and previous Industry Development Director for the Irrigation Association, discusses the importance of being mission-driven in your communication strategy and shares some examples of how to successfully develop and deploy marketing tools and messages built around themes in support of your business development outcomes.
Antoine Walter, Senior Business Development Manager for Georg Fischer, discusses his unique marketing approach with Adam and Jim. As Antoine explains his interest in the topics and guests he engages with to create his (don’t) Waste Water podcast and associated compilation book, his passion for our industry and the method behind his creative and entertaining madness shines out.
As President of Bluefield Research, Reese Tisdale has a unique view of the water sector, interacting with water utilities, vendors, investors, and industrial customers. Reese shares his opinions on who in the water sector is telling their story right and offers up some examples from other industries that those in the water sector could learn from.
The Federal government plays a significant role in water project development, through both funding and regulating the industry. Water sector champion Mae Stevens shares how we as water professionals need to play an important role in influencing our congressional representatives and senators to win support of what we need to advance business opportunities.
As former VP of Technology for San Jose Water, Jeff Hobbs shares his customer view and experience to help vendors stand a better chance of winning a private utility’s attention. Recognizing how difficult it is for vendors to locate the right advocates from within, Hobbs suggests anticipating and then showing up where your customers are looking for information.
Manny Teodoro, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin’s La Follette School of Public Affairs and water/wastewater industry blogger, brings an academic’s unique insight into the world of engaging audience in this lively conversation that touches on “research not me-search”, a 200% email open rate, having something interesting to say and telling it to someone who cares.
Dan Keppen, Executive Director of the Family Farm Alliance, is a seasoned master of engaging diverse stakeholders in support of his cause. In our latest episode, Dan discusses how to develop points of shared value with others and the importance of regular communications in building and informing a robust network.
Melissa Meeker, CEO of The Water Tower, discusses her approach to embracing modern marketing channels to create a more collaborative and interactive union between vendors, utilities and the general public.
Corey Williams, CEO of SmartCover, reflects on his past experience leading Optimatics through a go-to-market transformation. Corey explains how to think differently about learning the why in why your company is in business and the importance of understanding your why before connecting with utilities.
The H2duO explain how budgets shouldn’t limit your creativity in communicating with your customers. Learn how a grassroots communication strategy raised the profile and dollars for Communications by first saving today’s most valuable asset – time.
Peter Fiske, Executive Director at the National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) talks about building a “Tinder for water nerds” and reflects on the importance of delivering valuable content beyond the product from his time as CEO of Pax Water Technologies.
Megan Glover, Founder of 120Water, discusses the inspiration for her innovative startup and the unique approach she has taken to creating an ecosystem of customers based on understanding their informational needs, with a Lego brick or two thrown in for good measure.
George Hawkins, Founder of Moonshot Missions, discusses some of the critical communication hurdles he faced as General Manager of DC Water and outlines an approach to information that any vendor in the water industry could follow.
Paul O’Callaghan, CEO and Founder of BlueTech Research and Brave Blue World Foundation, explains how with no experience in filmmaking, he and his fellow contributors conceived of the Brave Blue World movie to raise the profile of the water industry and how they worked with NETFLIX to take their story worldwide.
Water and wastewater technology vendors have historically struggled to market themselves effectively. Hosts Jim Lauria and Adam Tank interview the industry’s leading communicators who share their secrets and help demystify the art of industrial storytelling to build better brands, engage more customers, and grow sales.