Water is the environmental issue Americans care about most, so why does it still struggle to break through the news cycle?

In this episode of the Make Water Work / Catalyst Collab, Isaac Pellerin and Chelsea Boozer (Executive Director, Rogue Water Lab) sit down with Sarah Bucci, Director of Strategic Communications at The Water Hub, to unpack why water coverage gets stuck in silos, jargon, and crisis-only headlines, and what it actually takes to tell a story that sticks.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why public apathy isn't the problem, water consistently polls as the environmental issue people care about most

• How siloed categories (drinking water, stormwater, wastewater) disconnect from how people actually experience water

• Findings from the Water Hub's 2025 media scan, including a 25% drop in climate-change mentions in water supply coverage

• Why trust and relationships are a core communications function, not a soft add-on

• Behind the scenes of the Water Hub's Water Infrastructure campaign, illustrations, animation, and influencer partnerships that turned funding announcements into a bigger story

• Why data center water use is opening unexpected doors for public conversation

• A first-hand account of Catalyst 2025 in Milwaukee, and what's ahead for Catalyst San Diego, August 31–September 3, 2026

If you work in water communications, utility affairs, or public engagement, this conversation will change how you think about the stories you're not telling yet.

Connect with Sarah Bucci: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-bucci-15146820/

Learn more about the Water Hub: waterhub.org

Learn more about Catalyst 2026: catalysth2o.org

Like, subscribe, and drop a comment: what's your water story?

#MakeWaterWork #WaterCommunications #Catalyst2026 #WaterHub #PublicTrust #WaterIndustry #StrategicCommunications

Most water networks feel like a tight-knit community. The data says otherwise.

In this episode of the Make Water Work Catalyst Collab, host Isaac Pellerin sits down with George Schuler — co-founder of Connecting for Change, systems strategist, and Catalyst 2026 guide — to explore what's actually happening inside the water sector's most critical relationships, networks, and institutions. George has spent nearly three decades mapping how influence, trust, and coordination move through complex systems. What he's found should change how every water professional thinks about collaboration.

In this episode:

• Why the formal structure and the lived structure of most water organizations have quietly drifted apart — and what that gap costs us

• How George built a board game with The Nature Conservancy to force the conversations that data alone could never start

• What a network analysis of the 2023 UN Water Conference revealed about how fragile the global water network actually is

• The institutional incentives that quietly prevent nonprofits, utilities, and funders from truly collaborating — even when they want to

• Why "relational infrastructure" is the missing investment in the water sector

• The Delaware River Basin story: what happens when the people who hold the trust relationships retire

• How Gmail's early growth is a blueprint for building bridges in the water movement

Attend Catalyst 2026 — San Diego, August 31–September 3

Reserve your seat at catalysth2o.org

George is one of the guides at Catalyst, the immersive experience for water communicators hosted by Rogue Water Lab.

Connect with George Schuler:

Website: georgeschuler.me

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/georgeschuler

Connect with Make Water Work:

Subscribe, leave a review, and follow along for new episodes in the Catalyst Collab series every week leading up to the conference.

#MakeWaterWork #CatalystCollab #WaterSector #WaterCommunication #NetworkAnalysis #PublicTrust #Catalyst2026 #WaterLeadership #ConnectingForChange #WaterInfrastructure #SystemsThinking

In this episode of the Make Water Work & Catalyst Collab, Isaac sits down with Lily Lopez, Director of External Affairs and Sustainability at Walnut Valley Water District and founder of Latinas in Water, a growing professional community built to connect and empower Latina women across the water sector. Lily is also a co-host of Catalyst 2026, where Walnut Valley Water District joins as a presenting partner.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Lily went from a PR firm in downtown LA to a director-level role in water — without the traditional background

• Why curiosity is the one quality that separates communicators who thrive in the water sector

• The founding story of Latinas in Water — what gap she noticed, and why she built it with longevity in mind

• What Catalyst has meant to Lily's career, her team, and the communicators she brings with her each year

• How the 2026 theme of "showing up" connects to the larger challenge of earning a seat at the executive table

• What Lily hopes every attendee walks away from Catalyst 2026 feeling

Catalyst 2026 takes place August 31–September 3 in San Diego at the Westgate Hotel. Learn more and reserve your spot at catalysth2o.org.

🔗 Connect with Lily Lopez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-lopez-h2o/

🔗 Learn more about Catalyst 2026: catalysth2o.org

#MakeWaterWork #CatalystCollab #WaterIndustry #WaterCommunications #LatinaLeadership #WaterSector