Facing the Next Generation of Urban Wastewater Treatment: Policy Approaches from the USA, Chile and Spain
Wednesday, 29 January, 2025
Fundación Botín, c/ Castelló, 18C, 28001 Madrid, Spain
Christina Babbitt, Water Stewardship Senior Manager, Enterprise Sustainability, Starbucks, USA
Christina Babbitt is the water stewardship senior manager at Starbucks. In her role, Christina serves as the company’s lead water advisor, working across the enterprise and the industry to deliver thought leadership, overarching strategy, deep subject matter expertise and actionable guidance on topics including water, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture. Previously, Christina was program manager, sustainability and innovation, global supply chain at Starbucks, and has also served as Director, Climate Resilient Water Systems at Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked at the intersection of water, agriculture, and climate, with a focus on supporting the successful implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Christina’s past research has focused on water resources management in stressed watersheds across the western U.S., Europe, and eastern Africa. Christina holds a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and a MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Julia Bucknall, Global Director, Environmental and Social Framework, World Bank, USA
Julia Bucknall is a Senior Advisor to the Vice President of the East Africa Region at the World Bank, and is based in Nairobi, Kenya. She focuses on issues of sustainability and environmental risk management. Before that, she has worked as a Global Director for Environment and Manager, Water at the World Bank. She has worked in every region of the world on operations and knowledge relating to environment, water, climate change and energy. She was the lead author of a flagship publication on water in the Middle East “Making the Most of Scarcity” and a core team member for the 2010 World Development Report on Climate Change. She studied at Cambridge University and MIT.
Lucia De Stefano, Universidad Complutense de Madrid & Water Observatory; Water Observatory, Botín Foundation, Spain
Dr. Lucia De Stefano is Associate Professor at Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) and Deputy Director of the Water Observatory of the Botín Foundation, a Spanish think-tank. She has worked as a consultant for USAID, The World Bank, University of Oxford and Oregon State University. She has been senior researcher at the Botín Foundation and postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University, USA. Previously she worked as a policy officer for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and as a water management specialist in the private sector. Hydrogeologist by training, she holds an advanced degree in Geological Sciences from University of Pavia (Italy), and a PhD on water policy evaluation from Complutense University of Madrid. Her main fields of interest are multilevel water planning, drought management, groundwater governance, transboundary waters, and the assessment of good governance attributes.
Ariel Dinar, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside, USA
Ariel Dinar is a Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics and Policy, Emeritus, School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of The Graduate Division, University of California, Riverside. He taught and still conducts research on water related policy and economics aspects. At present he co-leads a study on impact of and adaptation to climate change in California agriculture, and a study on development of a hydro-economic model for the Colorado River Basin to allow the evaluation of policy interventions aimed at sustaining the basin and the water-related activities.
Guillermo Donoso, Professor, Water Law and Management Ctr., Catholic University of Chile, Chile
Guillermo Donoso is a professor at the Department of Agricultural Economics of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and Director of the Water Law and Management Center of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. His research focuses on understanding and modeling agent´s decisions with respect to water resources management and allocation. He has specialized in the research of water institutionality and governance and economic policy instruments applied to water management such as water markets and water pricing, as well as water affordability, fair allocation, and welfare implications of these economic policy instruments. He has worked for more than 25 years on water-related issues in a multidisciplinary context, aimed at comprehensively analyzing water management issues, rather than by a piecemeal silo approach, so as to contribute to agent´s and policy-makers decision, efficient and sustainable management of water, and the design of effective public policies that leaves no one behind. Guillermo is an author or coauthor of more than 40 publications in international water multidisciplinary journals, 2 books and more than 25 book chapters.
Javier García Cañete, Director of Programmes, Botín Foundation, Spain
Dr. García Cañete holds a PhD in Forestry Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The beginning of his professional career took place at the University of Ávila, where he held the position of Vice-Rector for Academic Planning from 1997 to 1999. He has been Deputy Director General of the San Pablo CEU Foundation and President of the Academic Council of the International Business School, until his appointment as Director of the Observatory of Trends and Talent Development Programmes of the Botín Foundation in December 2010.
Alberto Garrido, Professor, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Director, Water Observatory of the Botín Foundation, Spain
Alberto Garrido, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain and Water Observatory of the Botin Foundation, Professor of Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics and Vice-Rector for Academic Strategy and Quality at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). Has a Bachelor Degree (with MSc recognition) in Agricultural Engineering (1989); a Master in Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis (1992) and a Doctoral Degree in Agricultural Economics from the UPM (1996).
Andrea Gerlak, Professor and Director, School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, USA
Andrea K. Gerlak is Director at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and Professor in the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of Arizona. Her research agenda focuses on cooperation and conflict in water governance, including questions of equity and access, institutional change, learning and adaptation. She is an author or co-author of more than 100 publications. Andrea has more two decades of experience leading interdisciplinary environmental studies programs and university-community environmental partnerships. She has consulted on water governance and climate resilience efforts for UNESCO and the WMO.
Glenda Humiston, Vice President, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, USA
As Vice President of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Glenda Humiston brings over 25 years of policy development and program implementation supporting sustainability, including time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia and as a consultant on environmental and agricultural issues throughout the western states. She served President Obama 2009-2015 as the California State Director for USDA Rural Development. From 1998-2001 she served President Clinton as Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment at USDA. Glenda managed the Sustainable Development Institute at the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development in South Africa and the 2006 World Water Forum in Mexico City. She earned her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from UC Berkeley; a Master’s in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis and a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University.
Christian Minelli, Head of the Secretariat
Official at the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA) since 2010, where he has been developing European and International institutional relations on energy and water utility services regulation, at multilateral and bilateral level, and assisting ARERA’s Board Members. ARERA representative in the OECD Network of Economic Regulators, the International Water Association, the Council of European Energy Regulators.
Since 2014 he is the General Coordinator of WAREG the first European association of national and regional agencies responsible for economic regulation of drinking water and wastewater services. Before serving in ARERA, he was policy officer in the Cabinet of the President of the Italian Senate.
Graduated in Diplomacy and International Relations (University of Trieste), European Studies (College of Europe, Bruges), and MBA from SDA Bocconi School of Management (Milan, Italy).
Erik Porse, Director, California Institute for Water Resoruces, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, USA
Dr. Erik Porse is the Director of the California Institute for Water Resources and an Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist within the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Erik is an engineer, environmental scientist, and policy analyst who focuses on water and environmental management. Erik has authored studies on safe drinking water, urban water planning, sustainable groundwater management, flood risk planning, water reuse, environmental finance, and water resource systems analysis. He earned a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (water resources) from the University of California Davis and a Master's degree in Public Policy (Science and Technology) from George Mason University. His professional experience includes international work and teaching in Mexico, Europe, Japan, and East Africa. He has authored over 50 reports and peer-reviewed articles.
Manzoor Qadir, Deputy Director, United Nations University, Canada
Manzoor Qadir is Deputy Director at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). He has over 30 years of experience working on water-related sustainable development through contributions to policy, institutional, and technical aspects of unconventional water resources, wastewater management, water quality and environmental health, and salt-induced land degradation assessment and rehabilitation. Manzoor has implemented multidisciplinary projects with significant capacity development and knowledge-sharing components in the Global South.
Carlos Aragón Cruz, Senior Technician, Sub-directorate for Hydrological Planning, Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Spain
PhD in Environmental Technologies and Master in Integrated Water Management (University of Cádiz, Spain). Carlos Aragón has been working in the water sector for more than 20 years. Before joining the public sector in 2020, he worked in the Centre For New Water Technologies, in Seville, where he led several innovative projects on sustainable technologies for wastewater treatment, mainly targeting small urban agglomerations.
In the public administration, he has been working in the Water Quality Department in the Tagus River Bassin Authority, and now he is member of the Sub-directorate for Hydrological Planning, in the Directorate General for Water. He works in the Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment Department and is involved in the data reporting to the EU Commission, the tracking of infringement procedures for failure to fully comply with the obligations set in the UWWTD, and, in the revision of the UWWT Directive and its implementation.
He is author of several publications regarding wastewater treatment and sewage sludge management. He co-authored the Manual for the Implementation of Wastewater treatment systems for small agglomerations, published by the Ministry for the Environment in 2010.
Soroosh Sorooshian, Forum Chair and Distinguished Professor, University of California Irvine, USA
Soroosh Sorooshian is the Distinguished Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth system science; Samueli Chair in Engineering; and Director, HSSoE Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) at the University of California, Irvine. He is the current Chair of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and former Chair of the Scientific Steering Group (SSG) of the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). Sorooshian is a member of NAE; Fellow, AMS, AGU, IUGG, IAA, IWRA, EURASC, TWAS; and foreign member Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). His expertise is in hydrology, water resources systems engineering and remote sensing applications in hydrology.