River Rally 2026 has ended

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River Rally 2026

Welcome to River Rally 2026

3:15pm CDT

Activating Our Urban Waterways (Wild Mile Case Study) GorazZachary Damato Community-Led Grantmaking: What’s Funded When the Community Leads? LantanaTricia Cortez • Monica Lewis-Patrick • Brenda Coley • Sharon Bagley • Jessie Fuentes • Sharee Harrison • Arthur Johnson • Dr. Bernard Singleton Data Center Deluge: What You Actually Need to Know Camino RealRyan Anderson • Ellen Kohler, JD, MS • Margaret Cook, PhD From Listening to Co-Creation: Insights From a Community-Centered Municipal Planning Process in Austin, Texas ZapataJanis Bookout • Tymon Khamsi • Kelly Gagnon Learn the Tools of the Clean Water Act and How to Use Them to Mobilize Advocates and Protect Clean Water OlivaresMarie Campbell • Christine Favilla • Colleen McGuire • Becky Smith Managing Floodplains to Improve Community Vitality, Build Resilience, and Mitigate Risk EncinoLacey Davis • Brian Murphy • Eileen Shader Ready for Prime Time: Media Training 101 VillaPatrick Williams (He/Him) • Brandon Hayes (he/him) Transitions and Flows: An Honest Dialogue on the Challenges of Today’s Water Sector Careers SabinoHira Ahmad • Mariah Davis

10:30am CDT

Crafting Effective Water Messaging: From Research to Real-World Application SabinoLindsey Bacigal • Sinjin Eberle • Nicole Lampe Critical Infrastructure: Building Local Leadership for Climate Resilience OlivaresJackie Baham • Juan Lazo Bautista • Hannah Mico • Diamond Spratling I Wanna Be Where the People Are: Communications as Community Building Camino RealBrandon Hayes (he/him) • Frida Ramirez Protected Rivers Explorer: Using Science & Data to Advance Meaningful Protection Initiatives ZapataMike Fiebig • David Moryc • John Zablocki Protecting Waters of the United States EncinoMarie Campbell • Jennifer Western Hauser • Jim Murphy • Kristine Oblock • Jennifer Peters The Rivers Speak Pajalate, Kinships in Coahuiltecan Lands VillaAnua Reyes

1:30pm CDT

Diving Further Into the Clean Water Act - Part 2! LantanaDr. Mila Marshall, PhD • Val Z. Schull • Sarah Edwards • Becky Hammer • Rachel Conn • Zach Hennessee From SRFs to Systems Change: Building Power in the South for Water Investment SabinoMarie Campbell • Usman Mahmood • Kennedy Moore • Portia Shepherd • Yasmin Zaerpoor Governance, Community Engagement, and Power: Threats and Opportunities in the Data Center Boom EncinoRyan Anderson • Ben Hirsch • Charles Miller How Do Rivers Shape Our Worlds? A Pakahua Perspective VillaGary Perez • Matilde Torres-Romero Reimagining the EPA: Environmental Justice & Protection for the 21st Century Camino RealDimple Chaudhary • Katy Lackey • Emily Simonson Trees, Jobs, and Quality of Life: Practical Ways to Restore Rivers and Communities OlivaresDawn Curtis • Yelitza Garcia • Tara Tran What's Your Superpower? Change Agent Training with Britton Smith ZapataBritton Smith

3:15pm CDT

Brown meets Blue: Reimagining Brownfields for Water Resilience ZapataOzzy Meneses, AICP • Jalisa Gilmore, MPH • Ari Snow • Jessica Swindon • Alex Tiscareño Clean Water Advocates Unite: Let's work together to protect our waters! OlivaresJenifer Collins • Julian Gonzalez • Martin Castro • Ellen Kohler, JD, MS Including Indigenous Worldviews in Texas Water Work: A Two-eyed Perspective LantanaSabrina Chapa Partnerships, Patience, and Participation - A Water Affordability Panel from Three Expert Perspectives SabinoAnna-Lisa Gonzales Castle • Erin Kanzig • David Wheaton • Greg Wukasch Reimagining the EPA: Environmental Justice & Protection for the 21st Century Camino RealDimple Chaudhary • Katy Lackey • Emily Simonson Resilience on the River: Lessons from Urban Restoration and the Community That Tended It VillaKaiya Giuliano-Monroy Zine Making 101: Telling the Stories of Our Rivers EncinoElizabeth Balladares • Christina Carrero • Amanda Thackray

4:15pm CDT

Beyond the Climate Disaster: Building Recovery That Doesn't Leave Communities Behind OlivaresElizabeth Balladares • Gloria McNair • Jacqueline (Jackie) Rogers Building Blocks of Trust: Proven Strategies to Build Trust Between Local Water Organizations and Water Utilities EncinoApril Ingle • Julianna Roseo Co-piloting your organization during turbulent times VillaBrenna Goggin HAPPY HOUR: Natural Floodplains Function Alliance ZoccaBrian • American Rivers Rising with the River: Building Leadership Pathways and Support for Emerging Leaders of Color LantanaDr. Angela Chalk, DHA, GIP • Felice E. Green Start Making Sense: EPIC’s New DWSRF Funding Tracker SabinoDanielle Goshen Stewards of Tomorrow: Indigenous-Led Water Protections in the Southeast ZapataKurt Naquin • Giancarlo Richardson • Beth Roach Unpacking “Capacity Building”: The What, Why, and How of our Sector’s Most Overused Phrase Camino RealHannah Mico • Emily Vail