MEET THE TEAM
The WaterRising Institute team is comprised of experienced professionals from the private, public and philanthropy that are committed about solving the current water quality issues in coastal communities and the relationship to public health.
Through our partnership the Institute carries out the statutory duties, coordinates strategy execution and manages overall operations for the people, partners and stakeholders who we are in service of.
Lori is also a board member of Digital Wish, a nonprofit on a mission to solve the digital divide for the 11 million U.S. students without internet access. Wife, mother of five, experiential learner and author of an upcoming book on the hidden lives of women in STEM.
Current Challenges
The 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change aimed to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.5, degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. But we are not on track. The estimates are that there is a 20% chance that global warming will reach 1.5 degrees already in the next five years. At the end of the century, warming might reach 4 degrees or even more.
Water resources are most affected by the impacts of climate change. It threatens the capacity to deliver safe water to people, sustain production of food and other goods, protect rivers and oceans, as well as protect people and assets from flooding. The impacts of climate change are exacerbated by the overuse of water resources both in quantity and in their capacity to absorb pollution. Sound water management underlies the achievement of most of the SDGs. We need to urgently deliver outcomes.
WaterRising Institute
The project has a people-centered approach to drive behaviour changes through art and communication, and aims to inform consumers, inspire industries, and guide investments through improved water intelligence (i.e.: information that drives action towards protecting water) progressively better.
The Phase 1 of the project focuses on the fashion industry and in the first step on the narrow topic of microplastics, as it enables to touch on both the supply chain and on consumer behaviours (through their purchasing choices, or how often they wash their clothes and at which temperature…). The subsequent communication campaigns will leverage other elements of water intelligence to protect water. The project is currently developing a partnership with the City of Milan and the Italian Fashion Association and planning to grow the partnership to a few fashion cities who will lead the movement.