Sept. 28, 2025

Meet the Hydro20: Wavemakers for Water Sustainability

Introducing the Hydro20, a group of twenty individuals celebrated for driving change, disrupting norms, and doing good for water sustainability across the United States.

The Hydro20 is an initiative of waterloop, a nonprofit news outlet, and was announced during Climate Week NYC at the Rethinking Water conference hosted by Columbia University.

The inaugural Hydro20 Honorees:

πŸ’§ Jorge Richardson – Founder, HOPE Hydration (Access)

πŸ’§ Richard Diaz – Infrastructure Field Manager, BlueGreen Alliance (Advocacy)

πŸ’§ Seth Watkins – Farmer, Pinkhook Farm (Agriculture)

πŸ’§ Britton Smith – Lead Singer, Britton and the Sting (Arts)

πŸ’§ Dan Tudesco – Associate Director of Community Water Systems, Brita (Business)

πŸ’§ Teal Lehto – Western Water Girl (Communications)

πŸ’§ Jerry Holden – Director – Southern Region, Ducks Unlimited (Conservation)

πŸ’§ Dana Okano – Director, Hawaii Environmental Finance Center (Finance)

πŸ’§ Tom Gamble – Owner & Operator, Gamble Estates (Food & Beverage)

πŸ’§ Shanna Yazzie – Manager, Safety & Compliance, DigDeep (Frontlines)

πŸ’§ Rachel Brown – Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of the Interior (Government)

πŸ’§ Lorelei Cloud – Vice Chairman, Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council (Indigenous)

πŸ’§ Alaina Harkness – CEO, Current (Innovation)

πŸ’§ Carletta Davis – President, We Matter Community Association (Justice)

πŸ’§ Manny Teodoro – Professor of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Policy)

πŸ’§ Raha Hakimdavar – CEO, Zyon Space; Professor, Georgetown University (Science)

πŸ’§ Omar Mitchell – VP of Sustainable Infrastructure and Growth Initiatives, National Hockey League (Sports)

πŸ’§ Greg Newbloom – Founder & CEO, Membrion (Technology)

πŸ’§ Aaron Tartakovsky – CEO, Epic Cleantec (Treatment)

πŸ’§ Aaron Kirkland – Superintendent, Green Stormwater Operations, Philadelphia Water Department (Utility)

Watch the Hydro20 announcement video and explore individual honoree profiles and videos at www.hydro20.org.

The Hydro20 is presented in partnership with Sciens Water and sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund, Antea Group, and Human Capital Solutions.

waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for water sustainability.