Thank you to each and every one of you for joining us on this incredible podcast journey. This is not the end, just a branch in a new direction. Please stay tuned. There's more to come!

When was the last time you left a water conference session feeling moved by the dialogue and perspectives presented? Stephanie was fortunate to experience that rare conference high during both iterations of the Young Professional (YP) panel at UMC2021 in Atlanta and UMC2022 in Orlando. You can catch the summary in the April 2022 AWWA Journal article here. Stephanie was most impressed by the panel's ability to create a safe space where people felt comfortable enough to engage and have a...

Kathy made a post on LinkedIn that reminded us how absolutely necessary it is for the water sector to recognize the customer service staff in our utilities that have been walking side by side with our customers throughout a global pandemic. This episode is shout out to them and their stories. We all need a regular reminder of how important customer service reps are to utility work. Most importantly, we can learn from Kathy about how to support customer service reps while they take care of...

Karyn A. Riley, Esq. first splashed into the water sector 7 years ago after landing on the government relations team at WSSC Water. Since then, she has emerged as a key voice on the sector’s role in leveraging its widespread impact in community engagement and equitable economic development. Join us in this conversation that demonstrates the value communication and outreach brings to ALL utility staff and operations—not just communicators and communication initiatives. Top takeaways: How...

Top Takeaways: The top three issues concerning state revolving funds.Data and its role in shaping policy around affordability and equity. Communication and how it can be a tool to ensure no one is left behind in infrastructure planning.Ways that the state revolving fund conversation is initiating change in other areas of the water sector. Resources for small to mid size communities to get assistance for funding. Resources: Katy Hansen, [email protected] Tee...

"What you don't do with us, you do to us." This is a truth Trina shared with us about how our customers feel when we don't communicate with them the purpose, intention, and value of the work we do.  Top Takeaways: Tips on how to use the infrastructure bill as a conversation starter with the community.Humanizing how we communicate.Communication metrics.Tips on how to make the most of outsourcing communication work.and of course BRANDING!! Meet Trina Trina is an award-winning public relations...

Mae breaks down the details of the Infrastructure Bill specifically tailored to the water sector. We discuss actionable ways utilities can use this bill as a tool to open dialogues with all of their stakeholders including elected officials, advocacy groups, and customers. Check it out! Meet Mae: Mae Stevens is an Executive Vice President at Signal Group and the Chair of Signal Water. Mae provides strategic environmental and infrastructure policy expertise to a diverse range of corporate,...

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/water-in-real-life-mike-beitler-scaled.jpg () Mike has been schooling us on the rules of design and creativity for six years. These rules set up every project for success by building clarity and bridging the gaps between a client's vision and the best design/creative solution to solve the actual problem. Mike's insight helps non creatives be better equipped and know what to expect when working together. He shares the "why" behind our...

As entrepreneurs, we've learned to listen to our intuition and when something feels right Arianne says she feels it in her bones. However, intuition and gut feelings shouldn't drive your communication strategy. Dr. Coy Callison heads the research lab at Texas Tech University's Communication Research Center where they run a variety of experiments to test the effectiveness of different communication assets. During our chat we discuss: The complexity of attitude formation, behavior, and...

Innovation is a buzzword beyond the water industry. We met with our innovation guru, Cristina Ahmadpour, and broke open the buzz to get to the nitty-gritty. We discussed concrete ways organizations can create cultures of innovation that result in increased deployment of innovative practices and technologies. Guess what...communication is a key component. Culture change, gaining buy-in for your innovation program, collaboration, and creativity all require an ability to not only communicate...

Watch the episode. Kelley and her team at Louisville Water Company are a dynamite case study in branding, public engagement, research for the sector. Get your pen/paper/note-taking app of your choice and get ready to take some notes. As fans of design thinking, Kelley's team also demonstrates what design thinking practices look like in real life. If we want to build public trust, we have to follow her lead, get up, and get out in the community. This Queen of Water Branding has an awesome...

You can't say we're not down to try new things. This was a fun one. We can't promise you an eye-opening communication or leadership takeaway but we can promise some legit entertainment. Would you believe we did a tarot card reading for communication's impact in the water industry? Yes, our dear friend and co-conspirator Duke Greenhill (episodes 4,65,105) took us on a journey. While tarot card readings are usually either punchlines or plot twists in movies, ours was actually pretty fun and...

“Science informs sound-decision making. Storytelling inspires change. Science, not storytelling, should drive policy and management in the water sector, but we need both to ensure safe & affordable water.” - Manny Teodoro Join the H2duO and Manny Teodoro for this conversation about citizen-based brand equity and its power to influence public trust, messaging for rate increases, the role of politics in water issues, and some hard truths about inequities in drinking water...

Did you know that creativity plays a vital role in your resiliency?  According to a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, creativity encourages positive emotions that unlock our inner resources for dealing with stress and uncertainty. Being "creative" regularly helps build your creative resilience; the capacity to generate and act on positive solutions under the pressures of challenges and change. Creativity requires time and space to reflect and experiment. Have you been...

Stephanie recently attended her first in-person conference in 18 months. The question of the day - "How have you been?" The standard reply - "Good, busy." At our Virtual Catalyst 2021, our focus was on the communicator (the person) versus the end product they create. Why? Because when we're not operating at full capacity, our work suffers, our culture suffers, and the people we serve suffer. In this candid episode, we put down our "fine," "good," and "busy" replies and opened up about...

The H2duO chat with a panel of experts about ways to level up the annual water quality reports. Hear feedback from various stakeholder groups through the research conducted by the Environmental Policy and Innovation Center (EPIC) team. Seasoned communication and marketing professionals weigh in on the power of the CCR to build public trust plus learn how collaboration across states can benefit our community members. Watch the episode on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube. Check out EP105...

The H2duO chat with Doug about the biggest misconceptions people have about adult learning, ways to overcome those challenges, and tools to build clarity. Meet Doug Kueker, Co-Founder and Director of Learning Services at Vivayic. Doug is the steward of Vivayic’s Learning Solution Model™, which defines Vivayic’s unique approach to helping organizations use learning as a key strategy to advance their mission. In this role, he provides leadership to Vivayic’s team as they work to apply their...

Meet Chris Pacione, CEO and Co-Founder of LUMA Institute. He’s passionate about universal design literacy, and he’s a frequent speaker on the topics of design and innovation around the world. He is co-author of the LUMA System and the book “Innovating for People.” Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities. Check out the video recording of our chat on the Rogue Water Lab YouTube channel....

Learn why Chris believes all of us are designers and how that empowers us to transform our mindsets to achieve greater impact for our communities.

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Podcast1021_SpecialEdition_1077x366.jpg () In this special #ImagineADayWithoutWater edition, the H2duO chat with Mae Stevens, Executive Vice President at Signal Group, about what the different possible #Election2020 outcomes mean for the water industry. We also chat about the incredible importance of knowing your audience and tailoring your message to them and the special bipartisan PAC she established with the goal of getting more...

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/water-in-real-life-the-h2duo-ep100.png () The H2duO get real with their mentor Greg Wukasch (San Antonio Water System) when he turns the mic on them to talk about the H2duO in real life. Stephanie and Arianne talk about the entrepreneur rollercoaster, their friendship, and their own personal journeys. Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in...

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/water-in-real-life-george-hawkins-nathan-ohle.png () As we gear up to drop our 100th episode, we let George Hawkins (CEO/Founder of Moonshot Missions) and Nathan Ohle (CEO of Rural Community Assistance Partnership) turn the mics on us. It's been fun to do this a few times along our podcast journey, but having a candid conversation like this right before such a major milestone was timely and fun. We want to thank each and every one of our...

https://www.theh2duo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/water-in-real-life-pinellas-county-utilities.png () Shea Dunifon is the Education Coordinator for the South Cross Bayou Advanced Water Reclamation Facility in St. Petersburg, FL. Since 2017, she has led the education program’s facility tours, classroom presentations, and participation in regional STEM-based events. While the program interacts with over 40,000 citizens of the community each year, it is a popular resource amongst teachers and...