Episode 37: Balance & Belonging

In this episode of Talking Under Water, One Water, One Podcast, hosts Lauren Del Ciello, Katie Johns and Bob Crossen explore how the Biden administration may impact the water sector and provide updates on the Lead & Copper Rule revisions discussed in last month’s episode. The hosts also briefly share water industry efforts and resources pushing diversity and inclusion. Finally, the interview this month is with Andrea Hall, senior director of diversity and inclusion for Brown & Caldwell. Crossen spoke with Hall about diversity and inclusion, creating safe spaces to have challenging conversations, and the importance of confronting issues about race, diversity and inclusion. Show Notes: Biden 'freeze' of Trump rules could halt environmental rollbacks National coalition pushes for investment in aging water infrastructure Water Industry D&I Efforts & Resources: EPA Welcomes Members of the Biden-Harris Leadership Team Xylem Earns Top Marks for Equality From Human Rights Campaign WQA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council Balance and Belonging Balance and Belonging at Atlassian Timestamps: Cold open: (0:00) Host introduction: (0:23) Regulatory freeze affects the Lead & Copper Rule Revision: (1:08) 200 organizations call on Biden Administration to advance infrastructure funding: (3:16) Diversity & Inclusion news across the industry: (6:06) Introducing this month’s guest, Andrea Hall: (7:26) Why is diversity & inclusion important for the water industry?: (8:41) What do we lose by ignoring discussion on race, diversity & inclusion?: (10:09) How can water utilities, engineering firms, water treatment businesses, etc. be advocates for change?: (12:29) How simple solutions can solve complex problems: (14:28) How to create safe spaces to have difficult conversations on race, diversity & inclusion in professional settings: (15:18) Effort and investment in expanding perspective are crucial: (19:19) What is Brown & Caldwell doing on the D&I front and how can others get involved?: (22:31) Reframing diversity & inclusion to balance & belonging: (25:47) The power of feeling like you belong: (27:49) Unpacking the interview with host thoughts and discussion: (29:17) Housekeeping: (30:28) End: (33:16) Videos: WQP: bit.ly/wqp-checking-in WWD: bit.ly/wwdweeklydigest SWS: https://bit.ly/SWSVideoSeries1 Call for Nominations: WWD: bit.ly/wwdyoungprosnomination Events: The Scranton Gillette Communications Water Group, which includes Water & Wastes Digest and Storm Water Solutions, is bringing a Water Pavillion to The UtilityExpo Sept. 28 to 30, 2021 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Look out for a call for abstracts soon. SWS, WWD & WQP are partnering once again with Global Water Works to bring you a new webinar series. The series kicks off on February 23 at 1 p.m. CT and will discuss digital pathways to resilience. You can register at bit.ly/GWWSeries1 About the Podcast Talking Under Water is the premier podcast for the water industry, including municipal and industrial water and wastewater, residential water treatment, storm water management and erosion control. It is produced in coordination between Water & Wastes Digest (WWD), Water Quality Products (WQP) and Storm Water Solutions (SWS). The podcast covers topics under the One Water movement including the municipal and industrial water and wastewater, point of use, point of entry, residential, storm water and erosion control markets. Talking Under Water highlights news, trends, new technologies, industry discussions and on-site interviews with experts for WWD, WQP and SWS. Logo Images: Anatoly Tiplyashin / Romolo Tavani / stock.adobe.com. Contact the Talking Under Water podcast editors by emailing [email protected] or engaging with them on Twitter @TUWpodcast. Join the conversation by commenting or using the hashtag #talkingunderwaterpod on social media.