Hey everyone, we are Stephanie Zavala and Arianne Shipley aka the H2duO. Thank you for joining us for the very first episode of Water in Real Life. Every Monday, we’ll be releasing a new episode. Our content will shift between interviews with thought leaders from inside and outside of the water industry, to solo shows or rather, conversations between Arianne and I that will highlight a resource we feel will benefit you as you work to tell your story to your customers.

Our first nine episodes will be interviews with the speakers from Catalyst. Catalyst is a mastermind summit we are co-hosting with the San Antonio Water System, the Texas section of the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Association of Texas. The event will take place June 20-22, 2018 in San Antonio. The speaker lineup is diverse and includes well known water rockstars like George Hawkins, former general manager at DC Water, now founder of his own company Moonshot. We’ll also be chatting with thought leaders from the marketing industry, film, and the academia world. To fit everyone in prior to the summit, we’ll be releasing two episodes a week, one on Monday and one on Wednesday.

In July, we’ll begin with our regularly scheduled weekly releases that will hit iTunes or your podcast player of choice every Monday.

In case you’re wondering “who are the H2duO” that would be me and Arianne. We both worked for municipal water utilities for ten years before we made the difficult decision to leave behind the jobs we loved and forge our own path in the industry. We’ve seen first hand the power of building relationships in the communities we serve and we measure this impact in stories.

We’re both passionate about the men and women that serve their communities in water utilities. Arianne and I share similar origin stories that include being inspired by the hard work they put in daily to ensure public health. Be sure to check out our stories and see how they compare to your own water story.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter @THE_H2duO and Instagram the_h2duo. We believe in open source knowledge and we love to share the people, places, and resources that inspire, instruct, and incite us to action. To be a part of this sharing of knowledge, please subscribe to our mailing list.

Tom Ferguson is the Vice President of Programming for Imagine H2O, a nonprofit organization empowering people to deploy and develop innovation to solve water challenges globally. Imagine H2O’s accelerator program picks 12 startup companies for over 200 applications from 36 countries. The chosen accelerator companies receive customer validation, industry visibility, investor access and mentorship opportunities.

Three Key Points:

1. Communication is incredibly important to the vitality of the water industry in today’s environment.
2. It’s ok to have fun with water. How a little bit of irreverence, showing you have personality and can have fun, can be a differentiating factor that allows you to cut through the noise.
3. A colorful elevator pitch for the value of water.

Check out Imagine H2O and learn about the twelve companies currently in the accelerator program that are truly changing the world of water. If you have the opportunity, consider attending the Imagine H2O Innovation Forum and Gala in 2019. Sign up to receive updates here.

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 bringing the podcast to the attention of others. We give a shoutout to everyone who rates the podcast with 5 stars in future episodes.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Thank you for sharing some of your time with us. We know how precious those minutes are. Share your story, you never know who needs to hear it and remember, “Those who tell the stories, rule the world.”

Travis Loop is the Director of Communication and Public Outreach for the Water Environment Federation. Professionally, he has nearly 20 years of experience in media and communications. Travis is the host of the WEF Words On Water podcast. He previously served as Director of Communications for the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as the speechwriter and a communications manager for the Governor of Hawaii. Aloha!!  Travis also worked for eight years in the media as a newspaper reporter and editor in North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Hawaii.

Three Key Points:

1. Allowing others to tell our story adds credibility to the story we tell about ourselves.
2. Whether it’s crafting the content of your messaging or in media training, keeping a laser focus on what information your audience wants to hear is key. Write for them, not for you.
3. This industry can be stressful. Channel your inner duck–let it just roll off your back and just keep paddling forward.

Resources Mentioned:

Words on Water Podcast

Blue Mind: The Surprising Science that Shows How Being Near, In, On or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do By: Wallace J. Nichols

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 bringing the podcast to the attention of others. We give a shoutout to everyone who rates the podcast with 5 stars in future episodes.

Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_H2duO or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast

If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.

Thank you for sharing some of your time with us. We know how precious those minutes are. Share your story, you never know who needs to hear it and remember, “Those who tell the stories, rule the world.”