Water Security: Local, National, & Global Perspectives

Gabriel Sidman
Climate Change Specialist, World Bank Group

Gabriel is a natural resources management professional focusing on climate change and watershed management. At the World Bank’s Water Global Practice, Gabriel helps World Bank projects in developing countries around the world contribute to climate change mitigation and reduce the risk of climate shocks such as floods and droughts. Before joining the World Bank, Gabriel worked at the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) where he evaluated the effectiveness of the GEF’s projects in water security, climate resilience and artisanal and small-scale gold mining. He was also a climate change specialist at Winrock International, focusing on climate change mitigation results based-payments programs in the forestry sector and ecosystem services accounting using spatial analysis. He has a master’s degree in Watershed Hydrology from the University of Arizona where he used geospatial watershed models to assist rapid response to post-wildfire flood events. Before his master’s studies, Gabriel served as a Peace Corps volunteer living in a cloud forest in Honduras for two and a half years, where he first became intrigued with how water connects communities across a catchment area.

Dr. John Matthews
Executive Director, Alliance for Gloal Water Adaptation

John has been working at the intersection of water with climate adaptation and resilience since 2007. His work explores how we define, develop, and accelerate the best practices and policies for climate resilience.

John started and led WWF’s freshwater climate adaptation program in 2007 before co-founding the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) in 2010, where he remains the Executive Director. He has led the development of a variety of climate risk reduction methodologies that have been used in dozens of countries, prepared green bond criteria that have certified more than 20 billion USD in water resilience investments across six continents, and advised well over 100 countries on their national climate commitments. He has published on many aspects of climate resilience for scientific, popular, and technical audiences.

Current work includes developing a new generation of resilience indicators, leading the development and implementation of a national climate planning tool, working with businesses to incorporate resilience within operations, heading a program to engage macroeconomic planners and central bankers to blend resilience with traditional economic evaluation approaches, and contributing to large-scale technical climate risk assessments.

Beyond AGWA, John is a Senior Water Fellow at Colorado State University and Water Resources Courtesy Faculty at Oregon State University, an advisor to the Shockwave Foundation and Water.org, and on the board of Living in Kindness. John received a doctorate in ecology, evolution, and behavioral ecology from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Bachelor of Arts in ethnomusicology from the University of Chicago. Before becoming a freshwater ecologist, John worked as a book editor in publishing for 12 years. He lives in Corvallis, Oregon, with his wife and son. 

Dr. Nathaniel Hitt
Senior Scientist, West Virginia Rivers Coalition

Than is a 10th generation West Virginian and freshwater biologist with expertise in fisheries, water quality, climate change, and open-science strategies. He received his BA from the College of Wooster, MS from the University of Montana, and PhD from Virginia Tech. From 2009 to 2024 he was a fish biologist with the US Geological Survey in Kearneysville WV, and he currently is the Senior Scientist with the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. His presentation will address the science of water security and conservation with a focus on Appalachia.

Maria Russo
Clean Water Campaign Coordinator, West Virginia Rivers Coalition

Maria was raised on a small farm in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, where she developed her love for the natural environment and her passion for protecting all things beautiful. Maria attended Brown University, earning Bachelor’s Degrees in both Public Policy and Latin American Studies. 

Maria is passionate about responsible policymaking and centering directly impacted people in decision-making processes. Early in her career, Maria worked on restorative drug policy and criminal justice campaigns, supporting grassroots organizing efforts in various forms. Across sectors, Maria has led strategic initiatives, managed large-scale projects, facilitated iterative design processes, and effectively engaged stakeholders across various identities. 

More recently, Maria worked as a Lobbyist with the West Virginia Environmental Council, helping to pass the PFAS Protection Act and other legislation that supports environmental protection in the state of WV. 

As the Clean Water Campaign Coordinator, Maria hopes to combine policy progress with community engagement to ensure effective participation in shaping the future we hope to see. In her downtime, you can find Maria walking barefoot through the woods at Sistermoon Farm, listening to live music, or floating down the river with friends.