Claire Francis Beveridge, PhD, PE

I enjoy leading organizations and activities that foster cross-cutting dialogue and collective action across water-related research disciplines as well as between researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders

I strive to help other water researchers and practitioners understand the multiple facets of water which span science, engineering, policy, society, culture, and economics. I also aim to help others effectively communicate with specialists from other fields as well as the broader public. I believe these skills are critical in order for us to successfully address the growing water challenges across the world. More details about my leadership experience are below.

Freshwater Initiative at University of Washington

The UW Freshwater Initiative is a joint student-faculty network that fosters interdisciplinarity, community, collaboration, and public outreach. I led the Initiative from 2017-2020, and my contributions included the following:

- Established the graduate student component of the Initiative.
- Recruited and managed graduate student steering committee, and served as primary liaison to faculty steering committee.
- Led the 2018-19 "Freshwater Exploration Series on Dams." The series consisted of (1) a tour of a hydroelectric project (photo to the bottom right); (2) a student research roundtable; and (3) an expert panel discussion. Participants included 60 students and practitioners from the physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and engineering. I also wrote the successful proposal for the Series to be funded as a "Graduate Research Cluster" by the UW Simpson Center for Humanities.
- Helped to develop activities such as WaterHackWeek, a quarterly newsletter publication, and joint student-faculty meetings.

Here, I (standing at podium) am introducing the Freshwater Initiative graduate student steering committee at our first student mixer.

Students and tour guides on our field trip to the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project as part of the Freshwater Exploration Series on Dams.

Junior and Mid-level Professionals program at CH2M (Oakland, CA office)

During my time as an environmental engineering consultant at CH2M (now Jacobs), I was an officer leader of the Junior and Mid-level Professionals program (JuMP) in its inaugural years. As an office leader, I did the following:

- Organized ongoing professional development, community-building, and service activities for 50+ staff in the three local Bay Area offices.
- Served as a liaison to the national executive board and other office leads, helping to steer the direction of the new nationwide JuMP program.

Engineers Without Borders-USA at UC Berkeley

Engineers Without Borders (EWB)-USA is a nonprofit humanitarian organization. It is dedicated to developing and implementing long-term sustainable engineering solutions in communities that lack access to basic needs. During my undergraduate years at UC Berkeley I was a leader of the student chapter. My contributions included the following:

- Co-founded the chapter and held various chapter leadership roles over four years including Co-President and Treasurer.
- Co-authored proposal which successfully procured chapter’s first project of household water supply/treatment in two rural communities of Southern Peru. The communities relied on arsenic-laden groundwater as their primary water supply source. We worked with the community members and local partners (health, government, and non-government agencies) to develop and implement appropriate solutions.
- Traveled to Peruvian communities for three weeks to collect well samples, test household filters, and meet with community members and local partners.
- Spearheaded the "groundwater research team" which analyzed data from ~50 groundwater wells in order to better understand the distribution of local arsenic contamination.

Testing an arsenic filter design with some of the EWB-USA student team members in the lab at UC Berkeley.

Hanging out with ladies of the Carancas village of Peru during our EWB-USA team assessment trip.

Catholic Social Teaching on the Environment

I am part of leadership organizations that promote Catholic Social Teaching on caring for creation and stewardship of the Earth. In 2020, I completed two relevant 6-week training courses : The Laudato Si Animators Certification Course by the Laudato Si Movement; and the the Laudato Si Revolution Course hosted by the The General Office for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) at the Curia of the Friars Minor.