Lisa Wojnarowski Downes Bio | The Nature Conservancy

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Freshwater: Lisa Wojnarowski Downes

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Lisa Wojnarowski Downes, North America Regional Initiative Coordinator, Alliance for Water Stewardship © Christine Kozol

Lisa Wojnarowski Downes

North America Regional Initiative Coordinator,Alliance for Water Stewardship

Contact Information

E-mail: ldownes@TNC.ORG

Brief Biography

“This is an exciting time for water users and stakeholders to influence the development of the international water stewardship standard from its inception."

Lisa Wojnarowski Downes will tell you that regional initiatives and stakeholders are critical to global efforts. As coordinator of the North America initiative of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), she works with stakeholders throughout the U.S. and Canada to ensure their participation in the development and implementation of an international water stewardship standard.

At the heart of this work is the development of a certification program. The first of its kind globally, the program will recognize and reward water users and utility companies that are doing an exemplary job of protecting watersheds and freshwater ecosystems. It will also illustrate how they are benefiting communities by way of their stewardship activities.

Coordinating these efforts seems to come naturally to Lisa, who acted as the former program manager for the Council of Great Lakes Governors. In that role she worked with the Great Lakes states and provinces in developing and implementing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. She also managed programs on topics including water conservation and efficiency, water use information sharing, and aquatic invasive species.

Lisa earned her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, along with a certificate in international and comparative law. She holds B.A. degrees in political science and communications from DePaul as well. Outside work, she enjoys photography, camping and creating cold-process soaps.