Our July 21st meeting features two speakers from the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance: Annalisa Peace (Executive Director), and Rachel Hanes (Policy Director).

PROGRAM TOPIC: Texas will need innovative solutions to prevent water shortages and crises. Central Texas is an ideal location to increase adoption of atmospheric water generation (AWG) technology due to both its climate and its need to reduce reliance on typical water sources. AWG cannot solve every water crisis, but has the potential to be a critically important resource, especially when used innovatively.

SPEAKERS: Annalisa Peace (MS in Urban Administration, Trinity University) has over thirty years’ experience with government and non-profit organizations. This includes organizing citizens’ campaigns, and serving on governmental advisory boards in San Antonio (SA) and New Braunfels such as Kelly Air Force Base Restoration Advisory Board, and the City of San Antonio (CoSA) Task Force that drafted SA’s water quality rules. Since 2004, Ms. Peace has been Executive Director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA), which works to protect the Edwards and Trinity aquifers, their contributing watersheds, and the Texas Hill Country. She also serves on the Texas Water Development Board’s Regional Flood Planning Group for the Guadalupe watershed, CoSA’s Water and Natural Resources Stakeholder Group for the Climate Action Plan, the Environmental Advisory Committee of the SA River Authority and more, working to maintain the environmental integrity of our region.

Rachel Hanes (BA in Political Science and Spanish, and Master of Public Policy and Management) has multiple years in environmental and water policy, working within and with non-profits and local, state, and federal governments. Before joining GEAA, Ms. Hanes was a program analyst for the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, working to help manage and conserve water in the West. She has also worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council on decarbonization efforts, the Office of Congressman Joaquin Castro, the League of United Latin American Citizens on environmental issues along the border, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in San Antonio on local water issues, and much more. She currently is GEAA Policy Director.