Andrew Fleet is a Water Conservation Educator with Oklahoma State University Extension, where he works to help individuals, businesses, and communities better understand the value of water and the importance of using it wisely.

Through his work in Oklahoma, Andrew focuses on the practical realities of water conservation, from groundwater management and irrigation efficiency to urban water use and responsible resource stewardship. He brings water science out of the academic world and into everyday life, helping people understand how their individual decisions connect to broader challenges around water availability, sustainability, and long-term resilience.

Andrew is passionate about closing the gap between knowing water is valuable and understanding what it takes to protect it. His work highlights an essential truth: meaningful water conservation starts with education, awareness, and giving people the knowledge and tools to make better decisions.

One particularly timely part of our conversation is the relationship between growing water demand, including data centers, and the need for better public understanding of how water resources are managed.

Andrew's strength as a guest is his ability to make these issues accessible and tangible, connecting the science of water with the everyday choices that ultimately shape its future.

Water infrastructure has a people problem as much as it has an infrastructure problem. We spend considerable time talking about pipes, plants, capital, and technology. But how are we communicating the value of water to the next generation of professionals who will lead the sector?

Our guest on this episode is Beate Wright, discussing how she helps us explore the people and leadership required to make all of those water investments successful.

She is a professional engineer, executive coach, and longtime water industry leader with more than 33 years of experience spanning engineering, utility operations, research, consulting, and organizational leadership.

Throughout her career, Beate has held leadership roles across the public, private, federal, and nonprofit sectors, including serving as Director of Operations at Loudoun Water, Executive Director of the Washington, DC office of the Water Research Foundation, and as a leader in national engineering consulting firms. She also served on active duty in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.

Today, as Founder and CEO of Wright For You, LLC, Beate works with water industry leaders across the United States and Canada, providing executive coaching and facilitating leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational transformation.

Beate is passionate about developing the next generation of water leaders and helping individuals and organizations reach their fullest potential. She brings a unique perspective on the human side of an industry facing enormous challenges, and believes that stronger leadership, authentic relationships, and a commitment to developing people are essential to building a more resilient water future.

How do you communicate the value of something that means fundamentally different things to different people?

For a utility, water is a service that must be financed and maintained. For a farmer, it's livelihood. For a government, it's economic development and political responsibility. For a family without reliable access, it's a daily determinant of quality of life.

Yulia's experience working across these different realities gives her an interesting vantage point on one of the water industry's biggest challenges: getting people to see, communicate, and ultimately invest in water's full value.

Yulia Titova is an international water governance and development expert who has spent more than 15 years working across Africa, the Middle East, and other emerging markets to help communities, governments, and utilities rethink how they value, manage, and deliver water.

From Zambia and Kenya to Jordan and Ghana, Yulia has worked at the intersection of water, economics, public policy, and institutional reform. Her experience has given her a unique perspective on how the value of water is understood differently across cultures and economies — and why lasting solutions require more than engineering. They require understanding the people, institutions, incentives, and local realities that shape how water is managed.

Yulia is passionate about translating the value of water across boundaries: connecting its economic importance with its social, environmental, and human significance, and helping turn that understanding into more resilient and sustainable water systems.