Ladder Up Video Series

Supporting the ecosystem of water work at local, state and national levels

We’re excited to introduce Ladder Up, a video series produced by TFN’s Urban Water Funders. 

Host Kerry Hastings, UWF’s Coordinator at The Funders Network recruited six leaders representing national coalitions and campaigns in the water sector to discuss the challenges, opportunities and solutions shaping the future of our water systems and explain how their campaigns and coalitions are working to respond. While not exhaustive, they are intended to give viewers a sense of the many nodes of influence and action in our space.

This series is for anyone who thinks we deserve sustainable and equitable water systems for people and nature. It is for those who want to understand the incredible work already happening in the sector, and who are willing to ask hard questions about philanthropy’s role in supporting an aligned sector.

The videos were generated as fodder for a discussion on movement building at our February 2026 Urban Water Funders convening in Houston, TX. To understand how to build an aligned sector, funders first needed a greater shared understanding of the many moving parts. Funders were also asked to read this short but provocative article: The networks we need versus the institutions we have.

The videos have a life well beyond the Houston convening and we invite you to send us your reactions and questions.

Episodes

Episode One: Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus with Yasmin Zaerpoor

Yasmin Zaerpoor, Director of Water Equity and Climate Resilience at PolicyLink, describes the Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus (WECR Caucus) — a national network of over 80 frontline and allied organizations working at the intersection of water, climate, and justice — and what makes it distinct: policy priorities built directly from frontline lived experience, and a deliberate four-pronged approach spanning federal advocacy, narrative change, leadership development and movement building. The caucus is anchored by a steering committee where more than half the seats are held by frontline organizations, and it administers its own movement-building grants through a community-led process in which PolicyLink itself has no vote on funding decisions. Yasmin closes with a compelling call to funders: durable systems change requires long-term investment not just in policy wins, but in movement infrastructure and connective tissue.
WATCH THE EPISODE

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

Episode Two: Aspen Water Strategy Group with Martin Doyle

Martin Doyle, Director for Water Policy at the Nicholas Institute at Duke University, shares the work of the Aspen National Water Strategy Group — a 30-person, multi-sector, bipartisan group that spent 18 months identifying the “big moves” needed to ensure water security across the United States. The group’s central finding is that the most urgent and underserved scale is the regional or basin level — spanning multiple states and watersheds — where new governance structures, financial instruments, and cross-sector partnerships need to be built. Martin frames the biggest risk as water continuing to be treated as an afterthought, and the greatest opportunity as linking water security directly to economic competitiveness.
WATCH THE EPISODE

Resources Mentioned in This Episode 

Episode Three: Value of Water with Emily Simonson

Emily Simonson of the U.S. Water Alliance describes the Value of Water (VOW) campaign — a coalition focused on building public and political will to invest in the nation’s aging water and wastewater infrastructure — and traces its evolution through three eras, from building sector capacity, to securing water’s place in federal infrastructure conversations, to now developing a state-level strategy in response to shifting federal funding priorities. She highlights the campaign’s broad, cross-sector steering committee — spanning utilities, labor, private sector, and now conservation groups — and a newer coordination effort called United for Water, which brings in allies from business and municipal associations to be ready to mobilize when key policy moments arise. Emily reflects on the biggest challenge facing the field: not external threats alone, but the lack of coordination infrastructure and capacity among the many campaigns doing good work in the water space.
WATCH THE EPISODE

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Episode Four: Vessel Collective with Kabir Thatte

Kabir Thatte, Executive Director of the Vessel Collective and VP for Policy and External Relations at Dig Deep, describes the Vessel Collective’s mission to close the water access gap for the 2 million or more Americans who still live without running water or a toilet at home. The Collective, housed at Dig Deep and led by a steering committee of roughly 15 organizations spanning the private sector, research institutions, trade associations, and nonprofits, is developing a national roadmap to bring coordination, shared direction, and accountability to the U.S. WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) sector. Kabir frames the biggest challenge as the continued invisibility of the issue — and the biggest opportunity as the growing, cross-sector consensus that this is not only an injustice, but a solvable one.
WATCH THE EPISODE

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Episode Five: Clean Water for All Coalition with Jenifer Collins

Jenifer Collins leads the Clean Water for All Coalition, a big-tent coalition founded in 2016 that brings together over 100 organizations — from grassroots community groups to national nonprofits — to advance coordinated federal and state advocacy for clean water protections, equitable water infrastructure investment, and limits on agricultural pollution. The coalition works through policy-focused work groups where members shape strategy and annual work plans, with a steering committee serving as the voting body on overarching priorities; it is fiscally sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and staffed by a small team supported by volunteer work group leads from across the membership. State advocacy is currently concentrated in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, and Wisconsin, while federal efforts focus on defending the Clean Water Act, reforming the State Revolving Loan Fund, and building congressional champions for future policy wins.
WATCH THE EPISODE

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Episode Six: Clean Water Funders with Andrew Fahlund

Andrew Fahlund coordinates the Clean Water Funders collaborative housed at the Water Foundation, an effort born out of growing threats to federal clean water protections — including the recent Supreme Court decision that significantly eroded the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. The collaborative brings together funders, national environmental organizations, grassroots groups, and other stakeholders to build political will for clean water at the state level, stacking bipartisan policy wins that can ladder up into a national movement over time. Andrew reflects on the importance of balancing local autonomy with national coordination, and the long-term nature of this work — with a rough 10-year horizon in mind.
WATCH THE EPISODE

About Our Host

Kerry Hastings is the founder and principal consultant at Provecho Consulting, where she helps clients strengthen their capacity, deepen their impact, and lead with integrity and care. With over two decades of experience with nonprofits and funders, Kerry brings energy, strategic insight, emotional intelligence and a grounded understanding of what it takes to help organizations and networks thrive.

Kerry is also the program coordinator of TFN’s Urban Water Funders.

About TFN’s Urban Water Funders

TFN’s Urban Water Funders is a network of place-based and national funders addressing urban water issues in communities across the country.  Funders learn together, build relationships, and catalyze action.

Currently, funders are prioritizing a variety of solutions to urban water issues — including One Water approaches, natural and green infrastructure and climate resilient strategies — with a strong focus on water equity and vulnerable communities.

Our goal is to explore the role of water in urban settings to the benefit of the environment, equity and economies of communities, with specific interest in:

  • Climate resilience, including an emerging interest in disaster preparedness
  • Natural infrastructure and green stormwater infrastructure
  • Integrated water management or One Water

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