{"id":1163,"date":"2026-02-13T21:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/waterfront\/?p=1163"},"modified":"2026-04-08T22:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T22:03:18","slug":"shared-water-shared-border-water-leadership-institute-fosters-connections-in-arizona-and-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/waterfront\/2026\/02\/13\/shared-water-shared-border-water-leadership-institute-fosters-connections-in-arizona-and-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Shared Water, Shared Border: Water Leadership Institute fosters connections\u00a0in Arizona and Mexico\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Water doesn’t follow geopolitical borders, so why should water advocacy? In areas like the Sonoran Desert, encouraging budding water leaders from both sides of the border to collaborate is key to community resilience and safeguarding water security for generations to come.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why the latest Arizona cohort of the Water Leadership Institute<\/a> (WLI) \u2014 a bilingual leadership training program developed by EDF<\/a>, Arizona Water for All<\/a>, Water For People<\/a> and Reconciliaci\u00f3n en el R\u00edo Santa Cruz<\/a> \u2014 was organized around five sessions in different locations along the Santa Cruz River, which crosses the border in two locations. 
 
The guiding question, \u201cWhat is my relationship to water?\u201d was woven throughout the curriculum, which included sessions on the historical context of water; transboundary resilience; and water, sanitation and hygiene (known as WASH in the water sector) related to the local region. Six of the 38 participants came from Mexico, some as far as Hermosillo, three hours south of the border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the program, participants not only learned from and connected with local water leaders, but they also connected with one another by reflecting on their own lived experiences and relationships to water.  They put together a beautiful collection of \u201czines\u201d as their final project<\/a>, with each contribution reflecting the individual\u2019s relationship to water. We interviewed a graduate from each side of the border to learn more about their WLI experience and what they plan to do next, and have shared excerpts from those interviews below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WLI<\/a>
The WLI Southern Arizona Zine: Growing with Each Current. Click for the full zine.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding Community Solutions in Sonora, Mexico<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For Leticia Daniela Haro Gonz\u00e1lez, the Water Leadership Institute came at a pivotal moment. As she began to explore the intersection of social and environmental justice in school, WLI offered something her university education didn’t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to learn more about water, and here in my university, there’s a lack of information,\u201d Leticia said. “This program gives us the information and knowledge about the recent problems we have at the border.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program curriculum connected directly to Leticia’s thesis on the government and the community\u2019s management of the Sonora River \u2013 R\u00edo Sonora, one of the region\u2019s most important waterways. \u201cHere in Sonora, we waste a lot of water. I was excited to get to know more alternatives for saving water and how to get involved with the community,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis program gave me the tools that I needed to understand and dive deeper into the history of a community where people have fought for justice,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While participating in the Water Leadership Institute.  Leticia realized there\u2019s a gap in how Mexico approaches environmental education. “I would love for Mexico to replicate these [WLI] programs, especially in schools with little kids. I think we need more people who are really well prepared and who truly appreciate what nature gives us.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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