Announcing the 2025 Texas Water Leaders
Texas Water Foundation is proud to announce the sixth class of the Texas Water Leaders (TWL) program. Beginning on April 9, these Water Leaders will engage in 10 days of dynamic training sessions ranging from presentation skills to team management. More importantly, they will have the opportunity to connect with other Texas water professionals across a diverse cross section of industry, geography, and specialty.
Created in 2020, TWL is a first-of-its-kind leadership program designed to support leaders that are either new to a position of leadership, or stepping into a position of leadership across the water sector. In 2024, TWL graduated its 100th leader of the program, setting the stage for a new class of emerging leaders to begin the journey in 2025.
Josh Sendejar, Texas Water Leaders Program Manager, is looking forward to stewarding his first cohort to graduation and into the rapidly expanding network of alumni.
“The Texas Water Leaders program is designed to lift up, skill up, and amplify the leaders that are shaping the water sector in Texas,” said Sendejar. “They are the human aspect of our water infrastructure, and I think that connection often gets lost in conversation. A lot of that conversation is about water supply and leaky pipes, which is very important, but we need the people that can keep the built infrastructure moving.”
The program begins with workshops that invite each leader to learn about themselves as professionals and individuals by using intra- and interpersonal assessments. With a quantitative understanding of their styles in communication, conflict, and personality, participants set off developing those skills through 10 sessions spread out across the year.
During each session, they have the chance to engage in meaningful discussions with their peers. Sendejar believes this is one the most valuable aspects of the program.
“Many people will come into this program having an idea of what they do with respect to the larger water industry,” said Sendejar. “Many times what we find is, similar to other industries, silos tend to be formed. By bringing this diverse collection of water leaders together, we can start forming a foundation of trust and connection across those different silos, across the water sector, and really start creating a collaborative space where we can have difficult discussions.”
In addition to workshops that develop skills like conflict resolution or mock legislative hearings, Texas Water Leaders engage in a range of technical discussions, from water policy history to current policy trends. But no matter the subject, water leaders are encouraged to expand their perspectives and view their place in the nexus of water as they might have never done before.
Upon graduation, the participants emerge with an improved sense of their role in the larger ecosystem of water and with a deeper trust in their peers. Together, they set themselves and, hopefully, all of Texas, for advancement towards a secure water future.
"Being a leader in the water sector has never been more challenging than it is today,” said Sarah Schlessinger, CEO of Texas Water Foundation. “Our industry at large is at an inflection point, and it takes a great deal more than just subject matter expertise to be a good leader. This program is about supporting that next bench as they inherit the complexities of our water security, and to build networks of trust across sectors. All you have to do is look at our alumni to see the ripple effect of this program"
The 2025 Texas Water Leaders will have their inaugural meeting on April 9. Read the list below to learn more about the members of this year’s cohort: