Juliet Christian-Smith
Juliet Christian-Smith oversees the Water Foundation’s Healthy Communities program, which supports projects that advance safe drinking water and climate resiliency in urban and rural communities. Juliet works closely with Water Foundation staff and partners to craft strategy, develop projects and policies, support implementation, track progress, and share lessons learned, with a focus on advancing equitable policies and practices across the water field. Juliet was previously with the Union of Concerned Scientists where she helped lead water and climate work as a Senior Climate Scientist. She also brings a comparative perspective, informed by her Fulbright Fellowship to study the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive in Portugal and her work as a Murray Darling Basin Futures Fellow in Australia. Juliet has a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley.
Everyone should have safe, clean, and affordable water. A changing climate brings new water and health risks. Our Healthy Communities program supports campaigns and projects to secure safe drinking water and advance community resilience and climate adaption.
One of my first, and best, experiences in philanthropy was participating HEFN’s Making the Case Cohort, which gave me skills to better advocate for grassroots and community-based organizations. I’ve found HEFN to be one of the most compassionate, forward-thinking, and fun community of funders. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
Having hard conversations about how funders can be more accountable to the communities that they serve.
Roller skating