Kelsey Leonard: How Did We Lose Our Connection To Water?

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode Our Relationship With Water

Kelsey Leonard was taught we are born with a deep connection to water and a duty to protect it. But today, she says, most of us have lost that connection—and the world is suffering because of it.

About Kelsey Leonard

Kelsey Leonard is a legal scholar and water policy expert. She represents the Shinnecock Indian Nation as the Tribal Co-Lead on the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean, which is charged with protecting and managing the coastal resources of five Mid-Atlantic states. She also serves as a member of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission.

Leonard has a PhD in Comparative Public Policy from McMaster University, where her research focused on Indigenous water security and its climatic, territorial, and governance underpinnings. She holds a Masters of Science in Water Science, Policy and Management from the University of Oxford. She also holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Harvard University and a JD from Duquesne University.

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