'Freshwater Hero' Sandra Postel to keynote opening session of WSI 2014

Sandra Postel, founder of the Global Water Policy Project and Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society, will deliver the keynote address at the opening session for the seventh annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Hailed for her “inspiring, innovative and practical approach” to promoting the preservation and sustainable use of Earth’s fresh water, Postel is co-creator of Change the Course the national freshwater restoration campaign undertaken by National Geographic and its partners, and piloted in the Colorado River Basin.

She is the author of several acclaimed books, including the award-winning Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, which appears in eight languages and was the basis for a PBS television documentary. She has appeared in dozens of television and radio shows nationally and internationally, as well as in some half-dozen films, including the BBC’s “Planet Earth,” and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The 11th Hour.”

The recipient of several honorary degrees, Postel is a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment, and has been named one of the “Scientific American 50” for her contributions to water policy.

For more information and to register, visit WaterSmartInnovations.com. "Early bird" registrations ends June 2.