What did Alliance Local Government Program Manager, Jennifer Starr, do over her summer vacation you ask? Jennifer represented the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden!

Jennifer (left) volunteers at the Water Bar

World Water Week is an annual, week-long global conference held to address the planet’s water issues. It is organized each year by the Stockholm International Water Institute. Leaders and experts from the world’s scientific, business, government and civic communities convene in Stockholm, Sweden to exchange views, experiences and shape joint solutions to water challenges around the world.

Group shot of all the volunteers for Water Week

From August 26-31, over 3,000 participants from over 370 organizations from 135 countries all over the world attended the Week — and Jennifer was one of them! Jennifer volunteered, and helped run sessions, answer questions and pitched in where ever needed. When not volunteering, she exchanged her Volunteer polo shirt for “regular” clothes and attended sessions, engaged in a number of interesting conversations and shared all she could about the Alliance for the Chesapeake and the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

As a Program Manager for the Alliance’s Local Government Programs, Jennifer found the Conference incredibly useful. Communities around the world share many of the same concerns: funding gaps, need for technical assistance, development of public/private partnerships etc. She found opportunities for potential collaboration and learning. She hopes to take what she learned and share with other Alliance staff as well as apply it to her responsibilities.

All in all — a terrific way to spend a summer vacation!