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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.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Rachel Faulkner and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadio@npr.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Rachel Faulkner is a producer for TED Radio Hour and How I Built This, where she produces, scores and edits episodes.
Sanaz Meshkinpour

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