Who We Are

WaterCard is a public benefits corporation (PBC) that pays farmers & ranchers for conserving water (instead of penalizing them like the status quo) & reduces the purchaser’s water footprint.

Board of Directors

James Eklund, Founding Director

James leads the water & natural resources practice at Sherman & Howard, Colorado’s oldest law firm, where he is a strong advocate for water conservation, smart water infrastructure, and a recognized authority on water management in the American West.

James works with sovereign governments, multi-state authorities, state agencies, and private interests to deliver critical water infrastructure projects and to design policy regarding water law, natural resources, infrastructure, and environmental protection. He uses his depth of policy-making experience and notable connections with federal, state, and local decision makers to assist clients on a wide variety of matters including environmental, regulatory and legislative issues, and matters involving the use of public-private partnerships.

He served as Colorado’s lead negotiator and signatory on the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan and as director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board where he built a reputation as a leader in negotiation and diplomacy. He is recognized for bringing together numerous stakeholders with opposing goals to collaboratively craft binding solutions to common problems. James was the architect of Colorado’s Water Plan, the largest civic engagement process in state history, and served as legal counsel to Colorado’s Governor.

James teaches at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs, and the University of Denver.

Celia Dietrich, Director

Celia founded Dietrich Partners in 2014, following her tenure with global professional services firms including PwC and RGP. With more than 25 years of operating in geographic and service line leadership roles with global consulting firms, she has built and managed significant client relationships, attracted and developed talent across multiple disciplines and ultimately delivered complex engagements for some of the largest companies in the world. Her client work has been in the alignment of corporate strategy, the development and implementation of PMO organizations, the program management of significant initiatives and driving enterprise transformations.

Celia holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Metropolitan State University of Denver and received her MBA from the University of Colorado. She is a State of Colorado certified public accountant in good standing. Celia maintains a commitment to serving her community through board work and philanthropy. She is on the Board of Trustees with Children’s Hospital Colorado and is an advisory board member of Vectra Bank Colorado, a board member with the Anschutz National Mental Health Innovation Center and an advisory board member of Johnson Financial/JFG Wealth Management Group.

Hannah Mink, Director

Hannah practices in Sherman & Howard’s Water & Natural Resources group within the Business and Real Estate practice area, where she gained experience as a law clerk. She assists a range of clients throughout the Colorado River Basin, including public and private interests, and collaborates on policy initiatives aimed at improving local and basin-wide water resource management.

Prior to her experience at the firm, Hannah worked as a law clerk with the Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division in Denver and served as an extern to Chief Magistrate Judge Rankin in the District of Wyoming.

Prior to law school, Hannah worked as a paralegal for a water law firm in the Roaring Fork Valley, worked as a raft guide and ski instructor, and interned with American Rivers Organization in the Pacific Northwest.

Will Sarni, Director

Will Sarni is the founder and CEO of Water Foundry a water strategy consultancy. He is also the Founder and General Partner of Water Foundry Ventures, a water technology venture fund focused on addressing water scarcity, quality and equitable access to water. He has been a sustainability and water strategy advisor to multinationals, water technology companies, investors, and non-governmental organizations for his entire career.

Prior to Water Foundry, he was a managing director at Deloitte Consulting where he established and led the water strategy practice. He was the founder and CEO of DOMANI, a sustainability strategy firm, prior to Deloitte.

Will is an internationally recognized thought leader on water strategy and innovation. He was ranked as; Worth Magazine Worthy 100 for 2022,  A Key Player Pressuring Businesses to Care About Water and one of the Top 15 Interviews In Smart Water Magazine 2019.

He is the author numerous publications on water strategy and innovation including the following books.

  • “Corporate Water Strategies” (Earthscan 2011, and in Chinese by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press 2013)

  • “Water Tech – A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector” (Sarni, W. and Pechet, T., Routledge 2013)

  • “Beyond the Energy – Water – Food Nexus: New Strategies for 21st Century Growth” (Dō Sustainability 2015)

  • “Water Stewardship and Business Value: Creating Abundance from Scarcity” (Sarni, W., and Grant, D., Routledge 2018)

  • “Creating 21st Century Abundance through Public Policy Innovation: Moving Beyond Business as Usual” (Sarni, W. and Koch, G., Greenleaf Publishing 2018)

  • “Digital Water: New Technologies for a More Resilient, Secure and Equitable Water Future” (Routledge, 2021).

  • “Water, I Wonder” (Sarni, W and Dunnigan, T., Outskirts Press, September 2022).

Sarni is a host of the podcast Distilled by Qatium and co-host of The Stream with Will and Tom. He was the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for the WAITRO Global Water Innovation Summit 2020 and was on the Scientific Program Committee for Stockholm World Water Week from 2013 through 2019. His advisory work includes working with the 2020 X-PRIZE (Infinity Water Prize), as a Bold Visioneer for the 2016 X-PRIZE Safe Drinking Water Team and a Technical Advisor for the Climate Bonds Initiative: Nature- Based Solutions for Climate and Water Resilience. He is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Water Security.

George Sparks, Director

George has been the president & CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science since November 2004. He spent 24 years in the electronics measurement business at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. His career included marketing, sales, and general management of global businesses in software, systems, and services.  

Prior to joining Hewlett-Packard, Sparks spent nine years in the Air Force as a pilot and as an assistant professor of aeronautics at the United States Air Force Academy (1976-1978). He is a distinguished graduate of the USAF Academy with a bachelor’s in aeronautical engineering, and holds a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

George’s passion is public policy, particularly around science and education. He is a member of the Colorado Forum, Colorado Concern, and is on the boards of Colorado Education Initiative, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and the Denver School of Science & Technology. 

George is the founder of the Institute for Science & Policy, a program of the Museum. 

He loves his wife and all of his children..

“The choice is simple: achieve voluntary, temporary, & compensated water conservation or face
a mandatory, permanent, & uncompensated reality.”

— James Eklund