Sandra Postel is the founding director of the Global Water Policy Project. She is an expert on fresh water and ecosystems connected to it. From 2009 to 2015, she worked as a Freshwater Fellow for the National Geographic Society. She has written many articles and several books about global freshwater issues, including Last Oasis, which has been translated into eight languages, and Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity, which she wrote most recently. She has received four honorary science doctorates. From 1988 to 1994, she held the position of Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute. Postel has taught water policy courses at Tufts University and Mount Holyoke College. In 2002, Scientific American magazine honored her as one of the "Scientific American 50" for her contributions to science and technology. Postel's work focuses on creating a more water-secure world for all living things. In 2021, she was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize, which is often called the Nobel Prize for water.

Overview

After finishing graduate school, Postel worked as a natural resources consultant for a private company in Menlo Park, California. In 1983, she joined the Worldwatch Institute and took charge of studying and managing water issues around the world. From 1988 to 1994, she led research projects as a senior leader. In 1994, she left the Worldwatch Institute, moved to Massachusetts, and started the Global Water Policy Project, which supports all of her work in research, writing, speaking, and advising. In 2009, she was named Freshwater Fellow by the National Geographic Society, a role she held until 2015. She now lives in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico.

Awards

Scientific American 50. Postel was recognized for supporting "important changes to protect the world's limited supplies of freshwater." In 2021, Postel received the Stockholm Water Prize, given together by the Swedish Royal Academy of the Sciences and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The prize committee stated, “No one has shown greater dedication, ability, bravery, and persistence in addressing important and urgent water problems. Her efforts have helped change how the public and experts understand the water crisis.”