The Walton Family Foundation is pleased to announce that water issues expert Ted Kowalski is joining the environment program team as senior program officer. Kowalski will lead the Colorado River basin initiative, which pursues innovative solutions to address the basin’s water quantity issues against a backdrop of ongoing drought, increasing demand for water and insufficient water management policies.

Kowalski has dedicated his career to working on issues of water in the West. He started his career in the Colorado Attorney General’s office working on water rights. From there he moved to the Colorado Water Conservation Board first working on instream flow issues before moving to deal with interstate issues. Most recently he was chief of the interstate, federal and water information section, where he served as a senior negotiator on federal, interstate and international issues related to the Colorado River.

“Ted brings strong expertise and passion to this role and will make a great addition to our team,” said Barry Gold, environment program director. “His experience bringing together diverse stakeholders to find innovative solutions will be invaluable as we work to create more reliable water supplies that support the basin’s communities, while also making our rivers healthier for fish and wildlife.”

Kowalski is recognized for his deep expertise and has testified before the U.S. Congress and before the Colorado General Assembly. He has written extensively on Colorado water law issues and presented at dozens of water conferences and seminars. Kowalski has a law degree from the University of Colorado and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

“I am eager to begin this new chapter in my career,” said Kowalski. “I care deeply about the Colorado River basin, and I am thrilled to continue developing lasting solutions to the many issues facing this basin.”

Kowalski begins on April 11 and will be based in the foundation’s Denver office.

Learn more about the innovative work our partners are doing in the Colorado River basin and across our other priority regions.