Equity In Every Drop - A Waterkeeper Alliance Podcast

Thomas Hynes is the Communications and Marketing Manager for Waterkeeper Alliance. In addition to podcast hosting and production duties, he manages and writes all sorts of editorial content for the organization, including blogs, feature articles, advocacy alerts, email campaigns, social media content, and more. Thomas grew up on the Long Island Sound in Connecticut and now makes his home two blocks from the East River in Brooklyn, New York. He primarily commutes across the river to the Waterkeeper Alliance office via ferry boat. Thomas was drawn to environmental work in order to take an active role in the fight against climate change and help bring justice to the rotten polluters who seek to ruin our shared resources. Before working at Waterkeeper Alliance, Thomas wrote a nonfiction book about the history of wildlife in New York City. "Wild City" also highlights the power and success of the Clean Water Act, and other environmental regulations, in leading an unlikely ecological turnaround. In his spare time, Thomas photographs the many tugboats traversing the city’s various waterways. Thomas lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their son. They can be found most weekends walking or biking along the East River.

Protecting the Catawba-Wateree River basin is more than a job to Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones. As Riverkeeper, he focuses on threats to clean water, including monitoring and addressing coal ash issues & permitted pollution discharges, stormwater runoff, concentrated animal feeding operations, and preventing waterborne diseases. Jones received his M.S. in Earth Science from UNC Charlotte; his studies focused on hydrology, specifically water chemistry. He completed his undergraduate education at UNC Chapel Hill, graduating with a B.A. in Economics & a minor in Environmental Science. That’s where he found his calling in environmental protection. “I took an environmental law course as an undergraduate at Chapel Hill, which was my first introduction to environmental protection. After that class, I knew I wanted to work protecting water.” Jones joined the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation in 2017 as its director of technical programs before being promoted to Riverkeeper in November 2018. As Riverkeeper, Brandon is CRF’s chief scientist and advocate and is responsible for coordinating the organization’s testing, sampling, research, and legislative initiatives. He is also the primary contact for all citizen concerns. Jones is a Gaston County native who’s committed to the environment both inside and outside the office. He spends his free time on the water as an avid whitewater paddler and river guide, and on the trails playing disc golf.

Daniel E. Estrin serves as Waterkeeper Alliance’s General Counsel and Legal Director, a role he assumed in January 2016 after representing the organization as outside counsel for many years in numerous lawsuits against polluters and government agencies. In these roles, Daniel oversees all of the Alliance’s respective internal and external legal work. Daniel was born in New York City and grew up in the Hudson Valley. He has lived almost all of his life within a few miles of the Hudson River estuary, and insists that its waters flow in his veins. With over 30 years of litigation and environmental law experience, Daniel has spent the majority of his legal career working to protect waterways, ecosystems, and communities from pollution. Before moving in-house at Waterkeeper Alliance, Daniel spent a decade as a clinical law professor at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, where he continues to teach doctrinal courses as an Adjunct Professor of Law. Before that, Daniel was Special Counsel to a public interest law firm and worked in private practice. He is admitted to practice before all New York State courts, as well as before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Daniel lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut with his family, including Oli, their precocious budgie. In his spare time he enjoys live music, hiking, swimming, paddling, cooking, and visiting national parks across the country.

Lori Harrison is the Communications and Marketing Director for Waterkeeper Alliance. She oversees multi-faceted communications and marketing activities to advance the organization’s mission of protecting our right to clean water in communities around the world. With 25 years of experience in strategic water communications and mission-based work, Lori is an award-winning writer and content creator. Her expertise lies in translating complex concepts into relatable ideas, fostering engagement, and promoting sustainable practices and solutions. Her work not only aims to protect clean water, public health, and the environment but also focuses on "connecting the disconnect" between people and this essential resource. Before joining Waterkeeper Alliance, Lori had a background in corporate marketing for professional sports and held various communications and creative positions with a non-profit educational organization for global water professionals. Notable achievements include creating the WATER'S WORTH IT® grassroots awareness campaign and writing the award-winning children's book, “Why Water's Worth It,” designed to educate and inspire the next generation of water protectors. Lori lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children.