Kelsey Leonard
Water Advocate | Indigenous Rights & Environmental Justice
About
Kelsey Leonard is a water policy researcher and advocate for Indigenous rights. As a former policy analyst for the United Nations Environment Programme, she has worked to protect water resources and amplify the voices of marginalized communities.
Leonard holds a PhD in geography and an MA in indigenous governance, drawing on her Shinnecock heritage to champion sustainable water management. Her compelling keynotes explore how traditional ecological knowledge can inform modern environmental policymaking, empowering audiences to be more inclusive stewards of the planet.
Talks1
Why lakes and rivers should have the same rights as humans
Water is essential to life. Yet in the eyes of the law, it remains largely unprotected -- leaving many communities without access to safe drinking water, says legal scholar Kelsey Leonard. In this powerful talk, she shows why granting lakes and rivers legal "personhood" -- giving them the same legal rights as humans -- is the first step to protecting our bodies of water and fundamentally transforming how we value this vital resource.
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