The LOEB Fellowship

Betsy Otto has worked on urban water infrastructure and environmental sustainability issues for over three decades. She is a Fellow with the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, where she promotes adaptation strategies to address climate change. She is interested in how cities can develop more sustainably, incorporating green and grey infrastructure, and addressing social and economic inequality. For ten years she directed the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Global Water Program, where she launched a program to build urban water resilience in six African cities and create innovative funds to capitalize more sustainable infrastructure investment. At WRI, she also oversaw the development of Aqueduct™, a global open source water risk assessment and mapping tool to inform private and public sector investment and water management decisions. Prior to WRI, Otto developed successful clean water and water supply programs for American Rivers, where she worked closely with mayors, utilities, federal agencies and Congress to promote smart water policies and greener public and private investment. She holds a MS in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin’s Nelson Institute, MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, and BA in Economics from the University of Illinois.