Watershed Management names new operations and development manager | News

Local non-profit Watershed Management Group (WMG) recently hired local businessman and conservation activist Todd Hanley as operations and development manager. WMG was founded by Catlow and Lisa Shipek over 20 years ago with the goal of engaging the community in watershed health actions, from conserving water at home, to restoring our desert rivers, to cooling cities with green infrastructure. With 20 years of overseeing operations and events at Hotel Congress and 15 years as executive director of the highly acclaimed Agave Heritage Festival, Hanley brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to WMG. 

“The path I have been on, while overseeing growth at both Hotel Congress, and the Agave Festival and ongoing community work, has directly impacted my passion for conservation, sustainability and protecting our heritage assets,” he said. “When Watershed Management Group asked to interview me and offered me the position, I knew this was the direction I wanted to go for my next chapter. With goals like cooling our city by five degrees and working to see that our heritage waterways are free flowing year-round — how could I say no?”

“WMG has ambitious initiatives to make Tucson a more livable city, working towards restoring our aquifer and heritage of flowing rivers, while cooling our city five degrees”, said Lisa Shipek, WMG’s executive director. “To achieve these big goals, we’re growing our staff team with collaborators and innovators, with the passion and know-how to engage and influence both community members and civic and business leaders.

“Todd Hanley has been fundamental to reviving and energizing downtown Tucson, operating the iconic historic Hotel Congress and Maynards Market and Kitchen for 20 years,” she continued. “We’re thrilled to welcome Todd to engage new sectors in our work, integrating the arts, food heritage, downtown businesses, and partnerships for new funding opportunities”.

“I’ll be working with Todd directly on our Cool Tucson 5 Degrees initiative, to rally the community around reversing the urban heat island that has made Tucson at least seven degrees hotter,” Shipek added.  

WMG also hired Valerisa Gaddy, PhD, as their community conservation director, leading the team of staff teaching WMG’s Water Harvesting Certification and collaborating on neighborhood green infrastructure projects. Originally from the Navajo Nation, Gaddy is passionate about helping tribal communities in the Tucson area and beyond, as well as engaging with Latinx and other underserved communities, to build rain gardens and plant trees to cool the city as well as develop sustainable water for small agriculture.

Shipek welcomed the expansion. 

“Valerisa has strengthened WMG’s leadership team, bringing both her rigorous academic experience and her community outreach efforts to better engage and learn from BIPOC communities,” she said.