Poudre Heritage Alliance started a social media campaign during the month of March called Women in Water. This campaign focuses on acknowledging women who have worked in water law and water management.

Poudre Heritage Alliance is a nonprofit organization that provides education about the importance of the Cache la Poudre River relating to its influence in water development, law and management.

Not only is March Women’s History Month, it also contains International Women’s Day (March 8) and World Water Day (March 22). Alexis Works, administrative assistant and communications coordinator at PHA, thought this was the perfect opportunity to raise awareness for women in the water industry.

Works got her bachelor’s degree in communication studies at Colorado State University and has been working for PHA since October 2021.

“Our social media has always had community-driven posts, and so our goal was to recognize and celebrate women who have made an impact in this industry,” Works said.

They plan to share the stories of six women this month on the PHA Instagram page. These women are all of various ages and backgrounds.

 

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One woman they recognized this month is Meegan Flenniken. Flenniken serves as the planning and resource division manager at the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources and is a member of the PHA board of directors.

Flenniken has served in her position for the past 24 years. This experience has made her an excellent candidate not only for recognition but also for advice.

“Whatever sector of water you’re involved with, whether it’s conservation, supply, education or what the PHA does, there’s often a common ground or a key commonality that can achieve pretty much what everyone wants to achieve,” Flenniken said.

Another woman recognized by the Women in Water campaign is Karen Scopel. Scopel is an environmental planner for the Culture, Parks and Recreation Department of Greeley, Colorado. She is also a founding member of PHA and has served in the water industry for over 40 years.

After working in this industry for so long, Scopel still has a drive to continue.

“In order for people to establish that sense of place and that connection to where you live is that you need to understand how it came to be,” Scopel said. “I have a tie to this area from my grandparents, who were homesteaders out east of Greeley here on the dry lands, so that’s why I still do it.”

Recognition isn’t the only motivation behind the Women in Water campaign. Sabrina Stoker has served as the executive director for PHA since January and explained this campaign also has the potential to attract new employees.

“This is not currently a female-prevalent industry,” Stoker said. “We are trying to encourage more women to come by providing scholarships and networking opportunities for women in this industry.”

Although this is the first social media campaign Works has started, she plans on continuing this campaign every March to recognize more women in this industry.

“Every woman I interviewed, I asked for a list of women they thought should be recognized,” Works said. “This will hopefully allow us to grow this campaign in the following years.”

Reach Jack Miller at news@collegian.com or on Twitter at @millerjack02.