Water Fellows Convening
Speaker Information

Andi Bonato Gach

Staff Attorney, Colorado Water Trust

Andi has the privilege of serving as a staff attorney for the Colorado Water Trust. She cares deeply about having a positive impact on Colorado’s communities and water resources. After obtaining her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Andi attended law school at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Andi has built her career in water resources by working with nonprofit organizations and at a water law firm where she represented many different water users throughout the state, including farmers, ranchers, landowners, municipalities, counties, and mutual ditch companies. In her free time, Andi enjoys teaching piano and adventuring with family and friends in the beautiful, unique state we call home.

Rianne BeCraft

Program Coordinator, Colorado Water Center

Rianne BeCraft (they/them) supports the Colorado Water Center’s (CoWC) Water Quality & Access and Water Workforce programs. Described by colleagues as both “fierce” and “calm,” Rianne has a knack for bringing people together towards a shared mission, finding ways for creative relationship building and real impact-making. They join CoWC with 20 years of experience in project management, education, and leadership coaching, all in the name of advancing environmental and social causes.

Rianne has a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.S. in Water Resources Policy and Management. A real water nerd, chat with them about groundwater, drought, and water-centric conflict transformation!

Anne Castle

Senior Fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center, University of Colorado Law School

Anne Castle is a senior fellow at the Getches-Wilkinson Center at the University of Colorado Law School, focusing on western water issues, including Colorado River policy and management and Tribal water interests. She is the co-founder of and senior advisor to the initiative on Universal Access to Clean Water in Tribal Communities and is a founding member of the Water Policy Group. She served as the U.S. Commissioner and Chair of the Upper Colorado River Commission from 2022 to 2025. From 2009 to 2014, Castle was Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of the Interior where she had responsibility for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey. Castle practiced water law for 28 years in Denver, Colorado with the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP.

Daniel Dominguez

Project Coordinator, Colorado Water Center
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow

Daniel served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps, finishing in the Presidential Flight Detachment. After earning his undergraduate degree at CSU, he received the Marshall Scholarship and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. As a Marshall Scholar, he completed two master’s degrees; Sustainable Water Environments (University of Glasgow) and Computer Science (Cardiff University). He is now an NSF GRFP-funded Ph.D. student in Watershed Science at Colorado State University, advised by Dr. Matt Ross, where he develops AI methods for macro-scale water quality monitoring and forecasting. Daniel also serves as Project Coordinator at the Colorado Water Center for the Water Fellows program.

Ernest House Jr.

Senior Policy Director and Director of Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement, Keystone Policy Center

Ernest House Jr. is an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, and a leader in Native American affairs. He served as Executive Director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) for 12 years, fostering communication between Colorado’s tribes and state agencies, while maintaining government-to-government relations with Governors Owens, Ritter, and Hickenlooper. Currently, as Senior Policy Director and Director for the Center for Tribal and Indigenous Engagement at the Keystone Policy Center, he focuses on tribal consultation, energy, conservation, healthcare, and cultural resource management. Ernest is a Gates Family Foundation and German Marshall Memorial Fellow, and serves on various boards, including The Gates Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, National Western Center Authority and the Telluride Institute. He is the son of the late Ernest House, Sr., a long-time tribal leader, and great-grandson of Chief Jack House, the last hereditary chief of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.

Gregor MacGregor

Assistant Teaching Professor & Natural Resources Policy Specialization Lead,
University of Colorado Boulder

Gregor MacGregor is the ENRP Specialization Lead in the Masters of the Environment and teaches courses on natural resources policy and law. He is also a Faculty Fellow at the University’s Law School, where he teaches courses on natural resources and directs the Acequia Project, a pro bono effort to provide Hispano irrigators in southern Colorado with legal services related to their land, water rights, and businesses. As a Lecturer in the Outdoor Recreation Economy program, he focuses on environmental law and policy.  

Prior to joining academia, Gregor worked as a water attorney in private practice and for the United States Army, where he also served as a Cavalry Officer prior to retiring. Outside of the University he owns and operates a cottage-food business, Vulcan Mine Bakery, where he bakes and provides free business consultations for rural redevelopment initiatives. 

Gregor received his BA degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado and his J.D. with a certificate in Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law from the University of Colorado Law School.

Mia Pino

Outreach & Sustainability Specialist- One World One Water Center
Metropolitan State University of Denver

Mia Pino serves as the Outreach & Sustainability Specialist for the One World One Water Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver. They have received their master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where they also received bachelor’s degrees in Women’s & Ethnic Studies and Psychology. Mia recently published the chapter “Supporting Those That Support Students: Community and Belonging for Student Affairs Practitioners” in Hispanic Scholar Perspectives on Education and Wellbeing. Their free time is spent in the garden, on the rugby pitch, volunteering, reading, writing, or spending time outdoors.

Robert Sakata

Acting Commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture

Just a farmer.

Wyatt Sassman

Associate Professor of Law, Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver

Wyatt Sassman’s teaching and research focus on the public’s role in environmental and natural resources law, with a focus on the role of local communities in the energy transition. His research develops policy frameworks that enable communities to lead the transition away from fossil fuels to a clean energy economy. His recent research has appeared or will appear in the UCLA Law Review, Connecticut Law Review, Washington Law Review, Harvard Environmental Law Review, and Environmental Law, as well as other journals. Professor Sassman is also a co-author of the forthcoming edition of the Natural Resources Law casebook published by West Academic.

Professor Sassman teaches the Environmental Law Clinic, where he supervises students representing local communities and citizen advocacy groups in a wide range of environmental matters. Professor Sassman and his students represent communities before administrative agencies and federal and state courts, including Colorado’s water courts. Professor Sassman also teaches courses on Natural Resources Law and Environmental Justice.

Will Sharpe

Water Fellows Student Coordinator, Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver

Will Sharpe is a second-year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where he serves as the Student Coordinator for the 2025-2026 Water Fellows cohort. In this role, he organizes meetings, coordinates panel discussions, and facilitates educational programming that connects students with water law professionals and current policy issues. As a Water Fellow and Dean’s Scholar, Will is actively engaged in exploring the complex legal and policy challenges surrounding water resource management in the West.

Prior to law school, Will earned his Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Tourism from Colorado State University, where his studies focused on sustainable resource management and community engagement. His background in natural resources, combined with his passion for building connections between legal scholarship and practical problem-solving, drives his commitment to advancing water law education and fostering dialogue among the next generation of water law practitioners.

Nona Shipman

Co-Director, One World One Water Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver

Before coming to the One World One Water Center, Nona worked on the statewide Colorado Water 2012 campaign with Water Education Colorado. Originally from Northern Virginia, Nona moved to Denver in 2011 as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and loved the experience so much she decided to stay in Colorado and pursue further water education opportunities. She has a BA in Communications from University of Lynchburg in Virginia, an MA in Biological Sciences from Miami University in Ohio, and welcomes the opportunity to incorporate her degrees with her passion for raising the awareness of precious environmental resources.

Nona takes great pride in creating interdisciplinary environmental learning opportunities for all people, and during her time at the OWOW Center has had the privilege to travel to Australia, Italy, New Mexico, Washington, Montana, Mongolia, and Morocco to learn from and contribute to climate change research.

Jonathan Spitze

Job Title, Colorado Water Center and CSU Extension 

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Jessica Thrasher

Senior Program Manager & Director of the Statewide Colorado Water Fellows Program
Colorado Water Center

Jessica Thrasher is the Senior Program Manager at the Colorado Water Center, where she leads initiatives advancing water quality, access, and workforce development across Colorado. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Southern Methodist University and a master’s degree in Anthropology from Colorado State University.

At the Colorado Water Center, Jessica directs programs that cultivate the next generation of water leaders, including the Colorado Water Fellows Program, and expands access to water resources, information, and career pathways in the water sector. Her work reflects a commitment to collaborative problem-solving, innovative program development, and inclusive leadership that advance sustainability and equity in the water field.

Shannon Wadas

Executive Director, Colorado Mesa University’s Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center

Shannon Wadas is the Executive Director of Colorado Mesa University’s Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center, leading the organization to be a driving force for providing research, education and dialogue around Western Colorado and Upper Colorado River Basin water issues.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Recreation from Western Colorado University has more than 16 years of experience in natural resources and organizational management in the public and nonprofit sectors as well as community engagement and policy support as a congressional aide. Most recently, Shannon worked as a private consultant focused on organizational strategy, partnership collaboration, engagement, and capacity building for land and water based nonprofits.