Kat Hartwig has been involved in international, national and regional environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility and water-based ecosystem health since 1983. She advocates for land and water policy and protection mechanisms necessary to support biodiversity, source water protection and climate resilient communities. Under her leadership as Executive Director, Living Lakes Canada has created award-winning water stewardship programs, helped pilot new water monitoring technologies, developed new water monitoring frameworks to track climate impacts on freshwater sources, updated federal lake survey protocols, and played a role in guiding provincial and federal policies around freshwater protection. With her paradigm-shifting approach to water management, one she views essential for community adaptation, she is grateful for the leadership of Indigenous voices and Indigenous Knowledge that help guide water policy development in tandem with western science. She has been the recipient of several awards and she continues to serve on boards and advisories in the freshwater and biodiversity stewardship space.