LIVE from Catalyst — Kathy Bentz & Pal Hollywood on Making Water Local | Make Water Work 050
For our 50th episode, we did something we’ve never done before — recorded in front of a live audience at Catalyst, inside a wine and culinary center in San Diego. Fitting, since this episode is all about terroir: how the best water communication doesn’t copy-paste a playbook, it reflects the place it comes from.
Joining us are Kathy Bentz (Prince William Water) and Pal Hollywood (San Jose Water) — two communicators who’ve built real, local trust with the communities they serve, using some of the most creative engagement strategies we’ve featured on this show.
28 Sept 2026
Cristina Ahmadpour: Beyond Pilots & Scaling Innovation | Make Water Work 049
"Disruptive" is the wrong word for water. So what's the right one?In this episode of Make Water Work, Isaac Pellerin sits down with Cristina Ahmadpour, President and Managing Director, Americas at Isle Utilities, who has spent over a decade helping water utilities identify and adopt emerging technology. After 11 years leading Isle's US business, Cristina shares a candid look at what leadership has taught her about innovation, and why so many good ideas never make it past the pilot stage.In this episode, we cover:• How Cristina discovered, years into her career, that her grandfather helped build the dam infrastructure that brought water security to cities like Isfahan and Tehran• Why real innovation isn't just new technology, but a full cycle that only counts once it's actually adopted and scaled• The people and leadership gaps that make innovation harder in water than it needs to be• Cristina's take on the "pilot to scale" gap: why vendors need more discipline in choosing early adopters, and why chasing scale too fast can backfire• Why "performance guarantees" and skin-in-the-game deals could fix the industry's pilot-to-RFP problem• Why water utilities shouldn't want to hear the word "disruptive," and what language works instead• Lessons from 11 years in leadership: saying yes to opportunities, building the right team, and not compromising on culture• Where Isle Utilities fits into the water innovation landscape today, 21 years after its foundingIf you work in water innovation, utility leadership, or technology adoption, this conversation offers a grounded, honest look at what it actually takes to move a good idea from pilot to practice.Connect with Cristina and Isle Utilities: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinaahmadpour/?isSelfProfile=falseLike, subscribe, and drop a comment: what's one piece of "innovation" happening at your utility that never gets called that?#MakeWaterWork #WaterIndustry #WaterInnovation #UtilityLeadership #WaterTechnology #IsleUtilities
17 Sept 2026
Catalyst Collab: Britton Smith | Make Water Work 048
In this episode of the Make Water Work Catalyst Collab, Isaac Pellerin sits down with Britton Smith, founder and lead artist of Britton & The Sting, who served as a guide at Catalyst 2025 and led one of the most talked-about sessions of the year. They dig into how a commission for a theater on the Hudson turned into Mama, a project built entirely around water as a living, relational force, and what happened when Britton brought that same energy into a room full of water professionals.
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