Kelly Bridges

JD Candidate
University of Chicago Law School
United States

May 4, 2021

Kelly Bridges is the Senior Associate at Global Water 2020, where she supports water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) advocacy work throughout the developing world. She has served in this role since 2019, and previously worked as a Research Assistant at the organization. Kelly completed her Master of Science in Water Science, Policy, and Management at the University of Oxford and her Bachelor of Arts in Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. In September, she will begin attending the University of Chicago Law School to study international water law.

At Global Water 2020, Kelly advocates for a greater WASH emphasis in U.S. peacebuilding efforts abroad. “With poor water and sanitation, the risk of conflict is always there,” she says. To prevent these conflicts, Kelly is working with a coalition of non-profit humanitarian, environmental, and peacebuilding groups to help shape the implementation of the Global Fragility Act passed in 2019. The act allocates $230 million dollars annually to make U.S. agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense take a more proactive approach to conflict prevention in fragile states. Within the broader Global Fragility Strategy, Kelly is encouraging alignment with the U.S. Global Water Strategy , as well as promoting the prioritization of funding for early warning systems and other tools and programs necessary to get ahead of intra- and interstate water-related conflicts. Her team and partners then hold educational meetings with Congressional offices to make sure U.S. peacebuilding efforts adequately address WASH issues.

Coalitions are central to Kelly’s work. In addition to her role in the coalition of non-profits helping to shape the Global Fragility Strategy, she helps lead the Global Water Security Coalition. Hosted by the Wilson Center and Global Water 2020, this group brings together experts from development, diplomacy, and defense to think through pressing water security challenges and potential solutions. Kelly describes this group as “an informal space where people can talk freely” and learn about best practices, relevant case studies, and other initiatives in the field. For example, private sector and development professionals working on WASH may not think in terms of conflict risk and sensitivity, but can begin to do so through discussions with peacebuilding and defense professionals. The group thus provides another avenue for Kelly to help integrate WASH issues and conflict sensitivity into development efforts.

Kelly came to the fields of WASH and environmental peacebuilding through her experiences working and studying abroad. Water and conflict issues first came to her attention when she studied abroad in Jordan, and a semester in Australia exposed her to aboriginal groups’ water rights issues. With additional exposure to WASH conflicts in India, Morocco, and South Korea, she learned about water conflicts at all levels and developed a long-term interest in environmental peacebuilding.  Kelly is a Founding Member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, and previously a Visiting Researcher at the Environmental Law Institute. Now serving on the Association’s Board of Directors as the Young Professional Director, she advocates for opportunities for young professional members, including mentorship and conference accessibility. Her enthusiasm for intervening early on in career trajectories echoes her investment in proactive approaches to WASH development in fragile states. “It’s human nature to be responsive,” she notes, “but we need to be proactive.”