This semester’s judges are environmental experts in water specifically. Learn more about our featured judges below.




Fall 2018 Water Campaign Judging Panel



Nancy Hersman – Mayor Pro Tem, Manhattan Beach City Council

Nancy is the Mayor Pro Tem of the Manhattan Beach City Council. Nancy, an attorney and a Manhattan Beach resident for 16 years, is presently serving on the MB City’s Planning Commission, and formerly has served the City and community on the Parks & Recreation Commission, and as a member of the MBUSD Board of Trustees. Nancy has also worked with numerous organizations, including Program Director for the MB Mayor’s Youth Council for two years.




Shaya Kirkpatrick – Co-Founder, Grades of Green


Shaya is a co-founder of Grades of Green. Previously, Shaya was a founding member of Planet Pals, an environmental program working with schools in Southern California to help children take a hands-on approach to help the environment. Shaya received the Environmental Hero Award by Assemblywoman Betsy Butler in 2011, and the 2008 Environmental SBBEC Steward of the Year Award. Shaya also received the Congressional Commendation Award for her exceptional efforts in promoting environmental conservation. In 2009, Shaya was the recipient of the Environmental Award from the Environmental Protection Agency which recognizes individuals and groups outside of the EPA who are working to protect public health and the environment. Shaya started her Interior Design career at the offices of Intradesign, Inc. in 1988 and worked on major hotel projects around the world.




George McGraw – Founder, DigDeep


George McGraw runs DigDeep in Los Angeles, which he founded. DigDeep is the only global water organization working in the U.S. — empowering the millions of Americans without running water or basic plumbing to build and manage their own water systems, including the award-winning Navajo Water Project. George is an avid speaker, writer and university lecturer. He has been published by the New York Times, the Nation and several law reviews; he has been profiled by NPR, Vice and CBS News, and he has spoken at events hosted by the Clinton Foundation, WeDay, the World YMCA, and Ford. George was recently named one of the 17 “Local Globalists” by the UN Foundation and is a member of Nexus. He has a Masters in International Law and Conflict Management from the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica.




Kaylee Weatherly – Public Information Officer, Long Beach Water Department


Kaylee is a Public Information Officer at Long Beach Water Department. and manages the department’s media relations and award-winning digital and communications strategies. She has worked in public affairs and public relations for six years in water and energy efficiency organizations. She is a Board member of the California Association of Public Information Officials and a member of the Association of California Water Agencies Communications Committee and the Southern California Water Committee Public Education Task Force.
She is passionate about creating long-term water use efficiency in the state through story-telling, education and digital and social media.



Grace Woo – Assistant Water Resource Specialist, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Grace Woo is an Assistant Water Resource Specialist at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She manages a contract with the Council for Watershed Health for a pilot school water conservation program in underserved communities. She also conducts water savings analysis for landscape irrigation, commercial, and industrial water savings projects through Metropolitan’s pay-for-performance “Water Savings Incentive Program.” Grace received her B.S. in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.




Natalie Kra – Project Manager, Optima Energy INC


Natalie is a Project Manager at Optima Energy INC. Natalie manages and coordinates Optima Energy’s Nest Thermostat Program. She coordinates energy efficiency upgrades for multi-family residential buildings, helping conserve millions of kWh each month. She specializes in developing and implementing strategies that inspire and mobilize California community members to take action for the environment.




Ariel Russ – Sustainability Initiatives Manager, Macmillon

Ariel is a Sustainability Initiatives Manager at Macmillon, a global publisher of books, textbooks, and digital learning media. Before Macmillan, Ariel was a Sustainability Intern at DanoneWave. She recently earned her Masters of Environmental Management program at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she honed her skills in empowering corporations to engage in the appropriate corporate sustainability strategies to minimize environmental and social risks across their supply chains.



Alisha Auringer – Manager of the Environment, LAcarGUY


Alisha is the Manager of the Environment at LAcarGUY. She is also the Director of Sustainability at Sullivan Automitve Group.




Jennifer LaMarque – South Bay Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn

Jennifer is the South Bay Deputy to LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, representing the 4th district.



Scarlett Tovar – Student Employee, Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County

Scarlett is a Student Employee at Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, where she conducts public outreach and coordination, special program administration and project management of various activities undertaken by the Public Information Office. She graduated in 2016 with B.S. in Environmental Planning focused in Water Management from U.C. Davis. This December, Scarlett will complete the requirements to obtain a Masters in Geological Sciences focused in Environmental Hydrogeology.

Grades of Green’s Water Campaign was featured in DC Councilmember Todd‘s newsletter. The Water Campaign guides middle and high school students to research a local water issue, develop a solution, and then share that solution with the community to advocate for environmental policy change. Click here to see the article.


Both winning teams from last year’s Water Campaign came from California and encouraged their community to switch to reusable instead of single-use plastic bottles by teaching interactive lessons on the negative impacts of plastic and hosting poster contests. These two schools alone conserved and protected a total of nearly 900,000 gallons of water. Where will this year’s winning team come from and what will they accomplish? Check out our website and social media channels @gradesofgreen this December to find out!




Interested in starting a global movement at your school? Email info@gradesofgreen.org for more information on our global Waste Campaign starting in January 2019!



DC Councilmember Todd’s August 2018 Newsletter

Grades of Green would not be possible without the support of people that care about the environment and want to help make a difference. Each year, Grades of Green hosts VERTE to raise funds for our programs and each year we have different live auction items that our supporters can bid on. This year, one of our live auction item experiences included a Costa Rica Adventure donated by Bodhi Surf + Yoga. This one-of-a-kind experience included weeklong, holistic, and well-rounded surf and yoga camps in none other than the beautiful Costa Rica! All of the proceeds from this item will go to supporting students within our programs, like our Water and Waste Campaigns.



Grades of Green is excited to inspire and empower kids around the globe to advocate for improving waste and water issues in their community. We plan on doing this through our Water and Waste Campaigns where we will continue to work one-on-one with student groups around the world to research water or waste issues in their community, come up with some innovative solutions to those environmental issues, and then educate their community on how to implement those solutions. This fall, Grades of Green will be working with student groups to develop customized water quality and water conservation solutions. Any student in grades 6th – 12th can participate for free, and the programs will be open to school groups, after school programs, sports teams, community teams, and more! The winning campaign teams will also receive a $500 grant to go toward expanding their innovative water solutions, and one grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 grant.




If you are interested in joining either of these movements, email us at info@gradesofgreen.org for more information on how you can get involved. Looking to get inspired? Here’s a video example from a past Water Campaign Team! When you’re ready to join our Water Campaign, click here to register.



World Water Day!

March 22nd is World Water Day! As populations, economies, and productivity all expand throughout the world, it is important to learn about the water needed to fuel all these changes. Without enough water, electric generators cannot be cooled, agriculture for food and clothing cannot be grown, and hygiene standards would fall. Although water conservation is important around the world, some areas have different approaches to saving water given their climate and local environment.

Climates and Locations

Countries have differing climates and attributes depending on their location on the globe. Some nations have four distinct seasons while some countries near the equator have have dry and wet seasons. For countries with dry and wet seasons, water conservation is so important. Without proper planning, dry and wet season countries might not have enough quality water for crops, cooling electric plants, and for cleaning and drinking. Grades of Green provides a few ways for schools to save water, but one Grades of Green School went above and beyond.

What are some other solutions?

Well Makers for Wellbeing

St. Roza, a private school in Uganda, wanted to provide quality water for their community during the dry season. As winners of last year’s Water Challenge, they used their earned grant funding to create a well that can hold up to 40,000 liters of water. This well will be able to capture and save water from the rain abundant wet season and help throughout the dry season. St. Roza certainly earned their grant and are paying it forward!

Expanding the Solution

St. Roza also hope to use some of their collected water to create a water efficient fish farm with help from their friends in Nebraska! Fish takes far less water for the average home cook to cook with compared to some local favorites like ugali, yams, rice, and lentils. Moreover, dishes that take less water to use can reduce the chances of waterborne diseases from spreading, since they do not need as much time to boil. The Grades of Green Team at St. Roza hopes that their community can be less dependent on water during the dry season so that there is enough for agriculture, drinking, cleaning and for the good of their community and future generations.

Interested in saving water at your school? Register with Grades of Green here to get started!

Francis Scott Key Elementary Protects the Watershed!

Water’s importance to all life cannot be understated. Without enough quality water sources, it would be difficult to grow food, make clothing, cool power plants, clean belongings, and more.

Luckily, Francis Scott Key Elementary, a school situated in District Heights, Maryland, is tackling these water issues. As a 2018 Spring Water Challenge Participant, Francis Scott Key Elementary focusing on the “Water Quality” aspect of the Water Challenge.

Their Grades of Green team is tackling water runoff and pollution. Water runoff from rain can wash dirt, chemicals, and other pollutants into drains, which eventually go into the local watershed. Without proper prevention or mediums to neutralize water runoff, these pollutants can harm local wildlife. Local wildlife are vital to maintaining water quality. Water Quality can be accessed by the number of insects in a body of water, fish health, nitrogen and phosphate levels, and absence of algae blooms.

Francis Scott Key is using Micro-Bio Retention Facilities to collect runoff water in ponds of native plants that filter runoff water before distributing the water into the larger watershed. By filtering runoff water, nitrogen and phosphorus can be absorbed by plants and prevent algae blooms! Moreover, these filters can protect animals and insects that are vital to protecting water ways.

Follow @gradesofgreen on Instagram for weekly Water Challenge stories from schools like Francis Scott Key Elementary!