Announcing the 2024 Chris Davis AM Fellowship recipient

The 2024 Chris Davis AM Fellowship has been awarded to a passionate Young Water Professional on a mission to simplify the communication of complex water issues, transforming how Australians understand the vital role of water in daily life. 

The 2024 Chris Davis AM Fellowship has been awarded to a passionate Young Water Professional on a mission to simplify the communication of complex water issues, transforming how Australians understand the vital role of water in daily life. 

Announced at the launch of National Water Week, the Australian Water Association is thrilled to bestow the 2024 Chris Davis AM Fellowship to Dr Jessica Bohorquez.  

The Chris Davis AM Fellowship is awarded annually to an individual who is leading a project, initiative or research activity that contributes to sustainable water management in Australia. 

Jessica is a Young Water Professional on a mission to communicate water issues in a way that is engaging and accessible, but also to boost water literacy across communities outside of the water sector.  

Established in January 2024, Jessica’s podcast – Our Water Connection – leans into the expertise of some of the water community’s leading thinkers, covering a variety of topics with clarity and purpose – from PFAS to PRW, and everything in between.  

“My passion is very much focused on water sustainability. Water is essential to everything – without it, we can't live or grow our economies. But many people don’t fully understand how crucial the water sector is,” Jessica said. 

“We are set to face some big challenges in the future. Young Water Professionals are very passionate, and we need that passion to help the industry thrive. This is a sentiment expressed by many of my podcast guests. 

“Sustainable water management is a challenging field, but I’m optimistic because we have skilled, dedicated people. With the right collaboration, we can tackle the challenges ahead. My podcast is about supporting that passion.” 

Why a podcast? 

With experience in hydraulic modeling spanning across academia and industry, Jessica said communicating water-related issues has always been a strong interest of hers. 

“My goal has always been to bring together research and consulting to support and contribute to the water sector,” she said. 

“I was a lecturer for several years while working in research. I’ve always been passionate about deconstructing complex ideas into simpler concepts that people can understand and get excited about.  

“When I was lecturing, I took physics and civil engineering concepts and made them relevant to water real-life applications. After stopping lecturing, I started to miss that aspect of communicating. 

“That was one of the precursors for what I ended up doing with this podcast – taking complex stuff and making it simple.” 

Aside from her experience with communicating water issues to students, Jessica said her involvement with the AWA helped her realise that being overwhelmed by a vast variety of water fields was an issue plaguing Young Water Professionals, too.  

“Being involved with AWA’s Young Water Professionals community, I began to understand how hard it is for early career professionals to engage in meaningful conversations,” she said.  

“You go to an event and meet someone, but after a few minutes of conversation you’re lost because everyone’s work is so varied and complex. It’s hard to keep up. So, I thought: what if I could break down the basics and share them with others?” 

Raising water’s profile 

Jessica describes her podcast as having three main pillars: knowledge sharing, amplifying the power of conversation and increasing visibility for the water industry.  

“Early on, I focused on Young Water Professionals because it was a community I was already working within. But as I worked on the podcast, I saw that the content also appeals to people outside the sector who are interested in learning about water,” she said.  

“The goal is to communicate the value of water. A lot of my guests, probably 80% or more, emphasise this in our conversations – helping people understand both the broad perspectives within our sector and the importance of water management to everyday life.  

“It’s about helping people understand how crucial water is and what it takes to ensure that, here in Australia, most people can just turn on the tap and have water available 24/7.” 

 The Chris Davis AM Fellowship is going to support Jessica’s mission moving forward by allowing for more streamlined podcast production processes, as well as to help cover the costs of platforming and amplification.  

“I’m so grateful for this fellowship. It’s going to be an enabler. From day one, I’ve been doing everything myself – recording, editing, everything. I really enjoy finding guests and preparing questions. But editing used to take me days for one episode,” she said. 

“I’ve gotten better at it, but having some technical support with editing will allow me to focus more on expanding the podcast’s reach. It will also help cover some of the costs of running the podcast, including the different digital platforms and tools.  

“I intend to focus on developing new ideas and improving the podcast’s presence on social media. But, being recognised and supported in this way by the Australian Water Association is fantastic in terms of visibility.  

“I'm excited; I can’t wait to reach a broader audience.” 

The season one finale episode of Our Water Connection is now available – a compelling discussion with three inspiring water professionals about their pathways into a career in water.  

Do you know an inspiring water professional that’s leading a project, initiative or research activity that will contribute to sustainable water management in Australia? Find out about how to nominate them for the Chris Davis AM Fellowship here.