Ms. Maude Barlow

Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and chairs the board of Washington-based Food and Water Watch. She is also an executive member of the San Francisco–based International Forum on Globalization and a Councillor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. Maude is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates as well as many awards, including the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (known as the "Alternative Nobel"), the Citation of Lifetime Achievement at the 2008 Canadian Environment Award, and the 2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award.

In 2008/2009, she served as Senior Advisor on Water to the 63rd President of the United Nations General Assembly. She is also the best selling author or co-author of 16 books, including the international best seller Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.

Patricia L. Meinhardt, Lunch Speaker

Patricia L. Meinhardt, MD, MPH, MA is an occupational and environmental medicine physician specializing in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of water-related disease resulting from biological, chemical, and radiologic agent exposure. She has provided waterborne disease recognition and medical management training to thousands of medical and public health practitioners in the US and abroad. Dr. Meinhardt presented the keynote address at the Global Conference on Microbial Contaminates in Drinking Water sponsored by Singapore Government and provided medical preparedness training for water contamination emergencies at the request of the Institute of Water Officers in London, England and The World Water Organization at the United Nations in New York City.