From Research to Advocacy: EPM Students' Journey to DC
In April 2026, we - a group of UC Davis students from the Environmental Policy and Management (EPM) Graduate Group, in partnership with American Rivers, headed to Washington, D.C.. This trip was the culmination of six months of research, with the intention to share our findings with congressional staff during “Water Week” - a week dedicated to water policy advocacy in D.C. Our research focused on the importance of funding stormwater infrastructure and how innovative financing mechanisms will be key to bridging ever-increasing funding gaps. This was an invaluable opportunity to experience first-hand how to effectively advocate for environmental policy at the federal level. After this trip, we felt confident in our capabilities to successfully communicate with their representatives and senators about important environmental policy asks.
Getting to D.C.
The path to attending Water Week in D.C. was not easy. With several grant cuts and a budget deficit, there was no funding available to cover travel costs. But we persevered! Utilizing donation letters, running a social media campaign, and with the support of friends, family, mentors, and American Rivers’ staff, we hit our fundraising goal.
Meeting with Congressional Staffers
Before our days at Capitol Hill, our policy clinic client and mentor, Jaime Sigaran, gave us a training session on how to become effective advocates. This preparation was crucial, as it provided us with an outline for our meetings with congressional staff. We learned how vital it is to understand what is important to the office you are speaking to, in order to highlight the most impactful points of our research. Our meetings consisted of each of us providing highlights of our findings, which provided support for specific legislative requests aimed at increasing funding for stormwater infrastructure. The meetings included Democratic and Republican offices across the House and Senate, where each office staffer asked poignant questions and/or made interesting remarks about our findings.
Meeting with Water Policy Professionals
During our trip, we also attended the National Water Policy Forum, the National Water Policy Fly-In, and several networking events, where we heard a wide range of perspectives on water policy issues and their potential solutions. These events provided us with insight into how municipalities, state governments, and federal agencies are aiming to address water funding issues across the United States. The main takeaway was clear: well-informed policy advocacy via face-to-face conversation, showing dedication and knowledge, is essential to securing legislative asks.
Key-Takeaways
During the entirety of our time working on this project, all of our group members learned valuable insights on various issues within the water policy space, along with the professional research and advocacy that is needed to solve them. Meeting with our representatives, senators, and other water policy professionals allowed us to gain hands-on experience in policy advocacy and science communication. Going forward, these skills will be extremely important for our careers in environmental policy and management.
EPM aims to be able to provide opportunities like this in the future by creating a crowdfunding platform through UC Davis. Crowdfunding efforts will enable future EPM students to have access to future experiential learning opportunities such as this one.
We would like to thank our Friends, Mentors, Supporters, Jaime Sigaran, and American Rivers for their support in helping us achieve our dream of supporting American Rivers.
Special Thanks:
Students would like to take a moment to thank Jaime Sigaran, who guided the group in their research efforts, and who spent the full water week with them. Jaime spent time giving students a 101 crash course in the advocacy process and mentored them in how to present their research. Above all else, Jaime was incredibly supportive and celebrated the team's efforts. He is an example of what it means to be a mentor for the next generation of advocacy leaders.
Thank you to all those who donated their time, money, and support in helping us reach our fundraising goal! With special thanks to Dr. Willis from American Rivers, who financially supported the students in meeting their fundraising goal, and also an UC Davis Aggie Alumni