Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) recently attended Chicago Water Week, engaging in critical conversations for the advancement of innovation, investment, and impact in the water economy. Representing CWA at the event were CWA’s Executive Director & President, Bryan Stubbs, and our newest team member, Louise Quigley. The event offered a valuable platform to connect with our partners and highlight CWA's role in water innovation.

Welcoming a New Team Member

Louise Quigley brings over 25 years of experience helping organizations drive innovation, manage change, and deliver sustainable results. As Strategic Innovation Executive at CWA, she leads innovation programming across major initiatives, including the NSF-funded Great Lakes ReNEW Innovation Engine, the State of Ohio, corporate innovation partnerships, and academic collaborations.

Before joining CWA, Louise served as Senior Managing Director of Innovation at Salesforce, where she led cross-organizational teams in developing future visions and roadmaps for Fortune 500 companies. She also shaped smart home strategies and launched a portfolio of new product innovations during her time as Director of Strategic Innovation at Fortune Brands Innovations, working with the Moen brand.

Louise holds an MBA in Marketing from Case Western Reserve University and a BA in English from Bowling Green State University. She lives in Cleveland with her family and enjoys boating, birding, and travel.

Co-Hosting a Powerful Conversation on Water Tech Innovation

The biggest highlight of CWA’s week in Chicago was a networking brunch co-hosted with gener8tor and Current, titled “Accelerating Water Innovation: Taking Innovations from Idea to Investment to Market.” The event welcomed 70+ attendees, including startup founders, students, researchers, funders, and industry leaders—all eager to explore pathways for advancing water technologies from early-stage ideas to real-world impact.

The event featured a panel conversation moderated by Nina Dudnik, PhD of Current, with insights from Bryan Stubbs (CWA) and Ryan Jeffery (gener8tor). Together, they explored how each organization plays a distinct but complementary role in supporting emerging water technologies.

Reflecting on this session, Louise noted, “This event really emphasized the strength of our approach at CWA—supporting innovators from research to deployment. It was a great opportunity to show how we’re helping bridge the gap between ideas and implementation, across all sectors and stages.”

Deepening Collaboration Across the Great Lakes

Throughout Chicago Water Week, CWA met with partners and attended meetings focused on advancing water innovation across the region. Conversations explored how to strengthen support for startups, improve research-to-market pathways, and the best resources to provide to accelerate the development and deployment of emerging technologies.

Cleveland Water Alliance plays a distinctive role in this ecosystem—providing access to real-world testbeds, industry partners, and market insight. Our testbeds allow emerging technologies to be deployed in real-world conditions and provide actionable feedback to help innovators improve and refine their tech. Beyond testing, CWA helps bridge the gap to market by connecting companies with potential pilots, customers, and end users.

Discussing the Future of the Water Economy

The week concluded at the 2025 Freshwater Forum, hosted by Current at the Shedd Aquarium. Nearly 200 water leaders, innovators, and advocates gathered to celebrate regional progress and discuss future priorities.

Highlights included opening remarks by Shedd Aquarium President & CEO Dr. Bridget C. Coughlin, a keynote by journalist and author Peter Annin, and a panel on driving water innovation. The event reflected the momentum and collaboration propelling the Great Lakes water economy forward.

The Next Wave of Innovation

Chicago Water Week reinforced the importance of collaboration and cross-sector partnerships - like Great Lakes ReNew - in shaping the future of water innovation. From strategic conversations around supporting innovation to celebrating shared progress, CWA remains committed to accelerating technologies and partnerships that strengthen the future of freshwater across the Great Lakes and beyond.

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