Jackie Fetter, LLC

04/03/2025

Thank you, Water Education Colorado, for this blog feature! It has been incredible collaborating with you.

🌿💧 Check out the latest Your Water Colorado blog by Jackie Fetter! Explore why conservation matters—and how we can make it relevant and accessible for everyone. 🌎✨

Read more here: https://buff.ly/0oVUv4B

03/26/2025

Thank you to Water Education Colorado for this article feature and for making waves with me.

"Making Conservation Matter in Denver’s Backyard
by Jackie Fetter

Here in Denver, Colorado, where the stunning Rockies meet the realities of water scarcity, there’s a unique opportunity to spark meaningful discussions and take action. Do you often hear discussions about water conservation or ways to engage in water policy? Have you noticed how initiating conversations about water conservation and environmental policies can feel challenging? This absence of engagement is often because people need a clearer connection or guidance on how to get involved. The good news? We can change how we have these talks—and invite more people in. My research explores how reframing the conversation around conservation can increase community participation. Here’s what I’ve found and how it can apply right here in Colorado.

Making Conservation Accessible for Everyone
When I first interviewed people about water conservation, I heard a recurring theme. Many felt that conservation resources and water policy discussions were too technical, distant, or irrelevant to their daily lives. It felt easier for many residents around Denver and across the Front Range to tune it all out. And honestly, who hasn’t felt that way at one point or another?

But here’s the hopeful part. Recognizing this disconnect is the first step in fixing it. I began focusing on ways to make the material more approachable and aligned with the realities people face daily. When information is presented in clear and relatable ways – tied to real-world challenges and relatable contexts—people go from feeling frustrated or disengaged to understanding and feeling empowered to act.

Water is a Local Story
Another discovery during my research was how many people saw water scarcity as “someone else’s problem.” Droughts? Aren’t those things that happen far away in California or developing countries?

But we know that water issues are very much our problem here in Denver and across Colorado. From the Colorado River Compact to efforts to conserve urban water supplies, our communities depend on us to protect this vital resource for future generations.

By reframing the discussion locally—focusing on how water shortages impact our homes, parks, neighborhoods, and livelihoods—I saw people begin to connect. They started understanding why their actions mattered and could see the relevance of water conservation in their everyday lives. Many became eager to do their part once they saw a connection between their well-being and the community they love.

For Denverites, the lesson is clear. Conversations about water conservation need to start with how it affects us here: our mountain streams, urban green spaces, and family faucets. When the story is local, people listen.

Turning Apathy into Action
One of the most surprising aspects of my study was that people didn’t lack empathy—they lacked clarity. Many felt powerless because water policies seemed overly complicated or far removed from what they could influence. Clearly, they cared, but they didn’t know how to act in an impactful way. Here’s an example. When we ask Denver residents to conserve water, the message often ends there—“Use less water.” But what if we emphasize specific, actionable steps? Fixing leaks, switching to drought-tolerant landscaping, or installing water-saving fixtures suddenly makes conservation achievable. Just as importantly, these actions remind people that their efforts accumulate into meaningful change.

Building a More Engaged Community
One thing has become crystal clear through my time researching local engagement and environmental sociology. People want to be heard and valued. Simple, relatable resources delivered with clarity and empathy can radically reshape how they see their role in conservation efforts. For example, think of all the water education tools we already use in Denver—whether at schools, in public parks, or through local campaigns like sustainable gardening workshops. If we connect these tools to shared goals and community pride, we have an opportunity to inspire participation on every level. These insights have already inspired successful campaigns to encourage civic participation and collaborative action. And I believe they can do even more—driving meaningful change for Colorado’s future.

Proud Colorado Roots in Research
This fall, I was privileged to receive the Top Scholar/Research Scholarship Award from the College of Liberal Arts from Colorado State University’s Graduate Student Showcase for this research. The award was a reminder of the importance of interdisciplinary work—combining facts, empathy, and connection to ignite movements grounded in understanding.

Your Next Steps in Conservation
Whether you’re a student, policy advocate, or local business owner, you have the power to make a difference. Change starts with small reframes—breaking conservation down into actions that make sense to us and our neighbors. We create something powerful when we connect the dots between individual efforts, community priorities, and sustainable futures.

Jackie Fetter is a MPPA student at Colorado State University and a researcher with interdisciplinary expertise in environmental sociology, public policy, and political science. Her work examines the intersections of human perception, resource management, and civic engagement. This is her original research."

Here in Denver, Colorado, where the stunning Rockies meet the realities of water scarcity, there’s a unique opportunity to spark meaningful discussions and take action. Do you often hear discussions about water conservation or ways to engage in water policy? Have you noticed how initiating convers...

01/06/2025

I am thrilled to share that I was recently featured in the American Sociological Association Political Sociology fall/winter newsletter.

"The purpose of the Political Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association is to promote the scholarly research and professional activities of those concerned with a sociological understanding of political phenomena. The phrase “sociological understanding” is interpreted to encompass the wide variety of theoretical and associated methodological approaches with which sociologists attempt to describe and explain social phenomena. The phrase “political phenomena” is interpreted to encompass the wide variety of topics that sociologists investigate, including social and cultural bases of power and authority."

In my feature, I spoke about my recent research.

"Understanding Non-Participation in Water Conservation and Water Policy Efforts

Jackie Fetter
Colorado State University

What do you do when your research uncovers disengagement from critical issues? For scholars focusing on environmental concerns, such "null results" challenge not just methodology but our very assumptions about civic behavior. Exploring non-participation in water conservation and policy, I faced intellectual roadblocks and unexpected breakthroughs that redirected my analysis and refined my strategies.

The Accessibility Challenge
One of the earliest hurdles in my project arose from understanding why so many people disengage with water policy. Initial investigations revealed a persistent theme—the "inaccessibility" of water policy and conservation materials. Participants often described these resources as overly technical and disconnected from their everyday concerns. Recognizing this gap, I redirected my methods to incorporate questions about how individuals interact with educational materials. By reframing my study, I shifted toward identifying actionable strategies to make conservation and policy more digestible and relevant.

Discovery Along the Way
Amid these adjustments, I uncovered a crucial insight—cultural perceptions significantly shape public attitudes about water conservation. Many participants classified water crises as distant problems relevant only to drought-stricken or developing areas. Identifying this localized detachment led me to explore narratives that tied conservation directly to participants’ personal and community well-being, reshaping my approach to motivating public action.

Complexity and Apathy
Perhaps the most unexpected discovery came from participants’ expressions of apathy, which they often attributed to the complexity of water policies. While I initially assumed lack of information was the primary barrier, disempowerment emerged as a larger factor. Many individuals felt that water policy was beyond their control, leaving little room for personal impact. This insight directed me toward emphasizing individual empowerment through accessible and actionable messaging.

Moving Forward
This experience has illuminated the nuances of how the public perceives and interacts with environmental issues like water conservation. My findings have already informed the development of practical tools and educational campaigns targeting community engagement. I want these insights to empower others creating educational resources in critical fields.

This past fall, I was honored to receive one of the three Scholarly/Research-Based Top Scholar Scholarship Award for the Liberal Arts College at Colorado State University’s Graduate Student Showcase for this work. The recognition underscored the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to local and global challenges.

Through these challenges, my research sheds light on public disengagement and highlights the power of reframing narratives to foster collaboration and inspire civic engagement and effective action. Importantly, it also reminds me—and all of us working on civic engagement—that meaningful impact comes from addressing disconnection with clarity, empathy, and practical solutions.

Jackie Fetter is a MPPA student at Colorado State University and a researcher with interdisciplinary expertise in environmental sociology, public policy, and political science. Her work examines the intersections of human perception, resource management, and civic engagement."

10/30/2024

💧Happy 50th to the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Introduction: The Senate introduced the SDWA as S. 433 on January 18, 1973

Passage: The Senate passed the bill on June 22, 1973, and the House passed it on November 19, 1974

Amendments: The House and Senate made amendments to the bill in 1974

Signing: President Ford signed the bill into law on December 16, 1974

💧”Every time you turn on your tap and drink some fresh, delicious water, you can thank the Safe Drinking Water Act!

For 50 years, this landmark federal legislation has been a key driving force safeguarding the quality of potable water that is so essential to daily life across the U.S. Administered through science-based EPA regulations, SDWA set stringent and clear standards which all water utilities and systems, of all sizes, are required to meet.

💧SDWA has kept up with changing times and evolving science. It has been updated several times to address emerging threats to our drinking water, as well as new opportunities to tackle water quality challenges.

✅This video tells the story of SDWA: How it evolved, why it’s essential to our quality of life, and how it shapes the daily work of highly skilled water professionals.

💧Alarming water quality problems in the 1960s, particularly when Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire due to heavy chemical contamination, helped spark a nationwide environmental outcry. This led to the Clean Water Act, the creation of the EPA, and eventually to the 1974 enactment of the SDWA.

This video was shown at the Opening General Session of ACE24, as a prelude to the keynote address delivered Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at the Anaheim, California Convention Center. Our keynote speaker, Pat Mulroy (former General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority), is a true water visionary. She shared many insights, based on decades of experience in water, about how water professionals can work together to transform our water future.

In this video, AWWA’s new President, Cheryl Porter (COO of the Great Lakes Water Authority), says: “As true water professionals, we want to take it up a notch. We want to make sure that we’re doing more than we are required to do — because we realize that the people we serve are our family, our friends. We are protecting this vital resource for our communities.”

WATER PROFESSIONALS: If you’re not an AWWA member yet, we encourage you to join! We’re here to support your efforts to fulfill the mission of SDWA, and to meet the goals of the communities you serve.

JOIN AWWA TODAY: https://www.awwa.org/“

https://youtu.be/iLgpmjoNL10?si=fgosBdNV7P13HVBE

Every time you turn on your tap and drink some fresh, delicious water, you can thank the Safe Drinking Water Act! For 50 years, this landmark federal legisl...