Date: April 30, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM ET (11:00 AM CT)
Location: Zoom

Webinar Topic: Advancing Corporate Water Stewardship in the Great Lakes Region
Guest Speaker: Alan Gilden, Vice President, Global Quality, Watts Water Technologies; and Paul Sambanis, Vice President of Sustainability, Sloan
Moderator: Lora Shrake, Chief Operating Officer, Council of the Great Lakes Region

Join us on April 30 at 12:00 PM ET (11:00AM CT) for an informative webinar exploring how companies are advancing water stewardship across the Great Lakes – St Lawrence region. As water challenges become increasingly local and complex, businesses play a critical role in protecting and sustaining this globally significant freshwater system.

This session will highlight real-world examples of corporate water stewardship in action, featuring guest speakers from Watts Water Technologies and Sloan. Hear how these industry leaders are approaching water management within their operations and supply chains, and how they are aligning business strategy with watershed health.

The webinar will also introduce the Council of the Great Lakes Region’s Great Lakes WISE (Water Innovation & Stewardship Exchange), a collaborative platform designed to help companies better understand regional water risks and opportunities. Attendees will learn about the Great Lakes WISE Water Stewardship Toolkit and how it supports organizations at every stage of their water stewardship journey—from assessment to action.

Whether you are just beginning to explore water stewardship or looking to deepen your impact, this session will provide practical insights, peer examples, and resources to help guide your efforts.

SPEAKER:

Paul Sambanis | Vice President of Sustainability | Sloan

As the Vice President of Sustainability at Sloan, Dr. Sambanis is responsible for developing, managing, and constantly improving the sustainability program across the company. Specifically, this work includes leading global governance, processes, and systems to ensure the company is at the forefront of the industry in its socio-economic systems toward sustainability. He also works with customers and other stakeholders to develop and implement their water sustainability strategy. 

Dr. Sambanis is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Director of the Emergency Management and Resilience Planning Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health. His research involves using a community-based participatory design methodology to identify hazards that are often overlooked in state-level dashboards but are important for city policymaking, along with more commonly recognized environmental hazard sources.

Alan Gilden | Vice President | Global Quality | Watts Water Technologies

Alan joined Watts in 2017 as Vice President, Global Quality, and has helped lead the transformation of the Watts Quality System ensuring that we as a team consistently deliver superior quality, service and value to our customers. 

Alan leads Environmental Sustainability at Watts from concept to the broad based and maturing program Watts has today.  Key successes have been significant reduction in resource consumption and savings; UNGC and CEO Water Mandate Signatories; TWC WAVE Verification; Newsweek America’s Most Responsible Companies; USA Today’s Climate Leaders List.

Prior to joining Watts, Alan held several leadership roles at ITT including Operations for Control Technologies, Global Strategic Sourcing Operations, and Supplier Quality.

Alan is a Six Sigma Black Belt.  He holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Arizona State University.

MODERATOR:

Lora Shrake | Chief Operating Officer | Council of the Great Lakes Region
Lora Shrake serves as the Chief Operating Officer with the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR). Since joining CGLR, she has focused on growing the Council’s network and connecting business leaders and regional stakeholders on sustainability issues through CGLR’s programs that support the advancement of cross-sector solutions. She facilitates CGLR’s monthly business and sustainability webinar series, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and amplifying regional best practices.