About Us

WFX is a 501(c)(3) non-profit platform created by an experienced team of water and finance professionals to develop and fund community-based water projects. WFX is a unique, community-based platform to facilitate the financing of long-term solutions for local water challenges. WFX is supported by its technical partners: the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, and an extended group of experts and advisors.

Leadership Team

Comprised of a skilled and dedicated leadership team, WFX is passionately committed to proving its concept and building a platform to achieve scale and efficiency in a significant number of successful transactions.

Hank Habicht

Managing Co-Founder

Usha Rao-Monari

Co-Founder Emeritus

Brent Fewell

Co-Founder, General Counsel, Business Development Lead

Brendan McGinnis

Chief Operating Manager

Rogelio Rodriguez

Director, Texas Infrastructure Fund

Josh Clement

Senior Program Manager

Carlos Rubinstein

Senior Advisor

Walter “Buzz” Pishkur

Senior Advisor

Charley Orner

Development and Communications Associate

Emily Barnett

Water Infrastructure Research and Policy Fellow

Riki Fujii-Rajani

Water Infrastructure Research and Policy Fellow

Governing Board

WFX is overseen by a Governing Board of well-qualified independent members, who bring perspective and expertise relevant to WFX’s mission and operations.

Hank Habicht, Managing Co-Founder, WFX
Adam Krantz, Executive Director, National Association of Clean Water Agencies
Jennifer Kurz, Strategy Lead, Water Funder Initiative and Senior Strategist, Susan Bell & Associates
Bill Teichmiller, CEO, EJ Water Cooperative, Inc.
Brent Fewell, Co-Founder, General Councel, WFX (non-voting)

Advisory Council

WFX has assembled an Advisory Council with a rich mix of water utility management, finance and governance expertise. The perspectives and expertise of the Council are harnessed as specific deal needs arise.

Carlos Rubinstein, Principal, RSAH20, LLC
Brian Oakley, Executive Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL); Advisor, U.S.EPA’s WIFIA
Walter Pishkur, Former CEO, Arlington Texas Water Utility
Nathan Ohle, President and CEO, International Economic Development Council
Benjamin Scaggs, Founder, Pathway Strategies & Solutions, Inc.
George Hawkins, CEO, Moonshot Missions, LLC
Felicia Marcus, Former Chair, California Water Resources Board
Michael Curley, Former Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Institute
Jim Good, Former Director; Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority
Eric Letsinger, CEO, Quantified Ventures
Deirdre Finn, Executive Director, Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities
Chuck Chaitovitz, Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Debra Coy, Executive in Residence, XPV Water Partners
Ellen Gilinsky, Former Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, U.S. EPA
Heather Himmelberger, Director, Southwest Environmental Finance Center, University of New Mexico
Patricia (Pat) Mulroy, President and CEO, Sustainable Strategies and former CEO Southern Nevada Water Authority

Primary Funders

The Water Finance Exchange is made possible through the financial contributions of the primary funders:
Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the Water Funder Initiative, and CoBank.

Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving for founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. Our organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities. Because Miss Hill has a fervent belief that “science is the answer” to many of life’s most challenging issues, she has chosen to donate the entirety of her estate to philanthropy and scientific research.

Water Funder Initiative (WFI) is a collaborative effort to identify and activate promising water solutions through strategic philanthropic investments. Learn more at waterfunder.org

CoBank is a national cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states.