Dr. Roberto Lenton graciously joins us this week in conversation on the Diving into Water and Sanitation Careers podcast, with host Josh Newton. Roberto is a specialist in water, the environment and international development with a civil engineering degree from the University of Buenos Aires and M.S. and PhD. degrees from MIT. Roberto is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Board Chair of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Previously, he served as the founding director of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, Chair of the Inspection Panel of the World Bank, Chair of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership, senior advisor at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division of UNDP, Director General of IWMI, Program Officer at the Ford Foundation, and Assistant Professor at MIT.
Listen to this episode, where you will be transported from Argentina to India and Sri Lanka, New York, and beyond, in a variety of contexts, from academic settings to policy institutions. Roberto shares highlights from his career journey thus far, including describing the work he is most proud of – his involvement in starting up creative, new institutions.
In conversation with Josh, Roberto generously shares career advice derived from his own experiences working in these varied contexts. For example, he recalls key advice he received himself once, which is to put forward your strengths and reign in your modesty, all while being honest and clear, when interviewing for new positions. Roberto also advises to have a general career plan, but to be open and flexible in responding to opportunities, advice that by listening to this episode, you will find he has followed himself throughout his career journey. Tune in, not only to hear about Roberto’s experiences working for MIT, the Ford Foundation, UNDP, IWMI, and more, but also about Roberto’s hopes for the future of the water community, and his insightful answers to last week’s guest’s questions.
You can watch and listen to the podcast on this page or find the full interview here as an audio podcast, or here as a video podcast. Every other week we will bring you a new episode of the Diving into Water and Sanitation Careers podcast. You can listen to the episodes anywhere you subscribe to podcasts and via the JWJ platform or here. You can also watch the video version of the full-length episode on our platform or via our YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes!
