Where Are They Now? Jesse Baltutis

The POLIS Water Sustainability Project is turning 20 this year! We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of our colleagues, partners, advisors, funders, water leaders, and many many supporters across B.C. (and beyond!) who give their time and energy and continually champion the necessary and crucial work of water sustainability and watershed security. To celebrate some of the people who have made this milestone possible, POLIS Communications Director Laura Brandes got in touch with several “POLIS alumni” to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving POLIS, and to ask if there are lessons from their POLIS days that they still carry with them…

Jesse Baltutis worked at the POLIS Water Sustainability Project from 2011 to 2015 as a researcher and Water Policy and Governance Project Coordinator. During his time at POLIS, he co-authored and led workshops on key publications, including Cross-Canada Checkup: A Canadian Perspective on Our Water Future (May 2012) and From Stream to Steam: Emerging Challenges for BC’s Interlinked Water and Energy Resources (November 2012). Since leaving POLIS, Jesse has completed a PhD with a focus on transboundary water issues and has worked as a senior policy analyst and manager in the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the B.C. Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. Earlier in his career, Jesse worked at Friends of the Earth Middle East in Palestine and the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya.

***

Laura Brandes: What is your current job and how long have you been there? 

Jesse: I’m currently with the consultancy firm KPMG, where I’m a senior consultant on the Global Infrastructure Advisory team. I just started June 1^st! Prior to this, I worked with the B.C. Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, where I was a manager in the Policy and Legislation branch.

 

Laura: When did you work at POLIS?

Jesse: I started volunteering with POLIS in a remote capacity from Ontario in the summer of 2011. I had just returned to Canada after working in the Middle East. However, I started in a full-time capacity at POLIS on November 1^st, 2011—fresh-faced to B.C. the night before!

 

Laura: What did your role involve?

Jesse: My title was Researcher & Water Policy and Governance Project Coordinator. Being a small but mighty team at POLIS, I wore a few different hats—from organizing field trips, conferences, and workshops, to researching water governance issues, drafting research reports, writing op-eds, and any number of things as they came across my desk.

Laura: What was your biggest contribution to the work at POLIS? And what were the impacts of that work?

Jesse: I was lucky to have been involved in POLIS’ work around modernizing B.C.’s outdated Water Act, and supporting our team’s recommendations to inform the new Water Sustainability Act. The modernization of B.C.’s water law has had a lasting and positive impact on how B.C. manages its freshwater resources.

 

Laura: Are there any skills or lessons from your POLIS days that you still carry with you today?  

Jesse: There are many skills and lessons I’ve carried forward over the years. Perhaps the most prominent one is acknowledging that any good piece of written work—for example, op-eds or research reports—needs to go through at least seven (yes, seven!) iterations before it can be considered finalized. I think this rule of thumb underscores the fact that writing, re-writing, and editing is a craft that cannot and should not be rushed.

 

Laura: What adventures have you been on since leaving POLIS? Are there any major milestones—either personally or professionally—that you’d like to share? 

Jesse: The biggest academic-related adventure I’ve been on since leaving POLIS was the completion of my PhD on the governance of transboundary rivers (Columbia River and Orange-Senqu River) through the University of Victoria’s Department of Geography. Without the encouragement and support of the good people at POLIS, the PhD would have been almost impossible!

 

Laura: Do you have any favourite POLIS memories you’d like to share?

Jesse: Oh, so many! I think top of mind is when I flew into Calgary with the plan to rent a car and drive to Kananaskis to pick up Oliver from a retreat he was at, on our way to the southern interior of B.C. for some workshops. I got to the car rental place in Calgary and realized my driver’s licence was expired. I had to convince another couple who were also renting a vehicle to drive to Kananaskis to pick up Oliver from the retreat (which was not so conveniently located in a very rural spot), and then drive us to Canmore, where Oliver was then able to rent a vehicle under his name! I endured some good natured and well-deserved teasing from him for the duration of the trip. But, in his usual fashion, this minor set back didn’t phase him in the least.