Volunteer Spotlight – Barbara Sprenger

Meet super citizen Barbara Sprenger of Felton, California. Barbara has served her communtiy as a water activist, school board member, and Santa Cruz County commissioner on youth issues. On top of being a mother and grandmother, Barbarais a successful entrepreneur as a builder of sustainable homes. We’re especially proud of her work fighting for public control of Felton’s water system. Soon after the private water company (RWE/American Water) proposed a 78% rate increase she became actively involved with Felton’s Friends of Locally Owned Water (FLOW). Barbara has served on FLOW’s Steering Committee and has been responsible for analyzing the economics of public ownership of the local water system. She was a key campaign strategist for Felton’s Measure W, a bond measure used to finance the public acquisition of the water system. Despite American Water’s blitz of advertising and lawsuits, Measure W passed with 76% of the vote!

Last year Barbara completed her master’s degree in public policy from the Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University at Monterey Bay. Her thesis explained why public ownership instead of corporate ownership of Felton’s water was a better option. Barbara is now a candidate for the California State Assembly. Barbara is an inspiration to citizens everywhere who are fighting the corporate takeover of food and water. Barbara advises,

“Local people — in their own backyard — can always win against a large multinational. They just have to be smarter, more tenacious, willing to personally connect with every neighbor — and just never give up!”