Solving Tomorrow's Water Challenges
Shubhee Saxena — Project Engineer & Manager, and Environmental & Water Resources Specialist
Shubhee Saxena is a Project Engineer, Project Manager, and Environmental & Water Resources Specialist whose career spans international organisations including the United Nations, national agencies, state-level bodies, and non-governmental organisations. A World Bank Youth Delegate and Commonwealth Scholar, she holds dual master's degrees — one from the US and one from the UK — alongside a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. Her single most important message: no single discipline can solve today's water and climate crisis alone; real change happens when engineering, public health, sustainability, and community engagement flow together like tributaries feeding one great river.
Shubhee Saxena is an environmental and water resources engineer with hands-on experience across the private sector, government, and non-profit organisations. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, a Master's degree in Water and Environmental Engineering (US), and a Master's degree in Water Management and International Development (UK), earned as a Commonwealth Scholar at Loughborough University. She has also served as a World Bank Youth Delegate, and her professional work has included a role in the Sustainable Urban Development Section of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Her credentials also include the Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP) and Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD) certifications, as well as the Project Management Professional (PMP) designation.
Shubhee's path to environmental engineering was shaped early — and deliberately — by her father, an Energy Engineer and Water and Sanitation (WASH) Expert. He regularly took her along to community engagement efforts, ensuring she stayed grounded and connected to the people her work would eventually serve. His influence was direct: he encouraged her to pursue civil and environmental engineering, a field where women remain notably underrepresented, rather than a more conventional desk-based career.
That grounding in community and purpose guided her academic choices. She completed two master's degrees — one in the US and one in the UK — and deliberately sought experience across international, national, and local levels, as well as across private, governmental, and non-governmental organisations, to build what she describes as a truly holistic viewpoint.
Shubhee has worked at every tier of environmental problem-solving — from global policy platforms to local on-the-ground delivery. Each level, she explains, reveals a distinct way that problems are identified, prioritised, and resolved — and that those decisions ultimately trickle down to real people in communities. By moving across these levels rather than staying in one lane, she has developed an understanding of how solutions conceived at the top must be interpreted and adapted before they can meaningfully reach the individuals who need them most.
Shubhee identifies four pressing challenges at the forefront of the global water crisis:
Aging infrastructure — Much of the world's water delivery and treatment systems were built decades ago and are overdue for modernisation. Access inequality — Not all communities have equal access to safe, reliable water and sanitation services. Water scarcity — Growing populations and changing climate patterns are placing unsustainable pressure on freshwater supplies. Erratic climate patterns — Increasingly unpredictable weather — floods, droughts, and extreme events — is disrupting water systems that were designed for more stable conditions.
She ties all four challenges back to a simple truth: water is not a peripheral environmental issue. It underpins everyday life, public health, food security, and economic stability. When water systems fail, people feel it immediately.
For Shubhee, the intersection of engineering, sustainability, and public health is not a complication — it is the whole point. She uses a vivid analogy: just as multiple small streams must come together to form a river capable of sustaining communities, no single discipline alone can deliver transformative outcomes. Engineers design the infrastructure; public health professionals ensure it protects human wellbeing; sustainability practitioners ensure it can endure. Acting in solidarity across these fields is what turns good intentions into lasting collective betterment.
Looking ahead, Shubhee is excited about the role of artificial intelligence in the water and environmental sectors. She sees AI as a transformative tool for advancing climate action — helping practitioners model water systems, predict climate risks, optimise resource use, and respond faster to environmental crises. For those who want to make a positive impact in this space, her message is clear: engage with these emerging tools, stay curious, and remember that the work has real human consequences.
For anyone inspired to work in water, sustainability, or climate action, Shubhee's career offers a compelling blueprint: seek breadth, cross sectors, stay rooted in communities, and never underestimate the power of a single mentor — or a parent who lets you see the world as it really is. The river of change needs every stream it can get.
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