Strategic Communications, Stakeholder Engagement, and Partnerships
for
WATER, WATERSHED, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Bridging science and community to build understanding, strengthen trust, and advance lasting public impact.
Agua Arc is certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC). Agua Arc also holds Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Small/Micro Diverse Business (SDB) certifications.
About
Agua Arc is a mission-driven, Latina-owned consulting practice specializing in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and partnership development for water, watershed, and climate resilience. We stand out by partnering with clients to co-create custom solutions and deliver them through hands-on collaboration.We support public agencies, nonprofit organizations, water utilities, academic institutions, and businesses in delivering clean water, protecting watersheds, reducing natural hazard risks, and building climate resilience.With deep experience across the water and environmental sectors, we lead with proactive communication, creative problem-solving, and meaningful engagement, paired with genuine, inclusive collaboration - helping clients, their customers, and their communities achieve lasting impact.We are passionate about advancing solutions that build trust and create understanding among clients, their customers, and the communities they serve. By translating dense, technical information into something people can use, we help safeguard investments and foster lasting stewardship.Whether planting trees on city blocks, constructing a drinking water treatment plant, or rebuilding a coast after a storm, we believe every project is stronger when the people it serves help shape it.We value community voices, inclusive engagement, and cultural competency. We work in English and Spanish.
The Origin Story
Before founding Agua Arc, Tiffany Ledesma spent more than 25 years providing direct, on-the-ground strategic communications, public engagement, and partnership services to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners on topics such as green stormwater infrastructure (nature-based solutions), flooding, and drinking water. She supported the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) for nearly two decades as part of CDM Smith, helping advance the City's flagship Green City, Clean Waters program. She led public-facing campaigns and innovative programs to increase understanding, educate communities, and empower participation in solutions.Tiffany also supported the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) work to reduce natural hazard risks and strengthen climate resilience, supporting projects in various states and Puerto Rico while with Ogilvy's Resilience Action Partners and CDM Smith, respectively.Earlier in her career, she held roles at the Academy of Natural Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water.Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Tiffany developed a lifelong connection to water and nature in the island's coastal and green spaces. As a graduate student, she worked with Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment on a coastal management plan and began to SCUBA dive to support this effort. These early experiences furthered her appreciation for water, ecological communities, the human communities along the coast, and the vast network of upstream communities that influence the health of downstream waters. That early grounding in coastal and island ecosystems continues to shape her interest in supporting conservation and resilience work.Throughout her career, Tiffany has always focused on the human side of water and environmental work - building partnerships, creating incentives for public participation, integrating arts and culture to engage people, piloting demonstration projects that prove new approaches can be brought to scale, and reimagining traditional communications to help create solutions and meaningful impact for diverse communities and clients.
The Meaning Behind the Name
Tiffany's journey inspired the creation of Agua Arc. The name reflects her roots and mission. Agua represents her upbringing and foundational experiences in public service. Arc symbolizes her role as a bridge.
Services and Approach
SERVICES
We build the strategy and stay to deliver it - providing design, planning, management, and facilitation across every service.
Strategic Communications, Engagement, & Public Affairs Advisory: We provide guidance to leaders on engagement strategy, public outreach approaches, and communication of complex water and environmental work. Where clients want it, we stay on to design the approach and lead the sessions to carry it out, helping build trust and navigate community and partnership landscapes.
Public Education, Narrative Development, Storytelling, & Creative Placemaking: We shape the bigger story behind technical work and translate it into campaigns, events, art, video, and public spaces, educating and building connections.
Stakeholder Engagement & Partnership Development: We identify the people and organizations who matter to a project and build the relationships and partnerships that move the work forward.
Public Participation Programs: We design and run structured public involvement processes that give communities a real voice in decision-making, with input clearly documented and traceable to the decisions it informs.
Stewardship & Capacity Building: We design programs that give communities and partners an active role in stewardship and problem-solving, and we build the internal capacity for organizations to sustain that work on their own.
Organizational Assessment & Team Advisory: We help clients strengthen their public engagement teams by assessing current structures and workflows, then offering practical recommendations for improvement.
Project Management & Implementation Support: We provide hands-on support - at every stage, from project design and day-to-day coordination to on-the-ground implementation. We ensure your projects are successfully delivered and foster long-term stewardship.
APPROACH
Agua Arc tailors every project to each client's unique needs, ensuring our work aligns with their specific goals and challenges.Our adaptive approach guarantees that as project needs evolve, we provide the right tools, resources, and expertise at every stage. This means we can quickly respond to changes without losing sight of long-term goals.Our approach is collaborative and flexible. We often work across disciplines with decision-makers, engineers, planners, and biologists to achieve high-impact outcomes.We will work directly with in-house team members and, when needed, draw on a vast network of specialists, including evaluation researchers, environmental educators, behavioral scientists, and visual artists, among others, to deliver innovative, effective solutions.
Testimonials
“Tiffany brings a scalable, innovative model of public engagement from which cities and water programs nationwide can deeply benefit. Having tracked her career since her early days with Philadelphia Water, it’s a privilege to now have her advising The Water Center as a partner. Tiffany is a true delight to work with, seamlessly transitioning from shaping high-level communication strategies to helping us operationalize our programs. From facilitating critical partner connections and sharing industry insights to advising on implementation and evaluating progress, she excels at both the big picture and the day-to-day execution. She is strategic, dependable, and an asset to the Water Center." Howard Neukrug, Executive Director, The Water Center - University of Pennsylvania
"I’ve worked with Tiffany for more than a decade on implementing equitable public engagement programs and campaigns around water, green infrastructure, climate change, flooding, and resilience. She is an expert communicator and has a gift for engaging diverse stakeholders in creative ways. As a consultant to FEMA, we worked closely together on a Federal-State Equity Working Group that brought unique perspectives on implementing mitigation and adaptation programs to underserved communities. As a consultant to the Philadelphia Water Department, Tiffany created a legacy public engagement process to implement the country’s largest green infrastructure program." Hailey Stern, Mitigation Operations Supervisor - Partnerships, Outreach & Communications, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region 3
“For more than two decades at the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), I was fortunate to have Tiffany as my partner in shaping the department’s public engagement work. Together, we built and led regional watershed partnerships grounded in PWD’s integrated watershed management plans and strengthened by river conservation planning. These collaborations became the foundation for launching the comprehensive communications strategy behind Green City, Clean Waters (GCCW). As Public Engagement Manager, Tiffany oversaw all education and outreach for GCCW, guiding a dedicated team responsible for community meetings, workshops, tours, mailings, social media, surveys, and more. Her leadership ensured that residents understood - and supported - the rollout of green stormwater infrastructure across the city. A hallmark of her approach was using arts and culture to reach audiences who might not otherwise connect with stormwater issues. Initiatives like the Philly Water Bar, Mural Arts paint days, GCCW signage, and milestone celebrations such as the 5‑Year and 1,000 Green Acre events drew in broad, diverse public participation. The resulting engagement model became a national example of how to build authentic community support for large‑scale environmental programs. Tiffany brings creativity, passion, and kindness to everything she does - a combination that makes genuine public engagement not only possible, but powerful.” Joanne Dahme, Founder and President, Mayfly Communications + Former Deputy Commissioner of Communications & Engagement, Philadelphia Water Department
“I worked with Tiffany on some important water resource projects for a number of years. Tiffany brings a unique and valuable talent to public engagement, which is critical and in short supply for complex engineering programs. Her ability to understand and translate technical information into language (Spanish and English) that speaks to stakeholders and builds trust was something our company could rely on." Mark Maimone, Climate Change Analysis Discipline Leader, CDM Smith
“It is simply a joy to work with Tiffany Ledesma at Agua Arc. She understands the nuances of leadership, diverse perspectives, and professional experience. With each collaboration with Tiffany, our appreciation for her grows.” Philip Chiang & Andrew Chiang, President & Project Manager, Trans-Pacific Engineering Corporation (TPEC)
"Tiffany engages the communities we serve with authenticity, sincerity, inclusivity, genuine curiosity, and active listening, and is grounded in a strong understanding of the technical elements of watershed protection and water resource management. Tiffany is a collaborative, creative, dependable, and reliable partner who understands and considers the needs of Philadelphians from initiative planning through implementation. Her professionalism, dedication, and integrity continue to result in a positive, meaningful impact on so many." Marc Cammarata, Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Environmental Services, Philadelphia Water Department
work with us
Want to discuss a project? Let's talk!Agua Arc is available for prime engagements and subcontracting partnerships.We are certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council (EMSDC). Agua Arc also holds Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and Small/Micro Diverse Business (SDB) certification.GET IN TOUCH
For consulting inquiries, partnership projects, or other opportunities, please complete the short form below or email us directly. Thanks![email protected]Based in the Greater Philadelphia region, collaborating with wonderful people on interesting projects wherever they may be.
Strengthened Partnerships • Increased Understanding • Built Trust • Meaningful Engagement • Lasting Public Impact
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