Peter Ullrich
Peter received his Master of Science in Global Health from Northwestern University in June 2022. The focus of his master’s was Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH), and much of his research studied the interaction between climate change and the growing numbers of waterborne diseases. Peter previously worked in research as a clinical research coordinator at Northwestern University where he led teams of doctors, residents, and medical students in dozens of research projects covering topics such as wound healing, medical device effectiveness, and access to surgical care. Peter also recently completed his work at Bridge to Health USA where he supported a project that teaches healthcare workers in Yemen to utilize point of care ultrasound for critical diagnoses.
For many years, Peter was determined to be a medical doctor, but the water and climate crisis has become too important to ignore. Therefore, he is devoting his career to connecting the water industry to accelerate innovative solutions.
Why Water?
Water has always played a key part of my life. As a native Wisconsinite, I was always near freshwater: I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, spent summers on the northern lakes in the state, and went to college nuzzled between Lakes Mendota and Monona at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Life surrounded the water. Very few weeks went by without swimming, rowing, paddle boarding, fishing, skiing, or simply spending time around the water. And from an early age, my parents emphasized the value of water—they informed my siblings and me about the future wars that would be fought over the very water we used on a daily basis.
Water grew even more influential in my life as I spread roots outside of my watery home state. I spent considerable time in the Nordic countries, particularly Finland, where the sauna reigns supreme. My family adopted the healing rituals that accompanied sauna culture—from the steamy heat to the damp birch branch whippings (Look it up, if unfamiliar. It’s an interesting practice). We even started cutting a hole in frozen lakes during the deep, cold winters to plunge following a sauna session—the bravest would submerge in the frozen waters without first sitting in the sauna. Cold winters not only provided the frigid portal into those natural ice baths, they also brought the snow. This icy form of water always gripped my heart. It could fall softly in light flakes or consume the sky in heavy, wet storms. It was the medium for exploring new places on cross country skis or ripping down mountains on thick alpine skis. Over the years, we have seen less snow in hills of my home state and in the mountains of my current state, Colorado. This is one of the most distinct ways I have witnessed a drastic shift in the hydrological cycle our world is experiencing.
Water gradually spilled into my professional life. While pursuing my Master of Science in Global Health at Northwestern University, I developed an attention to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). An incredible non profit organization name One Shared World provided an avenue to collaborate with passionate young people to advocate for universal access to WASH while promoting its relationship to human health with the pandemic as a distinct example. Through our Water, Santiation, Hygeine, and Pandemic Protection (WASHPAP) campaign, we gathered 250+ youth voices from 40+ countries to create a mock United Nations resolution which we presented to at a summit attended by nearly 1.4 million people. Eventually, part of our resolution was adopted into a legitimate UN resolution, adopted unanimously in December 2021. Ever since, I have committed to being on the forefront of innovative water practices, and I am honored to help direct operations at HydroDAO.
We can all feel water’s revitalizing powers. Whether in the light snowflakes that fall in a winter evening or the comfortable rocking of a rolling ocean wave or the cool sip of water on a searing summer’s afternoon. These pleasant interactions highlight the beauty in water. However, we are often reminded of water’s ultimate power over us. A parched tongue in the blinding sun, a destructive flooding event that contaminates drinking water, or a drought that sparks wildfires across massive stretches of territory. The latter examples are occurring more frequently, and, after experiencing many treasured moments with water throughout my life, I plan to dedicate my efforts to help mitigate disastrous hydrological events. It will take relentless work, but I am optimistic that we can live in a joyful equilibrium
