Water for Our Future

Join Dole Fellow Karen Willey for a bipartisan conversation with legislative members of the Water Program Task Force. Kansas State Sen. Kenny Titus (R) and State Rep. Lindsay Vaughn (D) are two members of the 16-member panel, which will produce its first report by the end of January 2026.

The Water Program Task Force was by Kansas House Bill 2172 (2025) to examine policy solutions in response to Kansas’ current and future water supply, assess potential impacts on the state’s economy, and consider funding efforts for related special projects. Governor Laura Kelly signed HB 2172 in March 2025 having received overwhelming bipartisan support during consideration in the state legislature.

This program is presented in partnership with the KU Honors Program.

Karen Willey serves as the Douglas County, Kansas Commissioner for District 3. Dr. Willey holds a BA in Environmental Studies and a PhD in Geography, both from KU. She works as a nonprofit consultant through Futureful, a local company providing organizational health and fundraising support to health, housing, and human services organizations in urban Kansas City. She leverages this social impact work along with her science and entrepreneurship experience in crafting grounded local policy.

Sen. Kenny Titus was born and raised in Great Bend, Kansas, and attended Kansas State University where he received BS degrees in Journalism and History and a MA in History, along with a JD from the University of Kansas School of Law. Kenny has worked as a public service attorney for the Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Attorney General, and Kansas Department of Agriculture, where he dealt extensively with the state’s water law issues, and he taught water law as an adjunct professor for the University of Kansas School of Law. He currently resides near Manhattan and represents the 51st District in the Kansas House, which includes Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee, and Riley Counties and serves on the House Water Committee.

Rep. Lindsay Vaughn is a Kansas State Representative serving District 22 in Overland Park, where she was born and raised. Lindsay is the Ranking member of the House Water Committee and is focused on developing policy and working with stakeholders across Kansas to build nonpartisan coalitions aimed at sustainable water use. As the youngest woman in the Kansas Legislature, Rep. Vaughn is also dedicated to elevating the voices of young Kansans and advocating for future generations. To her legislative work, she brings diverse experiences in nonprofit and volunteer management as well as grassroots community organizing. Lindsay is active in her local community and serves on the board of Heartland Conservation Alliance, a land trust dedicated to stewarding the Blue River watershed.

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Inspired by the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole, and the enduring civic contributions of the Greatest Generation, the Dole Institute of Politics strives to promote a new era of leadership that uses politics to bring people together through opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic education and engagement.