Courtney Crosson is a licensed architect, associate professor, and Director of the Drachman Institute at the University of Arizona, where she teaches classes on water in the built environment and community outreach studios. Her current research advances decentralized water systems to address pressing problems facing cities—whether water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest or safe and affordable water access in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. She is the Principal Investigator on a four-year National Science Foundation grant to investigate how to transition cities in the US Southwest to a net zero urban water future. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals in architecture, engineering and planning. She has won numerous national awards for her teaching, outreach and research including the Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture and American Institute of Architects’ 2024 Practice and Leadership Award.