A generous grant from Nike Community Impact Fund laid the groundwork to train and certify 17 new Waterfront and Deep Water Pool lifeguards last week during spring break. This brave new cohort muscled through an intensive week of online coursework, classroom lectures, in-water assessments, and real-life practice scenarios. These brilliant faces are your new Water Safety Ambassadors and every day first responders, just in time for spring and summer. Stay tuned for more!

There are a few spots left in the April course with instructors Marlys and Dena. Hurry to get your spot now!

2024 Year End Report

WaterStrong is making a real difference in the communities we serve through deepening community partnerships and expanding programs in water safety outreach and essential life skills training. We’re still breaking barriers to access to essential lifesaving services, water safety training, and clean water.

Over 350,000 deadly cardiac arrests and 4,000 drowning deaths happen in the US annually. A silent killer, drowning is the third leading cause of injury death for children. In the US, 4,000 people die from drowning every year; In Oregon, almost all drownings occur in natural bodies of water, rivers, lakes and oceans. At the same time, severe climate change events are increasing: wildfires, harmful algal blooms, flooding and groundwater contaminants threaten water quality everywhere.

The more people who know basic water safety skills, CPR, and the fundamentals of watershed health, the better we ALL will be.

The WaterStrong mission is to end drowning and have safer, cleaner waters. To do this, we deliver programs in basic water safety, swimming, first aid / CPR, and environmental education. In 2025 so far, we have delivered almost 1,800 essential lifejackets and safety whistles, served more than 2,200 families and leveraged nearly 55,000 volunteer hours. It’s good work. Swim! Learn! Thrive!

What we do

To end drowning and make safer, cleaner waters

“I truly enjoyed my time with you and your wonderful team. You could see the excitement on their faces before they got in the water, and once in, you could notice their efforts, happiness, and joy…They mentioned it was the only time they truly lived for themselves.” - Habiba

EcoSwim

For ages 5+, led by volunteers

The EcoSwim curriculum combines survival swimming with environmental education around water. Participants gain water confidence by learning to save themselves and someone else in the water, learning how to swim safely in pools and open water environments, and understanding water quality indicators like the presence of harmful bacteria, industrial pollutants and harmful algal blooms.  Participants conduct beach cleanups and trash analysis, receive a free safety whistle, US Coast Guard certified lifejacket from Metro, new skills and an indelible love for the water.

Water Safety Outreach

Lifejacket distribution, led by volunteers

A community outreach  program in partnership with METRO to deliver free lifejackets into families’ homes and stem the drowning crisis. Volunteers visit community outreach events and public swim locations to offer free lifejackets, provide proper fitting, and talk with families about basic water safety skills such as using the buddy system, understanding water conditions, practicing basic assists, and situational awareness.

Lifesaving & Red Cross trainings

Adult & Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certification

For ages 12+, led by certified Red Cross instructors
Equips students to recognize and care for a variety of first aid breathing and cardiac emergencies involving adults children and infants.  Upon successful completion a valid 2 year digital certificate for Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED is issued.  Offered in English, Spanish and Dari Persian.

Lifeguarding w/ Waterfront Skills Certification

For ages 15+, led by certified Red Cross instructors
Provides participants with the knowledge and skills to prevent recognize and respond to aquatic emergencies in both shallow water and deeper water non surf, non-whitewater scenarios. Red Cross certified lifeguards are the help before help arrives, equipped to provide professional-level care for drowning, breathing and cardiac emergencies, injuries and sudden illnesses. Upon successful completion, participants receive a valid 2 year certificate for Lifeguarding in Deep Water and Waterfront Skills, and CPR AED for Professional Responders.

Rescue swimmers

Expert swimmers and water rescue professionals

Available to support flatwater sports events (rowing regattas, triathlon, open water swim, canoe events, etc). WaterStrong coordinates with expert swimmers carrying Water Rescue and Lifeguarding certification to serve as first responders for in-water emergencies. Rescue swimmers and lifeguards are responsible for identifying and responding to accidental immersion, extraction, and delivery to on-site emergency medical services. Rescue swimmers are independent contractors.

Water Safety Ambassadors

For ages 12+, lifejacket distribution + water safety + citizen science
Water Safety Ambassadors are friendly community resources at popular swim locations. They are trained in Lifeguarding, First Aid CPR, lifejacket fitting, and citizen science, and distribute lifejackets and share basic water safety information for that location on that day (temperatures, currents, known hazards, water quality considerations, etc).  Water Safety Ambassadors collect water quality data, facilitate beach cleanups, and are able to be the help before help arrives, recognize and respond to most common waterfront emergencies.

Water Safety Ambassador competencies:

• First Aid CPR AED or Lifeguarding + Waterfront Skills (American Red Cross standard)

• Conducting site safety assessments

• Citizen science water quality testing

• Lifejacket fitting (Oregon Marine Safety Board standard)

• Equity centered community engagement

Citizen Science for Swimmers

For anyone who gets in the water

Designed by open water swimmers for anyone who gets in the water, each kit includes the essentials for understanding your water today: a waterproof digital thermometer, SwimSense test strips, Aquagenx et coli test, Abraxis microcystins (harmful algae) test, Aquatabs water purifier tablets, tweezer, collecting syringe, latex free gloves, and a step-by-step user guide with all the science. Collected data is shared locally and with the global Swim Guide partner network of waterkeepers.

Board

WaterStrong Board

Dena Marshall, Founding Director

Itzel Spehar Hernandez, Board Member (Director of Housing Services, Bienestar)

Josue Ramirez, Board Member (Director of Outdoor Education, Helensview School, Multnomah Education Service District)

Nu Tran, Board Member (retired Manager, Ford Motor Finance currently Ameriprise Financial Advisor)

Lisa Pettinati, Board Member (Counsel, Oregon State Treasury Department)

Past board members & advisors

Nana Hoerth, past Board Member (Founder, YETI Foundation for Child Safety, currently at City of Portland)

John Graham, past Board Member (former CEO, Speedo USA)

About WaterStrong

to end drowning and have safer, cleaner waters

I am a mother to daughters, a swimmer, mediator, and a lover of science. After spending years in conference rooms navigating hours of seemingly intractable disputes, I founded WaterStrong in 2016, moved to action after a tragic drowning took the lives of four members of the Garcia-Ixtacua family in a lake near my home, at a picnic area I know like the back of my hand. More than ten years later, that incident still sits with communities in Forest Grove and first responders throughout Oregon who remember that day vividly. Hagg Lake has a complex history and it is one of my favorite places to swim, bike and trail run; it’s also a popular gathering place for families and fishers. After the incident, I determined to be part of the solution, to do what I can to rebuild a foundation in the fundamentals of water safety and water stewardship: as we care for the water, the water cares for us.

In WaterStrong’s first three years, I followed my global training in law and dispute resolution to lead programs in Peru, Vietnam, Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Oregon with my children in tow whenever possible. When the COVID pandemic shut down the global programs WaterStrong anchored in to grow partnerships locally. Here we’re making a real difference. All the same dynamics play out at home as anywhere in the world. The same challenges to finding affordable swim lessons and basic lifesaving skills run socioeconomic lines. The same concerns around accessing clean water for basic human needs, protecting watershed health and groundwater resources show up in Morrow county just like in Bimini, Bahamas. The same fears and hopes persist: to survive, be stronger and more confident, to find work and to overcome obstacles.

This is the WaterStrong story. It’s about the water and it’s about survival.

My goal is to reconnect humans with water, to be more confident in it, to understand it, to take care of the water and take care of each other so that we all can survive.

WaterStrong is a Candid Gold certified nonprofit organization with the mission to end drowning and promote cleaner, safer waters.

A 1% For the Planet nonprofit partner, WaterStrong delivers confidence building lifesaving skills and a deep love for the water through our programs, destroying barriers along the way. The EcoSwim curriculum focuses on the essentials of basic water safety, survival swimming, and the fundamentals of environmental education around water. WaterStrong is a licensed Red Cross Training Provider and Lifesaving Resources Partner. Our volunteers are also certified Red Cross Trainers and certified Lifesaving Resources Water Rescue Instructors.

Intricately connected to our waters. With over 380,000 deaths per year, drowning is the third leading cause of accidental injury death in the world, with low-income children at greatest risk. Yet drowning deaths are nearly always preventable: we can make a difference. 

Every day, 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are discharged into the world’s water, the equivalent of the weight of the entire human population of 6.8 billion people. The UN estimates that the amount of wastewater produced annually is about 1,500 cubic kilometers, six times more water than exists in all the rivers of the world. Worldwide, infectious diseases such as waterborne diseases are the number one killer of children under five years old and more people die from unsafe water annually than from all forms of violence, including war. 

At less than .025% of the world’s waters, our world’s freshwater resources are in crisis. Nearly every body of open water is threatened by contamination, overfishing, water shortages, or climate change impacts. As a global community we have a duty to conserve, protect and clean up our oceans, rivers and lakes. 

WaterStrong goes where we’re invited. We work closely with community partners to tailor our Eco-Swim programs to the water safety and environmental concerns of the location where the project takes place so that participants learn about the waters closest to their own homes.