Sandra Postel, founder of the Global Water Policy Project, is recognized as one of the world's most respected authorities on freshwater issues and is hailed for her "inspiring, innovative, and practical approach" to promoting the preservation and sustainable use of Earth’s freshwater.

For more than 25 years, Postel has lectured, taught, and written prolifically on the geography of water stress and the implications for food and agriculture, rivers and wetlands, and regional peace and security. She views the world through a water lens and is often asked to provide the “big picture” in her talks—from the likely impacts of climate change on water supplies and of dams on freshwater biodiversity to groundwater depletion, water wars, food security, and the critical importance of conservation and better management to solving the world’s water problems.

Postel is the author of several classic books, including Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? and Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, which has been translated into eight languages and served as the basis for a PBS documentary. It was named a 1993 Outstanding Academic Book by Choice magazine. The author of scores of articles for popular and scholarly publications—from Science and Ecological Applications to Foreign Policy and Natural History—Postel is a frequent conference speaker and lecturer. She has served as a commentator on CNN's "Future Watch," addressed the European Parliament on environmental issues, and appeared on all major U.S. television networks and on National Public Radio, as well as in numerous documentaries, including the BBC’s Planet Earth and Leonardo DiCaprio’s The 11th Hour.

From 2000-2008, Postel was visiting senior lecturer in Environmental Studies at Mount Holyoke College and during the latter part of that term directed the college's Center for the Environment. She has served as consultant to the Nature Conservancy, the World Bank, and the U.S. National Intelligence Council, among other organizations. From 1988 until 1994, she was vice president for research at the Worldwatch Institute. She is a fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and an advisor to American Rivers.

Postel studied geology and political science at Wittenberg University, and resource economics and policy at Duke University. A Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment, Postel has received two honorary doctor of science degrees and in 2002 was awarded the "Scientific American 50" for her contributions to science and technology.