Cindi Ptak, Ambassador for the Rio Reimagined. Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Hummingbird Collective

Recorded on April 9, 2025, Jalisa Gilmore, Senior Manager of Health and Land Use Programs at Groundwork USA and team member of the Urban Waters Learning Network, interviews Cindi Ptak, Ambassador for the Rio Reimagined Urban Waters Federal Partnership Location.

Cindi Ptak is a national leader in federal funding strategy and place-based infrastructure investment. She is the founder of Hummingbird Collective and currently serves as the Ambassador for the Rio Reimagined, a signature initiative of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. In this role, Cindi serves as the connective tissue between federal agencies and local, tribal, and nonprofit partners working to restore and reimagine the Salt and Gila River corridors across metro Phoenix.

As Ambassador, she facilitates cross-sector collaboration, strengthens intergovernmental relationships, and helps communities align their long-term visions with viable federal funding pathways. Her work is focused on ensuring that place-based revitalization efforts are locally led, tribally inclusive, and strategically positioned for impact at scale.

In the conversation, Jalisa talks to Cindi about her role as the Urban Waters Ambassador and how she's supporting local communities, tribes and government partners in advancing long term visions that are actionable, fundable and rooted in trust, shared values and shared leadership.

Look for more urban waters resources at www.urbanwaterslearningnetwork.org.

We are the initiative funded by EPA's Urban Waters Program and co-coordinated by Groundwork USA and River Network. Thanks so much for listening.