Monika Leska, Sr. Proposal and Project Specialist, is responsible for managing the discovery, production, and submission of proposals while maintaining accurate data on the status of proposals across The Water Institute.

Monika has over 15 years of experience acquiring and managing projects within non-profit, government, and corporate environments. She obtained her B.A. in Mediterranean studies from Jagiellonian University and her B.S. and M.S. in Organization and Management of Tourism and Recreation from Eugeniusz Piasecki University of Physical Education. She has also volunteered with environmental and climate organizations for over 13 years. With a background in project and proposal management, funding strategy, and environmental work, Monika brings a unique understanding of The Institute's project management needs to her position.

Throughout her career, Monika has garnered a reputation for effective management of large teams and projects, strategy execution, and amplifying an organization's profile through administration and business development. In her previous roles, Monika directly oversaw grant management funded by federal, state, and city governments, public and private foundations, and donor-advised funds. Monika’s expertise enables her to manage the demands of individual funding sources across The Institute’s project portfolio while simultaneously identifying new collaboration and funding opportunities. She excels at coordinating multidisciplinary teams, ensuring compliance with funding requirements, and streamlining proposal development processes to enhance efficiency.

Monika’s experience in organization-wide fiscal management, streamlining workflows, technical editing, and grant tracking tool building and implementation further strengthens The Water Institute’s ability to secure and manage projects effectively and identify where gaps in process efficiencies can be addressed. Her process optimization and financial oversight skills contribute to The Institute’s long-term strategic priorities and ensure projects align with funding priorities and compliance standards without duplicating efforts. Always up for a challenge Monika is currently pursuing a highpointing of the continental United States with 19 US states' peaks summited so far.