Meet Our Team: Megan Wutzke, Outreach Coordinator

As part of an ongoing Meet Our Team series, we're celebrating Megan Wutzke's one-year anniversary with SOS and invite you to get to know our Outreach Coordinator a little better!

In just one year, Megan has become an indispensable part of the SOS team. She brings equal parts go-get-em and good humor to everything she does, from coordinating volunteers and mentoring interns to organizing Barton Springs University and helping connect more people to our mission. She's the kind of person who can make you laugh in one breath and inspire you to protect Texas water in the next.
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We sat down with Megan to talk about what led her to Save Our Springs, why water conservation matters, what keeps her hopeful, and the surprising journey that took her from pastry chef and journalist to drone-flying instructor before finding her place at SOS. 

Q: What brought you to SOS, and what do you work on here?
A: In Fall 2023, I had just moved to Dripping Springs and was researching the local ecosystem that was my new home. I discovered I lived right next door to a property where a very sketchy development was being planned, and that the water was at risk. I followed SOS’s work with that development, which later led me to join the team in spring 2025 as a part-time outreach tabler for the MoPac campaign. In the summer of 2025, I became the seasonal Summer Intern Manager and by the fall, I was hooked on the work and became a full-time Outreach Coordinator. My work still includes managing the interns (my favorite part) but I also coordinate volunteers, plan events such as Barton Springs University, and build our relationships with our donors.​

Q: Why did you choose to work in water conservation?
A: I went to school for environmental sciences because I love being outside. Water shapes everything in our environment; our geology, our bacteria, our plants, our animals. If you are going to protect the environment, it makes sense to start with water. 

Q: What’s the most challenging part of your role?
A: Well, it is a tough time to work in environmental conservation right now. Central Texas (and honestly, just about everywhere) is undergoing a lot of changes, and many of them impact the water. Staying in the loop on everything, yet still remaining focused on what I can control, is a challenge.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
A: “Can’t fill from an empty cup.” I’ve worked in many nonprofits and had a few high-pressure jobs. Filling my own cup first allows me to help others and achieve the goals I want. 

Q: What part of this work is most rewarding for you?
A: I love working with young adults; the 16-25 age range is a wonderfully chaotic time, where you really start to achieve childhood dreams…or, find unexpected new pathways. I enjoy fostering an appreciation for our natural environment and empowering young people to take a stand for what they believe in. 

Q: What’s a common misconception you hear about Texas water?
A: Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of people say that since the highland lakes are full, our water systems must be healthy and our drought must be over. Not true! The lakes are one part of our water systems, but our aquifers still need to be protected from overpumping. Conservation isn’t just for times of drought. 

Q: What’s something unexpected about you? a fun fact!
A: I’ve had a wide variety of jobs: grocery bagger, line cook, pastry chef, bartender, HIV counselor, ESL teacher (in Kenya and Italy), disaster debris clean-out, dog trainer/walker, chemistry tutor, Americorps math teacher, journalist, standardized test grader, hummus seller, and drone-flying instructor. 

Q: Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever gone swimming?
A: Tough question! I grew up in northern Minnesota, so I always love playing in Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi River starts, but it is pretty shallow for actual swimming. I also love paddling and swimming in the Crow Wing River - it was a 50-year family tradition for my father’s side to go on an annual canoe trip (about 30 canoes and 100 people!) on the Crow Wing River, and that's how I learned how to swim. In Texas, though, you know it's got to be Barton Springs.
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Q: If you could take anyone on a Texas outdoor adventure, who would it be and where would you go?
A: There is a hidden cave in Big Bend State Park (not the national park!) where I used to camp when I lived in West Texas. I’ve been meaning to take my husband, but I think he is less excited than I am to go camping in cougar country