Walter Rast, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Texas State University, retired in 2018 after leading the Aquatic Resources Graduate Program at the university for 20 years. His previous professional career includes serving as Chief of the Freshwater Unit, and subsequently as Deputy Director of the Integrated Water Branch, at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the 1990s. Prior to his UNEP posts, he served as Senior Environmental Advisor to the US/Canada International Joint Commission (IJC), and as a Research Hydrologist with the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. Rast earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1978. His expertise spans lake assessment and integrated management, sustainability of ecosystem services, and aquatic biology/chemistry. He has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as multiple United Nations and other technical documents and project reviews. He has made keynote addresses and/or technical presentations at a range of international lake-related conferences and expert workshops. He also has chaired the Scientific Committee of the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) for 21 years, and served on multiple international organizing committees for ILEC’s World Lake Conferences.