Global Team Members
Keith Wright
...challenge of global water security. Mr. Wright has more than 25 years of strategic and operational leadership of complex humanitarian and business enterprises in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Latin America. His experience includes serving as president of Food for the Hungry, Inc, filling national and regional operational leadership roles in Africa, launching an innovative business to accelerate business solutions to poverty, and governance leadership in one of East Africa’s leading financial institutions. He earned a M.Sc. degree in economic development from Eastern University and a B.A. degree in political science from the University of Mary Washington.
Darren Saywell
...and policy formulation in the water security, sanitation, and hygiene sector. Recent appointments in the US included senior leadership roles at DAI Global, AECOM, and Plan International USA. Earlier he spent a decade in Europe with the World Health Organization (on sector policy and advocacy) and the International Water Association (on capacity building, implementation, and peer learning). Darren began his career at Loughborough University's Water, Engineering & Development Center working in teaching, consultancy, and research positions.
Violet Moenga
...for MWA Kenya. She joined MWA in August 2005 as the finance manager for the first MWA USAID-funded program in Kenya. Previously, she worked for World Vision Kenya. She is a certified public accountant. Ms. Moenga received her undergraduate degree from Kenyatta University and her accounting degree from Strathmore University.
John D. Sparks
...25 years of experience in Washington and New York in legislative lobbying, coalition building, public policy, media relations, and nonprofit leadership. Prior to MWA, he was Director of Campaign Finance Reform at the public interest group Common Cause, and previously was Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at the American Symphony Orchestra League, the national association for orchestras. Previous assignments include senior lobbying and coalition building positions at two public affairs firms in Washington DC where he worked on regulatory and legislative issues in transportation, energy, and human rights; two national advocacy coalitions in the nonprofit sector; press secretary for two members of the U.S. House of Representatives; and professional positions in several Congressional campaigns and two Presidential campaigns. Some of them were even successful.
Audrey Caprio
... Mrs. Caprio is a nurse by training but has worked in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), global health, and international development since 2016. Mrs. Caprio has implemented programs in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and has utilized her experience working with patients and providers to address global health challenges at the nexus of WASH, climate change, and health. Prior to joining MWA, Mrs. Caprio managed the implementation of WASH systems in the Dominican Republic and worked as a bedside nurse before earning her Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University. Mrs. Caprio then went on to work in infectious disease epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Mrs. Caprio managed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global Health Security Agenda portfolio at PARH while serving as a subject matter expert on knowledge management systems, WASH, antimicrobial resistance, and infection prevention and control. Mrs. Caprio’s extensive experience implementing knowledge management and learning systems and advocating for communities to be at the center of decision-making processes allows her to create more compassionate, efficient, and inclusive solutions to global challenges.
Allan E. Elvir
...private sectors in the U.S., Latin America, and Africa regions. Some of his previous professional experiences are working as a Clerk for the Supreme Court of Honduras, Corporate Associate for the Central American law firm Lexincorp, and Commercial Counselor for the Embassy of Honduras in Washington, D.C. Elvir holds a law degree (LLB) from the National University of Honduras, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and two Masters of Laws (LLM in International Legal Studies/Business and LLM in Law & Government) from American University – Washington College of Law. Elvir is admitted to practice law in Washington D.C., New York, and Honduras.
Josephine Wanguku
...Director. She brings in wealth of experience to the role, having previously worked with Helios Investment Partners as the Executive Assistant. Has also worked at JP Morgan ClimateCare, MicroSave Africa and Kenya Gatsby Trust as an Administrative Assistant, International Fund for Animal Welfare as an Executive Assistant.
She holds a master’s in business administration, Bachelor of Science in Leadership Management from Strathmore University, Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management, Diploma in Business Management. She is also a Certified Human Resource Professional.
Ethiopia Team Members
Tamene Chaka
...WASH sector initiatives including the development and policy review of Ethiopia’s One WASH National Program. Before joining MWA, Mr. Chaka was Country Coordinator of the WASH Alliance International (2011-2022). He was also National Coordinator of RiPPLE (2007-2011) which was hosted in Water Aid. He holds a MS in Project Management from Hohai University.
Mussie Tezazu
...in Planning and Management and his M.A. in Social Work and Social Development from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He has more than fifteen years of experience in strategic planning, executing WASH, and sustainable development program management. From 2009 -2015, Mr. Tezazu worked at the Catholic Relief Service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he served as the Program Officer for Monitoring and Evaluation, and Water, Sanitation, and Communication. In this position, he specialized in WASH communication, project design and management, proposal development, and community managed disaster risk reduction (CMDRR).
Yisehak Leta Guttema
...including growing coffee and raising cattle and other livestock. Mr. Guttema earned a degree in biology at Kotebee collage of teachers education in July 1990, and taught in public Secondary School. He also earned a BA in accounting at Addis Ababa University in July 1999. He has worked at Ethiopian Assurance Corporation as junior auditor, and at CARE Ethiopia for nearly 11 years in different positions, such as Project Accountant, Area Finance Head, Senior Internal Auditor, Audit Officer, and Grant, Contract and Budget Specialist. He came to MWA-EP as the Grant, Contract and Budget Manager in July 2014.
Kalkidan Wubshet
...University in Ethiopia. Ms. Wubshet has three years of experience in customer service in operations management. From 2019 – 2021, she worked at Easy Technologies plc. as project assistant and as a customer service supervisor. She later joined G2G IT Solutions Tech company in 2021 as operations manager.
Selamawit Tiruneh
...accomplishment of leadership, administration, coordination, and collaboration that can add a great value to the challenge of WASH sector. Mrs. Selamawit is well experienced as a project manager for 4 years, Project Coordinator for 6 years, Contract Administrator for 3 years, Individual consultant for 3 years, INGOs and Governmental and Private Organizations. She helped establish 214 health centers across the Amhara Regional State to unravel the health problem of society and helped in the infrastructure improvement of governmental hospitals in different regions around Ethiopia. She earned a M.Sc. degree in Construction Technology Management, and BSc in Civil Engineering from Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Addisu Guaddie Dagnew
...experience in academic institutions and non-governmental organizations. Some of his experience before joining MWA was working as a water engineer and modeler at a World Bank-funded project (Tana Beles Integrated water resources development project Tana Sub-Basin Office), WASH Facilitator (Emergency COVID Response Program-World Vision Ethiopia), Healthy Village WASH Officer at Plan International Ethiopia and university lecturer. He earned an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Bologna (Italy), and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Water and Coastal Management (Faculty of Marine and Environmental Science) at the University of Cadiz (Spain), University of Algarve (Portugal), and University of Bologna (Italy). He also earned an M.Sc. Degree in Water Resources Engineering (Engineering Hydrology), and B.Sc. Degree in Water Resources Management from Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.
Kenya Team Members
Styvers Kathuni
In January 2024, he was promoted to Country Director for MWA Kenya and is the Chief of Party of USAID STAWI Mashinani Activity.Styvers has worked for over 15 years in design and management of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities in Africa. Prior to joining MWA, he worked at SweetSense Inc. as the Regional Director for Africa. Styvers has also worked for Caritas Embu, Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services – in Kenya and South Sudan, where he held various positions – Technical Supervisor, WASH Engineer, Project/Program Manager and Technical Advisor. He was also seconded to the Ministry of Roads and later the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Kenya to support European Commission and IFAD funded projects.Styvers earned his Masters in Water Supply and Sanitation at Kenyatta University and BSc in Water and Environmental Engineering from Egerton University.
ERASTUS KYALO
Erastus also leads partnerships at MWA Kenya. He is a social strategist and systems thinking specialist with over 15 years of experience managing and implementing large, complex agri-based programs focused on system thinking, institutional strengthening, entrepreneurship, food security and nutrition, and market-based livelihoods development in Kenya and the Horn of Africa. Before joining MWA, Erastus served in a similar role at ACDI VOCA for the regional USAID Cross Border Community Resilience Activity (CBCR) implemented in conjunction with IGAD across 5 countries (Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Kenya). He has previously served in different capacities including being the Technical Director in charge of Program Quality and Partnerships for ACDI VOCA’s Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity, and as Technical Advisor for Social Determinants of Health at Land O’Lakes Inc. Other previous employers include Save the Children International, Action Contre La Faim (ACF) amongst others. Erastus holds a Masters’ Degree International Development and a Bachelors’ Degree in Agricultural Food Science and Technology.
June Samo
In October 2023, June was promoted to WASH Systems Manager and thereafter in March 2024, took up the Program Director - RAPID+ role.
Prior to joining MWA, she worked as a development consultant at EED Advisory where she engaged in various assignments for the World Bank, Oxfam, GIZ, UNICEF, the Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network, the African Development Bank (AfDB) among others. Before joining EED Advisory, June worked at Kenya Markets Trust (now Gatsby Africa) and focused on improving the performance of selected urban water utilities in Kenya through the reduction of non-revenue water and improving water service delivery in rural areas.
June holds a masters in Water Science, Policy, and Management from Oxford University (UK) and a BSc. in Soil, Water and Environmental Engineering from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
Esther Wamahiu
Manager
...management. She worked for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as a finance officer. Esther also worked for FedEx Kenya and later joined Tanzania Office as the Chief Accountant; she is a Certified Public Accountant registered with ICPAK. She holds a Bachelor of Business and Administration (Finance and Accounting).from Kenya Methodist University.
Emmanuel Olela
Manager
...donor-funded projects in WASH, Agriculture, Nutrition, Rangelands, Climate Change and Health sectors. Prior to joining MWA, Mr. Olela worked for Catholic Relief Services-Kenya as a Senior MEAL Officer. He is not new to MWA , as he worked as the MEAL officer for Kenya RAPID in Isiolo County for five years. Prior to that, he worked for other organizations, including JHPIEGO, CAP YEI, and Plan International. He has expertise in development and management of M&E systems, mobile phone based data collection, data analysis using various statistical software, and has a passion for telling the story behind the programs. He holds a Bachelors in Sociology with Information Technology from Maseno University and a Masters in Project Planning and Management from Nairobi University.
Chamia Mutuku
...Chamia has over 15 years’ experience in water, sanitation and hygiene programming in the Coast region and ASALs of Kenya; and parts of Somalia, S. Sudan and Ethiopia. His expertise spans Program/ Project Management, WASH Policy and Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Project Design/ Grant Writing; and Gender and Social Inclusion. He has worked for the Government, as a development consultant and most recently as Program Coordinator at Peace Winds Japan – Kenya.
He holds a BTech Degree in Civil & Structural Engineering from Moi University, Diploma from Erasmus University Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), and certificates in non-credit course work from several universities.
Chamia is PMI certified as a Project Management Professional, PMP®; is a member of the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK), Association of Civil Engineers of America (ASCE), and the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM).
KELVIN MUSIKOYO
...with government,
private sector, and development organizations to drive collective
action for collective impact through Collaboration Learning and Adapting (CLA). Kelvin oversaw USAID partnerships in Kenya and East Africa: Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG), South-Eastern Kenya Coordination Mechanism (SEK), and the Horn of Africa Resilience Network (HoRN), that brings together resilience actors in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia.
He recently worked at ACDI-VOCA for USAID Resilience Learning
Activity as the SEK Partnership and Networks Coordination Lead
Kelvin holds a B.A in Anthropology from the University of Nairobi
and ongoing MSc in Project Management at Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
ZIANA RUGUT
humanitarian and development sectors funded by DG ECHO, OFDA/BHA, USAID, BMGF, SIDA, DANIDA, UNHCR, UNICEF, DFID, UKAID, FCDO, PEPFAR, UMCOR, SNF, GFFO, and the British Council.
Previously, Ziana worked at Save the Children Regional Programming Unit as the MEAL Lead and has recently served as the Regional MEAL Manager for Secours Islamique France, providing technical support to the Kenya-Somalia Mission. She holds a B.A in Gender & Development Studies from South-Eastern Kenya University and now pursuing an MSc. in Project Management at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
PAULINE CHERUNYA
A project geared towards convening, connecting, and catalyzing investments in the ASALs of Kenya through knowledge management and communication. Pauline has over 10 years of experience in sustainable livelihoods, WASH, and climate change – and has garnered competence in implementing learning and communication strategies and facilitating collaborative processes.
Prior to MWA, Pauline worked as a Senior Project Lead with Samuel Hall East Africa where she engaged in various assignments for the World Bank, Mercy Corps, and Norwegian Refugee Council among others on refugee-related research in diverse regions globally. She also worked in the same capacity for EED Advisory Limited, a pan-African consulting firm offering technical, analytical, and advisory services in energy, WASH, and climate change.
Pauline has a PhD in Sustainability Transitions and Innovation Management from Utrecht University, a master's degree in Sustainable Resource Management from the Technical University of Munich, and a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and Community Development from Kenyatta University.
Johnson Ng’anga
regions of Kenya working with national and county governments, private sector entities, and diverse communities. He has been a Water Development consultant and most recently the WASH Technical Advisor and RAPID+ program lead at Food for the Hungry Kenya. Experienced in WASH Engineering (Design, Supply, and Development), Water Resources Management, Program/Grants Management, WASH legislations/policies, WASH program design and proposal developments, program reporting and documentation, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning, stakeholders’ engagement and gender mainstreaming in WASH. He holds a BSc. Degree in Soil, Water & Environmental Engineering from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (J.K.U.A.T) and is a member of the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK).
ALFRED TEGERE
...USAID-funded projects for International NGOs overseeing all activities operations ensuring contractual requirements are met based on USAID policies and procedures, strengthening the grant function, particularly during the onboarding process for sub-grantees. Including offering support in the review of budgets and narratives and actively involved in coordinating all the financial management tasks ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and documentation in line with donor. guidelines, and supporting the staff and institutional capacity strengthening of other local partners.
Alfred holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (Finance option), Certified Public Accountant of Kenya CPA (K), Grants Management Programme Specialist and is a member of ICPAK
MAUREEN DINAH OKUTOYI
...as the Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Communications Officer primarily supporting the USAID-STAWI Mashinani Activity including all cross-cutting responsibilities for other programs at MWA.
Her unique experience emanates from supporting and making key contributions to key donor-funded projects in the Horn of Africa countries as an employee at Pact Inc. These were, Cross-border Peacebuilding and Conflict management, Livelihood programming, Artisanal and Small-scale Mining of Gemstones, Economic and Capacity Strengthening initiatives.
She is a certified Project Management Professional, PMP®, a credential earned from the Project Management Institute. She holds a BSc. Actuarial Science degree from Moi University in addition to being an MA Gender and Development student at the University of Nairobi.
Ms. Maureen endears Rural and ASALs Development and thus significantly spends quite of her productive time in rural villages, arid and semi-arid areas immersing in the enriching ways of life while equally contributing to thriving and vibrant Afrikan villages.
winnie njoki
She brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously worked with Save the Children Kenya and Madagascar as programme Support services Officer, Roving Human Resource and administrative Assistant working with donors such as ECHO,UNICEF,BHA and USAID. Winnie has also worked as Human Resource Assistant at Gertrude's children’s Hospital.
She holds a BA in Film technology and Theatre Arts from Kenyatta University and a Diploma in Human Resource Management. She is an associate member of IHRM.
Elizabeth Kasyoka
Previously, she worked for Food for the Hungry Kenya (FH). She has over 16 years of experience in administration, front office reception, and office cleaning.
Vincent Ng’etich
...worked for Schneider Electric as a finance intern. He has hands-on experience in tax management, general ledger reconciliation, preparation of financial reports, and thorough knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles.
He is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Accounting) from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology.
Boniface Thiga
...International for over 5 years supporting logistics in the Northern Counties including Dadaab Refugee camp.
He holds a diploma in plant mechanics from the Rift Valley Institute of Mechanical Engineering.
ROBERT MULEKA
...Save the Children Kenya & Madagascar country office. Additionally, he served as a driver/fleet assistant at Save the Children Somalia/Somaliland country office, Norwegian Refugee Council, and Medicines Sans Frontiers. Robert holds a diploma in logistics and transport.
DAVID KAMAU
... access to water and sanitation services for Kenya’s most vulnerable communities in ASALs.
David recently worked at Catholic Relief Services as the Isiolo County Lead for WASH under the USAID Nawiri program. His career is defined by his ability to plan, design, and implement multi-use water systems that deliver sustainable solutions for communities in need with a proven track record in strategic project execution, sustainable water management and governance. David is a graduate of Water and Environmental engineering from Egerton University. He is a registered member of the Engineers Registration Board (EBK) and the Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board (KETRAB).
Bolton Onyango
He is a certified spatial and data scientist, as well as a climate researcher, having trained with Academic Data Analysts, the Eco Science Generation Initiative (EcoSciGen), and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD). Bolton is a Range scientist, specializing in Rangeland Management, Range ecology, Livestock production systems, Range ecosystems monitoring and evaluation in the ASALs. He is passionate about conservation and community empowerment for the well-being of ecosystems and communities.
Tobby Ageng'o
such as USAID projects NAWIRI in Isiolo and Marsabit counties; CTWWC in Kilifi and Kisumu regions; MWENDO in Western and Nyanza regions; POLIO in Nairobi and Marsabit including K-RAPID projects in Isiolo and Turkana regions. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Procurement and Supplies management from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology and Master’s degree in Supply Chain management at University of Nairobi. He is also a full member of Kenya Institute of Supplies management (KISM) and certified member in Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).
