Board of Directors

MWA Board of Directors

Samuel Mwale

MWA Board Chair

Samuel (Sam) Mwamburi Mwale brings vast experience in board leadership to MWA alongside global strategy and governance expertise...

Evan Thomas

Mortenson Center, CU Boulder
Board Vice Chair

Evan Thomas is the Director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, the Global Engineering Residential Academic Program...

...and holds the Mortenson Endowed Chair in Global Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is a tenured Associate Professor jointly appointed in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Departments, and an affiliate faculty in Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. Dr. Thomas is a currently a member of the NASA and USAID SERVIR Applied Sciences Team.

Keith Wright

Chief Executive Officer

Keith Wright joined the Millennium Water Alliance as Executive Director in 2018. Mr. Wright brings a track record of leadership and innovation to the...

...challenge of global WASH access. 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.

Rob Beadle

CARE
MWA Board Treasurer

Rod Beadle, PE serves as the WASH lead for CARE. Rod is a registered civil...

Jean-Philippe Debus

Catholic Relief Services

Jean-Philippe is the Global Lead of the Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Environment at Catholic Relief Services...

With an extensive career dedicated to international development, Jean-Philippe brings over 30 years of experience in humanitarian and development water programs. His expertise spans project development/management, monitoring, evaluation, and technical assistance in WASH for emergency and development contexts, as well water resource management, local leadership development, and WASH system strengthening across Africa and South Asia. Jean-Philippe played a crucial role in developing CRS's Water Security Strategy for 2030 and currently leads efforts to establish a MEAL system for it. He is actively involved in strengthening CRS's participation in the WASH Agenda for Change global coalition. Additionally, he coordinates the partnership with The Nature Conservancy, focusing on integrating WASH with source water protection and developing Water Fund programs in Sierra Leone and Ghana.

Holding an MSc in water and environmental management from Loughborough University, UK, Jean-Philippe has served in various global and regional roles with MSF and CRS, showcasing expertise in technical principles, talent management, and project leadership.

Safaa Shahin

Food for the Hungry

Safaa Shahin is the Global Resilience and Humanitarian Assistance Director at Food for the Hungry...

...She leads resilience strategy, humanitarian and WASH operations, and global emergency readiness across more than 18 countries. She oversees multi-country responses, guides technical quality, and strengthens systems for rapid and effective action.

Safaa has twenty years of professional experience. Fifteen of these years have been in resilience, conflict sensitivity, humanitarian assistance, and stabilization work across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Her work has strengthened governance, social cohesion, and community resilience in fragile and crisis-affected contexts.

She previously served as CEO of a Syrian NGO and is the founder of a women’s empowerment civil society organization.

Safaa holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Negotiation, a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and an associate degree in civil engineering. She is based in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area.

John Butterworth

IRC WASH

John is Director of IRCs Global Programme and a member of the senior management team...

IRCs Global Programme generates and uses evidence - working through partnerships - to drive change at scale in the systems that ultimately deliver water, sanitation and hygiene services at country and local levels.

John is a Briton and European, working from Lodz in Poland where he lives with his family. He has worked for IRC since 2005 and between 2016 and 2019 he was the country director in Ethiopia. He currently represents IRC in the SWA-led Heads of State Initiatives, the executive committee of the Agenda for Change, the Influence team for the One For Alliance, UN-water and the board of the Millenium Water Alliance.

Stephen Sara

Save the Children

Steve Sara is a Senior WASH Advisor at Save the Children and has 10 years of experience...

...working on global health and international development. Mr. Sara has been a member of Save the Children’s WASH team since 2014 and has led the team since 2018. His work focuses on implementing WASH activities to support improvements in maternal, newborn and child health across high burden countries. Mr. Sara is a former adjunct professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. Prior to working at Save the Children, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army for six years, where he served as an operations manager and a liaison to USAID and various partner governments and militaries. Mr. Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Global Environmental Health from The George Washington University.

Kelly Parsons

WaterAid America

Kelly Parsons joined WaterAid as CEO in 2019. She holds a Masters in International...

...Development from the John's Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. She started her career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Guatemala. Before WaterAid, Parsons led the Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy team at Population Services International (PSI). Previously, she led the Marketing Leadership Council, a network of Fortune 500 marketing executives and served as CEO of Melcrum Inc., a corporate and employee communications startup.

Jordan Smoke

World Vision

Jordan Smoke is the Director of WASH. He brings almost a decade of experience...

... working in various positions on the WVUS WASH team. He has served as a Sr. Program Manager, Sr. Technical Advisor, and Sr. Manager of WASH Programming and Partnerships. Jordan has managed a multifaceted portfolio of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects across West Africa and Latin America being responsible for program start-up, scale-up, and monitoring implementation. He is an engineer by background and has spent time implementing WASH projects in the field. He brings unique set of skills that focus on program effectiveness, innovation and global operational strategy. In addition, he has coordinated the strategic planning of WV WASH partnerships with foundations, universities, and other non-profits.

Mark Huelsenbeck

Impact Water

Mark Huelsenbeck is CEO of Impact Water, where he leads the organization's mission...

... to achieve universal coverage of safe drinking water in schools. Mark has spent nearly a decade building Impact Water's operations from the ground up across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, now serving over 60,000 schools. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as COO, helping double the program size and leading major innovations in behavior change, monitoring, and system maintenance.

Earlier in his career, Mark worked with myAgro as the M&E manager in Mali and served nearly six years with the Peace Corps in Benin, where he focused on community development and capacity building. He holds a degree from Columbia University.

Katrina Straker

Splash
MWA Board Secretary

Katrina Straker began in January 2024 as the Chief Development Officer at Splash...

...She came to Splash with over two decades of communications and development experience, primarily having worked with international development and refugee organizations. Prior to joining Splash, Katrina worked at International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), where she led the global marketing, communications, outreach, and fundraising teams. At Splash, Katrina leads business development, individual fundraising, marketing, and communications efforts, aiming to raise Splash’s profile and diversify revenue streams.

Dennis Warner

Board Member Emeritus

Dr. Dennis B. Warner has over forty years experience in international development working on problems of water supply, sanitation...

...environmental health and emergency relief assistance. Most recently, he served as a Senior Technical Advisor for water supply, sanitation and water resources development with Catholic Relief Services. Dr. Warner has lived in Tanzania, Uganda, Switzerland and France and has held positions with the Peace Corps, University of Dar es Salaam, Duke University, World Health Organization, several engineering consulting firms, World Bank and USAID. Dr. Warner is a Member of Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace movement, and in 2000 served as representative of Pax Christi International to the United Nations in Geneva.

Peter Lochery

Board Member Emeritus

Peter Lochery has been on the MWA Board of Directors since its inception, serving in various board roles, including Chair and Vice Chair...

He was made an Emeritus member of the Board upon his retirement as Chair in May 2023. He is an environmental engineer with more than 50 years of experience in the water sector. He has worked in the private sector in the UK, the Middle East, and East Asia, and with the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program in West Africa and South Asia. During his time in West Africa, he was seconded to government for six years. In 1995, he joined CARE and led its global development programming in water security, sanitation, and hygiene. While at CARE, he was involved with several start-ups focused on advocacy and systemic change, and now sits on the boards of Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor and for a new organization focused on water security. He was awarded the University of Oklahoma International Water Prize in 2015.

Kenya Board of Directors

Samuel Mwale

Board Chair

Samuel (Sam) Mwamburi Mwale brings vast experience in board leadership to MWA alongside global strategy and governance expertise...

...development. Mr. Sara has been a member of Save the Children’s WASH team since 2014 and has led the team since 2018. His work focuses on implementing WASH activities to support improvements in maternal, newborn and child health across high burden countries. Mr. Sara is a former adjunct professor at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. Prior to working at Save the Children, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army for six years, where he served as an operations manager and a liaison to USAID and various partner governments and militaries. Mr. Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Global Environmental Health from The George Washington University.

Keith Wright

Board Member

Keith Wright joined the Millennium Water Alliance as Executive Director in 2018. Mr. Wright brings a track record of leadership and innovation to the...

Abdinoor Hussein

Board Member

Abdinoor Mohamed Hussein, Hsc holds a Master’s Degree in Development Studies specializing in Humanities and Social sciences...

...Bachelor’s degree in Education, Advanced Diploma in Project planning management and six other Diplomas in the areas of Education, International relations, public relations, Leadership management, Disaster management and Counselling. He is currently pursuing a second master's degree in governance and Ethics at the Mount Kenya University.

He has vast knowledge and experience in education, leadership, and humanitarian work. He served as the County Chief Officer for Water services in Wajir County Government between 2013 to January 2018 and as the Director Special Programs in the County Government of Garissa between 2018 to 2022.

Abdi who is a recipient of a Presidential Head of State Commendation (HSC) Medal, served as National Executive Committee (NEC) Member at the Kenya Red Cross Society between 2013 – 2019. Besides his current position as the CEO/ Manager of Wajir Municipal Board, he is the Kenya Red Cross Regional Chairman-NEP Region and serves as a Board member in several secondary schools.

Leah Kobilo Rotich (Mrs), MBS

Board Member

Mrs Rotich, began her career as a Mathematics teacher with the Ministry of Education, Kenya in 1983...

...Over time, she ascended the ranks and retired as the Director General of Education in 2017. A staunch advocate for child-friendly schools, she believes in the importance of a happy school environment for children to realize their potential. Currently, Rotich serves on the Boards of Management for various schools in Baringo County. Additionally, she is actively involved in the empowerment of women and youth groups within her community. Rotich stands by the principle that communal growth is achieved through leading by example and that together we grow.

Ngari Gituku

Board Member

...and Environmental Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. In her role as Managing Director, Laura provides administrative, programming, and financial oversight of the Center's graduate certificate, Professional Master's programs and undergraduate residential academic program. Additionally, she manages the Mortenson Center's research program in Rwanda and provides support to the Mortenson Center's broader research portfolio in sub-Saharan Africa.

Styvers Kathuni

Board Member

Styvers Kathuni joined the Millennium Water Alliance as Program Director and Country Representative for Kenya in January 2022...

Styvers has worked for over 11 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.

Cova Joins Millennium Water Alliance

Board of Directors

MWA Board of Directors

Samuel Mwale

Evan Thomas

Keith Wright

Rob Beadle

Jean-Philippe Debus

Safaa Shahin

John Butterworth

Stephen Sara

Kelly Parsons

Jordan Smoke

Mark Huelsenbeck

Katrina Straker

Dennis Warner

Peter Lochery

Kenya Board of Directors

Samuel Mwale

Keith Wright

Abdinoor Hussein

Leah Kobilo Rotich (Mrs), MBS

Ngari Gituku

Styvers Kathuni