WHO WE ARE
_____________
Our People
Talented. Passionate. Diverse. Unified.
At ROCKBlue, our global team — made up of some 80 volunteers and staff, along with a roster of 120 specialists — has expertise in a broad range of fields including WASH engineering
and construction, infrastructure project management, international development, humanitarian assistance, operational strategy, finance, marketing, information technology and many others.
Meet our board, senior leadership and advisory teams, a cohesive group driven to build a world where everyone in developing countries has access to clean water and basic sanitation.
Karen Pallansch
Chairperson<p>Karen is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer and Registered Professional Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Texas A & M University. She holds a Class 1 Wastewater License and is a Water Environment Federation (WEF) Fellow. She has 30 years of experience in the water industry, having started her water career at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality as a senior environmental engineer.</p> <p>For the past 25 years, Karen has worked at Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew), the water resource recovery facility serving the City of Alexandria, Virginia and parts of Fairfax County. Since 2005, she has served as chief executive officer.</p> <p>During Karen’s tenure as CEO, she led a repositioning of AlexRenew from passive treater of water to sustainable utility and enthusiastic community problem solver, ensuring AlexRenew engages with its community in innovative and meaningful ways. For instance, as part of a capital program to address enhanced Chesapeake Bay regulations, AlexRenew created a neighborhood destination from an industrial area by incorporating amenities such as a regulation-size multipurpose field and LEED Platinum Certified Environmental Center with educational lobby into the planned wastewater infrastructure.</p> <p>Karen is currently overseeing a significant program to address Alexandria’s combined sewer overflows. The program involves construction of a network of deep tunnels and sewers that will capture almost all of the overflows and send them to AlexRenew for treatment. It will also incorporate stream restoration, a public art program, and extensive community outreach.</p> <p>Throughout her career, Karen has been devoted to mentoring women in the water industry, workforce development, and industry leadership. Karen founded and leads the Women’s Water Network for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and continues to develop and mentor a number of existing and future women water leaders.</p> <p>To support the water workforce of the future, she oversaw the creation of the AlexRenew apprentice program and partnerships with two local organizations to provide internships to underserved, high ability high school students.</p> <p>Karen has held board roles for a number of organizations, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and WateReuse. She has published or presented more than 50 educational papers and talks, and received multiple awards for public service and innovation.</p>
Richard Noth
Development & Finance<p>Richard has over 40 years’ global experience as a management and financial advisor. He specializes in institutional development, finance and public private partnerships of utilities and infrastructure in developing and transition countries, in the fields of water, wastewater and sanitation. He directed 22 development projects and advised governments in 25 countries on the range of management and other factors supporting sustainable water utilities.</p> <p>He offers extensive experience in developing strategies, designing activities and financing infrastructure development programs, water projects, sanitation programs, including notably determining tariff systems and structures and investment implementation strategy for pro-poor service delivery.</p> <p>Richard has developed and strengthened regulatory frameworks, such as developing the framework South Africa implemented for the monitoring of its Water Boards and that Saudi Arabia adopted for regulating its water utilities. His proven experience in determining utility restructuring and privatization options includes analyzing options for Public Private Partnerships as well as build-operate-transfer schemes for water and sanitation services. He evaluated the economic feasibility of infrastructure capital expenditures and investment projects, including financial due diligence assessment and identification of investments, always founded on the requirements for their sustainability. He has authored and co-authored over 40 publications and speaks three languages.</p> <p>Richard has a Master of Public Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1973 and a BA, Labor Management Relations with concentration in Industrial Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1968.</p>
Jo Burgess
Science & Technology<p>Jo is a natural scientist with a Ph.D. in environmental biotechnology and a Master of Research in innovative manufacturing, both from Cranfield University in the UK. She has 20 years of experience in research, development, and deployment of new technology and know-how in the area of sustainability, especially water and energy efficiency and resource recovery, and has spent 17 years of her career working in South Africa.</p> <p>Jo joined Isle Utilities in 2019 where she heads up their South African business. She is responsible for assessing, selecting and championing new tools and know-how to enable the water sector to adapt to the changing climatic and regulatory circumstances.</p> <p>Prior to joining Isle, Jo worked at the South African Water Research Commission for ten years and managed approximately 140 research and demonstration projects in three portfolios during that time: Drinking Water Treatment Technologies, Sustainable and Integrated Industrial Water Management, and Mine Water Treatment and Management. Her role included providing strategic direction in these areas by harnessing the assistance of the necessary expertise and experience to build consensus regarding needs-driven research, development and deployment of new know-how and technologies, and involving technology developers, technology users, and the regulators in co-creating innovations that worked in the real world.</p> <p>Jo is a member of the International Water Association (IWA), a member of the Royal Society (South Africa) and a Senior Fellow and past Board member of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), where she served two terms as Chairman of the Board. Jo was also one of four members of the institutional review panel to the Australian federal government regarding the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence in 2016. Jo was the founding president of the joint IWA / WISA South African Young Water Professionals, and a representative on the IWA Young Water Professionals Communication program. The SA YWP is now an established professional association which is 12 years old, and its members number in the thousands.</p> <p>A full time academic for almost a decade, Jo is still an active member of the research community. She is associate editor of the journals npj Clean Water (Nature Partner Journals), Water Science and Technology (IWA Publishing) and Environmental Technology Reviews (Taylor & Francis).</p> <p>She is an external examiner and grant reviewer for universities and science councils in South Africa, the UK, the USA, Australia, Botswana, and Mexico.</p> <p>Jo’s research has received nine professional awards from organisations such as the Royal Academy of Engineers, Society of Chemical Industry and Institute of Chemical Engineers, and she has published over 100 journal articles, books, conference proceedings and research reports.</p>
Dennis Mwanza
WASH Specialist<p>Dennis has had an extraordinary career working with utilities in the developing world and for multiple high-profile stakeholders from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the World Bank. He has also led numerous ground-breaking projects in the sector. Currently, he’s the Chief of Party of the USAID funded e-WASH project assisting water utilities in Nigeria. Prior to that, and his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he was Chief of Party of USAID’s SUWASA (Sustainable Water and Sanitation for Africa) program based in Nairobi, Kenya, which was aimed at promoting sustainable water sector reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p> <p>Before joining SUWASA, Dennis was a Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist and the urban team leader of the Water and Sanitation Programme -Africa (WSP of the World Bank) where he worked on the different approaches to serve the urban poor whether by utilities (i.e. establishment of pro-poor units, water re-selling, delegated management approaches, and social connections) or other sustainable mechanisms.</p> <p>Dennis is the former Managing Director of the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, Zambia. He also previously held the post of Managing Director of the Water Utility Partnership for capacity building in Africa (WUP).</p> <p>Dennis has a PhD in economic regulation of water and sanitation services in Africa, an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering.</p>
Chris Dunston
Public Health Specialist<p>Chris has three decades of experience in global health and development, he began his career as a US Peace Corps volunteer, assisting women’s groups in Kenya to establish small businesses. Afterwards, he worked with CARE for 10-years, designing and managing livelihood security relief and development programs in Bangladesh, Sudan and Madagascar.</p> <p>Over the next 15-years, he honed his entrepreneurial skills in Madagascar, starting and operating businesses focused on public health research, municipal governance, water service delivery and specialty coffee. Through these ventures, Chris managed a clinical trial for the treatment and diagnosis of human plague for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and established several public-private partnerships with Municipal governments for water resource management and service delivery.</p> <p>Chris also founded and operated a business that produced and marketed specialty grade coffees through a direct farmer-to-market relationship with clients in Japan and the US.</p> <p>Most recently (2013-2020) Chris led the Safe Water Strategy at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which aims to accelerate the coverage of reliable access to safe and affordable water for communities, healthcare facilities and schools in six sub-Saharan African countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Uganda. In practice, it incentivizes development partners – government, private sector and civil society – to collaborate more effectively with one another to design, test and implement different approaches for systems strengthening and water service delivery to all residents at the district level.</p> <p>Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and a Masters of Public Health in Economics and Health Systems Management from Tulane University.</p>
Winifred Nabakiibi
Water Utility Specialist<p>Winnie is a Civil Engineer with a Masters’ Degree in Water Services Management from UNESCO-IHE in Delft, The Netherlands. She is also a Certified Project Management Professional.</p> <p>She has over 14 years of experience in water utility advisory services. Prior to engaging in consulting work, Winnie worked as a full-time advisor to urban water utilities in Uganda. Her work involved elaborating reform policy recommendations, developing strategic approaches for small towns’ water services management including pro-poor service delivery. She was fundamental in developing policy frameworks on water utility asset management and small towns’ performance management.</p> <p>Winnie has experience in monitoring and evaluating performance of donor funded programs, regulation of utility services, technical aspects of water services provision including water loss reduction methods, management information systems, and vocational training for artisans.</p> <p>For most of her career, Winnie has been involved in water sector reform processes. Most recently, she was the Deputy Team Leader for a comprehensive investigation into the most effective way of reorganizing water services’ delivery in Uganda.</p> <p>She has also worked on assignments in other countries including Rwanda, Somali-Land, South Africa, Netherlands; and she has received regulatory training at the Public Utility Research Center in Florida.</p>
Ned Breslin
WASH Development<p>Ned Breslin has been a nonprofit leader for over three decades and has a distinguished career of implementing impactful programs across the globe. Starting in 1987, he has worked on water and sanitation development throughout Africa where he helped organizations grow, improve and measure their results.</p> <p>The former CEO of Water for People, a water and sanitation nonprofit that implements and tests unique implementation models in 11 countries around the world, Ned was best known for “Everyone Forever” which led to scaled full coverage models in multiple districts, in multiple countries across three continents, and the monitoring work he pioneered that led to the understanding long-term impact in new ways.</p> <p>He strongly believes that new approaches are needed, thoughtful risks need to be taken and sector practice needs to be brought into greater light so that good work can be better understood; and work that does not transform lives highlighted as well so that mistakes and poor programming are not scaled.</p> <p>Ned is a prolific writer and advocate, who contributes regularly to several publications and journals including Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Huffington Post, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. He has spoken at several high-profile events including TEDx; PopTech; Social Innovation Summit; South by Southwest (SXSW); and social Good Summit, among others. Ned is a 2011 winner of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.</p> <p>Ned received a bachelor’s degree in government from St. Lawrence University and a masters from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.</p>
Sophia Mohapi
Management & Finance<p>Sophia has held numerous senior management positions in her long and distinguished career. This includes the Lesotho National Development Corporation as the CEO, Deputy Chief Executive of the multi-million-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority and CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho where she managed a US$362.55 million contract between the Government of Lesotho and the US government (MCC). She was also instrumental in the initiation and formulation of the Lesotho contract with MCC where she served as the Project Coordinator under the Ministry of Finance. Following Lesotho’s eligibility for a second contract with MCC, the Government of Lesotho appointed her as a Coordinator for the development process.</p> <p>Sophia has won numerous awards including the prestigious MCC Country Ownership Award and the Lesotho Institute of Accountants’ Presidential Award for excellent service. Lesotho’s King Letsie III also appointed her to be Commander of the Most Loyal Order of Ramats’eatsana.</p> <p>She has a strong financial background including serving as the chairperson of Nedbank Lesotho Board of Directors, as Director of the Central Bank of Lesotho Board of Directors where she also serves as a member of the Bank’s Audit Committee and, besides being on the Board, she serves on the Finance Commission of the Christian Council of Lesotho.</p> <p>She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honors Degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada (1980). In 1984, she joined the Center for Accounting Studies where she lectured in Financial Accounting, Business Mathematics and Data Processing. She was appointed to the position of Deputy Director from 1987 to 1989.</p>
Karen Pallansch
Chairperson<p>Karen is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer and Registered Professional Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Texas A & M University. She holds a Class 1 Wastewater License and is a Water Environment Federation (WEF) Fellow. She has 30 years of experience in the water industry, having started her water career at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality as a senior environmental engineer.</p> <p>For the past 25 years, Karen has worked at Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew), the water resource recovery facility serving the City of Alexandria, Virginia and parts of Fairfax County. Since 2005, she has served as chief executive officer.</p> <p>During Karen’s tenure as CEO, she led a repositioning of AlexRenew from passive treater of water to sustainable utility and enthusiastic community problem solver, ensuring AlexRenew engages with its community in innovative and meaningful ways. For instance, as part of a capital program to address enhanced Chesapeake Bay regulations, AlexRenew created a neighborhood destination from an industrial area by incorporating amenities such as a regulation-size multipurpose field and LEED Platinum Certified Environmental Center with educational lobby into the planned wastewater infrastructure.</p> <p>Karen is currently overseeing a significant program to address Alexandria’s combined sewer overflows. The program involves construction of a network of deep tunnels and sewers that will capture almost all of the overflows and send them to AlexRenew for treatment. It will also incorporate stream restoration, a public art program, and extensive community outreach.</p> <p>Throughout her career, Karen has been devoted to mentoring women in the water industry, workforce development, and industry leadership. Karen founded and leads the Women’s Water Network for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and continues to develop and mentor a number of existing and future women water leaders.</p> <p>To support the water workforce of the future, she oversaw the creation of the AlexRenew apprentice program and partnerships with two local organizations to provide internships to underserved, high ability high school students.</p> <p>Karen has held board roles for a number of organizations, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and WateReuse. She has published or presented more than 50 educational papers and talks, and received multiple awards for public service and innovation.</p>Richard Noth
Development & Finance<p>Richard has over 40 years’ global experience as a management and financial advisor. He specializes in institutional development, finance and public private partnerships of utilities and infrastructure in developing and transition countries, in the fields of water, wastewater and sanitation. He directed 22 development projects and advised governments in 25 countries on the range of management and other factors supporting sustainable water utilities.</p> <p>He offers extensive experience in developing strategies, designing activities and financing infrastructure development programs, water projects, sanitation programs, including notably determining tariff systems and structures and investment implementation strategy for pro-poor service delivery.</p> <p>Richard has developed and strengthened regulatory frameworks, such as developing the framework South Africa implemented for the monitoring of its Water Boards and that Saudi Arabia adopted for regulating its water utilities. His proven experience in determining utility restructuring and privatization options includes analyzing options for Public Private Partnerships as well as build-operate-transfer schemes for water and sanitation services. He evaluated the economic feasibility of infrastructure capital expenditures and investment projects, including financial due diligence assessment and identification of investments, always founded on the requirements for their sustainability. He has authored and co-authored over 40 publications and speaks three languages.</p> <p>Richard has a Master of Public Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1973 and a BA, Labor Management Relations with concentration in Industrial Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1968.</p>Jo Burgess
Science & Technology<p>Jo is a natural scientist with a Ph.D. in environmental biotechnology and a Master of Research in innovative manufacturing, both from Cranfield University in the UK. She has 20 years of experience in research, development, and deployment of new technology and know-how in the area of sustainability, especially water and energy efficiency and resource recovery, and has spent 17 years of her career working in South Africa.</p> <p>Jo joined Isle Utilities in 2019 where she heads up their South African business. She is responsible for assessing, selecting and championing new tools and know-how to enable the water sector to adapt to the changing climatic and regulatory circumstances.</p> <p>Prior to joining Isle, Jo worked at the South African Water Research Commission for ten years and managed approximately 140 research and demonstration projects in three portfolios during that time: Drinking Water Treatment Technologies, Sustainable and Integrated Industrial Water Management, and Mine Water Treatment and Management. Her role included providing strategic direction in these areas by harnessing the assistance of the necessary expertise and experience to build consensus regarding needs-driven research, development and deployment of new know-how and technologies, and involving technology developers, technology users, and the regulators in co-creating innovations that worked in the real world.</p> <p>Jo is a member of the International Water Association (IWA), a member of the Royal Society (South Africa) and a Senior Fellow and past Board member of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), where she served two terms as Chairman of the Board. Jo was also one of four members of the institutional review panel to the Australian federal government regarding the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence in 2016. Jo was the founding president of the joint IWA / WISA South African Young Water Professionals, and a representative on the IWA Young Water Professionals Communication program. The SA YWP is now an established professional association which is 12 years old, and its members number in the thousands.</p> <p>A full time academic for almost a decade, Jo is still an active member of the research community. She is associate editor of the journals npj Clean Water (Nature Partner Journals), Water Science and Technology (IWA Publishing) and Environmental Technology Reviews (Taylor & Francis).</p> <p>She is an external examiner and grant reviewer for universities and science councils in South Africa, the UK, the USA, Australia, Botswana, and Mexico.</p> <p>Jo’s research has received nine professional awards from organisations such as the Royal Academy of Engineers, Society of Chemical Industry and Institute of Chemical Engineers, and she has published over 100 journal articles, books, conference proceedings and research reports.</p>Dennis Mwanza
WASH Specialist<p>Dennis has had an extraordinary career working with utilities in the developing world and for multiple high-profile stakeholders from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the World Bank. He has also led numerous ground-breaking projects in the sector. Currently, he’s the Chief of Party of the USAID funded e-WASH project assisting water utilities in Nigeria. Prior to that, and his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he was Chief of Party of USAID’s SUWASA (Sustainable Water and Sanitation for Africa) program based in Nairobi, Kenya, which was aimed at promoting sustainable water sector reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p> <p>Before joining SUWASA, Dennis was a Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist and the urban team leader of the Water and Sanitation Programme -Africa (WSP of the World Bank) where he worked on the different approaches to serve the urban poor whether by utilities (i.e. establishment of pro-poor units, water re-selling, delegated management approaches, and social connections) or other sustainable mechanisms.</p> <p>Dennis is the former Managing Director of the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, Zambia. He also previously held the post of Managing Director of the Water Utility Partnership for capacity building in Africa (WUP).</p> <p>Dennis has a PhD in economic regulation of water and sanitation services in Africa, an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering.</p>Sophia Mohapi
Management & Finance<p>Sophia has held numerous senior management positions in her long and distinguished career. This includes the Lesotho National Development Corporation as the CEO, Deputy Chief Executive of the multi-million-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority and CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account-Lesotho where she managed a US$362.55 million contract between the Government of Lesotho and the US government (MCC). She was also instrumental in the initiation and formulation of the Lesotho contract with MCC where she served as the Project Coordinator under the Ministry of Finance. Following Lesotho’s eligibility for a second contract with MCC, the Government of Lesotho appointed her as a Coordinator for the development process.</p> <p>Sophia has won numerous awards including the prestigious MCC Country Ownership Award and the Lesotho Institute of Accountants’ Presidential Award for excellent service. Lesotho’s King Letsie III also appointed her to be Commander of the Most Loyal Order of Ramats’eatsana.</p> <p>She has a strong financial background including serving as the chairperson of Nedbank Lesotho Board of Directors, as Director of the Central Bank of Lesotho Board of Directors where she also serves as a member of the Bank’s Audit Committee and, besides being on the Board, she serves on the Finance Commission of the Christian Council of Lesotho.</p> <p>She holds a Bachelor of Commerce Honors Degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada (1980). In 1984, she joined the Center for Accounting Studies where she lectured in Financial Accounting, Business Mathematics and Data Processing. She was appointed to the position of Deputy Director from 1987 to 1989.</p>Chris Dunston
Public Health Specialist<p>Chris has three decades of experience in global health and development, he began his career as a US Peace Corps volunteer, assisting women’s groups in Kenya to establish small businesses. Afterwards, he worked with CARE for 10-years, designing and managing livelihood security relief and development programs in Bangladesh, Sudan and Madagascar.</p> <p>Over the next 15-years, he honed his entrepreneurial skills in Madagascar, starting and operating businesses focused on public health research, municipal governance, water service delivery and specialty coffee. Through these ventures, Chris managed a clinical trial for the treatment and diagnosis of human plague for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and established several public-private partnerships with Municipal governments for water resource management and service delivery.</p> <p>Chris also founded and operated a business that produced and marketed specialty grade coffees through a direct farmer-to-market relationship with clients in Japan and the US.</p> <p>Most recently (2013-2020) Chris led the Safe Water Strategy at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which aims to accelerate the coverage of reliable access to safe and affordable water for communities, healthcare facilities and schools in six sub-Saharan African countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Uganda. In practice, it incentivizes development partners – government, private sector and civil society – to collaborate more effectively with one another to design, test and implement different approaches for systems strengthening and water service delivery to all residents at the district level.</p> <p>Chris holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and a Masters of Public Health in Economics and Health Systems Management from Tulane University.</p>Winifred Nabakiibi
Water Utility Specialist<p>Winnie is a Civil Engineer with a Masters’ Degree in Water Services Management from UNESCO-IHE in Delft, The Netherlands. She is also a Certified Project Management Professional.</p> <p>She has over 14 years of experience in water utility advisory services. Prior to engaging in consulting work, Winnie worked as a full-time advisor to urban water utilities in Uganda. Her work involved elaborating reform policy recommendations, developing strategic approaches for small towns’ water services management including pro-poor service delivery. She was fundamental in developing policy frameworks on water utility asset management and small towns’ performance management.</p> <p>Winnie has experience in monitoring and evaluating performance of donor funded programs, regulation of utility services, technical aspects of water services provision including water loss reduction methods, management information systems, and vocational training for artisans.</p> <p>For most of her career, Winnie has been involved in water sector reform processes. Most recently, she was the Deputy Team Leader for a comprehensive investigation into the most effective way of reorganizing water services’ delivery in Uganda.</p> <p>She has also worked on assignments in other countries including Rwanda, Somali-Land, South Africa, Netherlands; and she has received regulatory training at the Public Utility Research Center in Florida.</p>Ned Breslin
WASH Development<p>Ned Breslin has been a nonprofit leader for over three decades and has a distinguished career of implementing impactful programs across the globe. Starting in 1987, he has worked on water and sanitation development throughout Africa where he helped organizations grow, improve and measure their results.</p> <p>The former CEO of Water for People, a water and sanitation nonprofit that implements and tests unique implementation models in 11 countries around the world, Ned was best known for “Everyone Forever” which led to scaled full coverage models in multiple districts, in multiple countries across three continents, and the monitoring work he pioneered that led to the understanding long-term impact in new ways.</p> <p>He strongly believes that new approaches are needed, thoughtful risks need to be taken and sector practice needs to be brought into greater light so that good work can be better understood; and work that does not transform lives highlighted as well so that mistakes and poor programming are not scaled.</p> <p>Ned is a prolific writer and advocate, who contributes regularly to several publications and journals including Forbes, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Huffington Post, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. He has spoken at several high-profile events including TEDx; PopTech; Social Innovation Summit; South by Southwest (SXSW); and social Good Summit, among others. Ned is a 2011 winner of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.</p> <p>Ned received a bachelor’s degree in government from St. Lawrence University and a masters from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.</p>
Miles Crisp
Chief Executive Officer<p>Miles has worked in finance for more than 35 years, most recently as CEO of Tarsus Technology Group, South Africa’s oldest technology distribution company. Prior to joining Tarsus, he was the CEO of SecureData Limited’s Group, laying the groundwork for its acquisition by Tarsus. Previously, he was Group CEO of O’Keefe and Swartz, a business process outsourcing firm.He started his career by completing his accounting articles at Coopers & Lybrand, which would ultimately merge with Price Waterhouse to become Price Waterhouse Coopers (now PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC).</p> <p>In 1985, Miles co-founded Anderson Rochussen Crisp, a boutique auditing, tax and business consulting practice, going on sell his shares in the firm to Deloitte & Touche, the Big Four accounting and consulting firm — and joining them as a partner in 1995.</p> <p>While at Deloitte, Miles was responsible for financial advisory services, corporate finance, enterprise risk management, internal auditing and forensic accounting, while serving on both the global management committee and Southern Africa Executive Committee.</p> <p>Miles holds a BCom Accounting degree from Rhodes University.</p>
Peter Macy
President & Founder<p>Peter has four decades of engineering and management experience in all aspects of water supply, sanitation, and wastewater.</p> <p>His career started out as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo and the Central African Republic. He rose to Vice President and Africa Regional Manager for the US engineering company CDM Smith before leaving to devote his full attention to the NGO, ROCKBlue.</p> <p>He has worked within and for numerous public utilities in the developing world including utilities in Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho. Peter has managed millions of dollars’ worth of projects, has started up and led country and regional offices, marketed mega proposals, and served as a technical advisor for multiple sectors.</p> <p>Peter has served as a ”thought leader” and guest speaker at numerous conferences and initiatives associated with international development. He has authored and co-authored books and articles for professional organizations about water resources management.</p> <p>His board assignments for various NGO’s includes: ROCKBlue, Engineers Without Borders, MCD and the Giving Circle. He has been active with various organizations and committees throughout his career including the International Water Association (IWA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water for People, and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).</p> <p>Peter earned a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) from Syracuse University. Then, through coursework at UC Berkley, University of Denver and Colorado State University, became a practicing and Registered Professional Civil Engineer.</p>
Chris Fahlin
Chief Operating Officer<p>Chris served in the military from 1996 to 2005 in leadership and management positions as an enlisted U.S. Marine and then a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He spearheaded the founding of a corporate humanitarian program for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and managed it and its annual $100K budget since 2007.</p> <p>He has previous experience as Chief Operating Officer while working at a design-build start-up in his Engineering Team Leader position. Chris has worked internationally (mostly in the water sector) in Nicaragua, Belize, and Togo.</p> <p>He holds a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). As a process engineer for water and water reclamation/wastewater plants since 2005, Chris has served in a variety of roles from concept through construction with a strong emphasis on meeting and exceeding plant operators’ expectations for facilities expected to last 10 or more years. Chris has been activity applying the ROCKS acronym to his pro-bono international development work as well as his US-based work since 2008.</p>
Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>
Chris Homer
Managing Director<p>Chris has more than 10 years of experience in engineering and construction related to water resources and energy. He managed the installation of almost 100 km (62 miles) of HDPE pipeline for high volume distribution of freshwater to support oil and gas developments in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He assisted in the design and management of mobile flowback treatment systems to support beneficial reuse of residual waste from hydrofracturing operations. Chris holds a bachelor’s of science in Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a master’s of science. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University.</p>
Miles Crisp
Chief Executive Officer<p>Miles has worked in finance for more than 35 years, most recently as CEO of Tarsus Technology Group, South Africa’s oldest technology distribution company. Prior to joining Tarsus, he was the CEO of SecureData Limited’s Group, laying the groundwork for its acquisition by Tarsus. Previously, he was Group CEO of O’Keefe and Swartz, a business process outsourcing firm.He started his career by completing his accounting articles at Coopers & Lybrand, which would ultimately merge with Price Waterhouse to become Price Waterhouse Coopers (now PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC).</p> <p>In 1985, Miles co-founded Anderson Rochussen Crisp, a boutique auditing, tax and business consulting practice, going on sell his shares in the firm to Deloitte & Touche, the Big Four accounting and consulting firm — and joining them as a partner in 1995.</p> <p>While at Deloitte, Miles was responsible for financial advisory services, corporate finance, enterprise risk management, internal auditing and forensic accounting, while serving on both the global management committee and Southern Africa Executive Committee.</p> <p>Miles holds a BCom Accounting degree from Rhodes University.</p>Peter Macy
President & Founder<p>Peter has four decades of engineering and management experience in all aspects of water supply, sanitation, and wastewater.</p> <p>His career started out as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo and the Central African Republic. He rose to Vice President and Africa Regional Manager for the US engineering company CDM Smith before leaving to devote his full attention to the NGO, ROCKBlue.</p> <p>He has worked within and for numerous public utilities in the developing world including utilities in Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho. Peter has managed millions of dollars’ worth of projects, has started up and led country and regional offices, marketed mega proposals, and served as a technical advisor for multiple sectors.</p> <p>Peter has served as a ”thought leader” and guest speaker at numerous conferences and initiatives associated with international development. He has authored and co-authored books and articles for professional organizations about water resources management.</p> <p>His board assignments for various NGO’s includes: ROCKBlue, Engineers Without Borders, MCD and the Giving Circle. He has been active with various organizations and committees throughout his career including the International Water Association (IWA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water for People, and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).</p> <p>Peter earned a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) from Syracuse University. Then, through coursework at UC Berkley, University of Denver and Colorado State University, became a practicing and Registered Professional Civil Engineer.</p>Chris Fahlin
Chief Operating Officer<p>Chris served in the military from 1996 to 2005 in leadership and management positions as an enlisted U.S. Marine and then a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He spearheaded the founding of a corporate humanitarian program for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and managed it and its annual $100K budget since 2007.</p> <p>He has previous experience as Chief Operating Officer while working at a design-build start-up in his Engineering Team Leader position. Chris has worked internationally (mostly in the water sector) in Nicaragua, Belize, and Togo.</p> <p>He holds a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). As a process engineer for water and water reclamation/wastewater plants since 2005, Chris has served in a variety of roles from concept through construction with a strong emphasis on meeting and exceeding plant operators’ expectations for facilities expected to last 10 or more years. Chris has been activity applying the ROCKS acronym to his pro-bono international development work as well as his US-based work since 2008.</p>Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>Chris Homer
Managing Director<p>Chris has more than 10 years of experience in engineering and construction related to water resources and energy. He managed the installation of almost 100 km (62 miles) of HDPE pipeline for high volume distribution of freshwater to support oil and gas developments in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He assisted in the design and management of mobile flowback treatment systems to support beneficial reuse of residual waste from hydrofracturing operations. Chris holds a bachelor’s of science in Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a master’s of science. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University.</p>
Peter Macy
President & Founder<p>Peter has four decades of engineering and management experience in all aspects of water supply, sanitation, and wastewater.</p> <p>His career started out as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo and the Central African Republic. He rose to Vice President and Africa Regional Manager for the US engineering company CDM Smith before leaving to devote his full attention to the NGO, ROCKBlue.</p> <p>He has worked within and for numerous public utilities in the developing world including utilities in Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho. Peter has managed millions of dollars’ worth of projects, has started up and led country and regional offices, marketed mega proposals, and served as a technical advisor for multiple sectors.</p> <p>Peter has served as a ”thought leader” and guest speaker at numerous conferences and initiatives associated with international development. He has authored and co-authored books and articles for professional organizations about water resources management.</p> <p>His board assignments for various NGO’s includes: ROCKBlue, Engineers Without Borders, MCD and the Giving Circle. He has been active with various organizations and committees throughout his career including the International Water Association (IWA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water for People, and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).</p> <p>Peter earned a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) from Syracuse University. Then, through coursework at UC Berkley, University of Denver and Colorado State University, became a practicing and Registered Professional Civil Engineer.</p>
Nana Fredua-Agyeman
Deputy to the President<p>Nana has had a successful more than decade-long career as a budget expert, research officer and a monitoring and evaluation specialist with various international organisations. His experience spans managing a$42 million USAID/West Africa-funded Analytical Support Services and Evaluation for Sustainable Systems (ASSESS) project and acting as Budget Expert on the $14 million Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development -funded African Parliamentary Strengthening Program (APSP) implemented by the Canadian Parliamentary Centre.</p>
Marietta Hopley
Development Manager<p>Marietta has had a more than 20-year-long career as a successful entreprenuer, business owner, international financier, fundraiser and publicist. She specializes in identifying, cultivating and engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including bi- and multi-lateral funders, corporations, foundations and high-net-worth individuals.</p>
Lindsey Duggan
Grant Writer<p>Lindsey is former Grants Officer and Associate Director of Goverment & Community Relations with Lasell University, where she oversaw all municipal, state, federal, corporate, foundation and charitable trust grants. She holds a bachelor’s in Political Science and International Studies from Stonehill College.</p>
Chris Fahlin
Chief Operating Officer<p>Chris served in the military from 1996 to 2005 in leadership and management positions as an enlisted U.S. Marine and then a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He spearheaded the founding of a corporate humanitarian program for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and managed it and its annual $100K budget since 2007.</p> <p>He has previous experience as Chief Operating Officer while working at a design-build start-up in his Engineering Team Leader position. Chris has worked internationally (mostly in the water sector) in Nicaragua, Belize, and Togo.</p> <p>He holds a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). As a process engineer for water and water reclamation/wastewater plants since 2005, Chris has served in a variety of roles from concept through construction with a strong emphasis on meeting and exceeding plant operators’ expectations for facilities expected to last 10 or more years. Chris has been activity applying the ROCKS acronym to his pro-bono international development work as well as his US-based work since 2008.</p>
Francois Marais
Manager of Operations<p>Francois ensures our continued growth and impact by designing and managing essential processes, leading strategic projects and identifying ways to make our teams more effective across the organization. Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Francois co-founded the online coffee shop Steam Co., volunteered at Do Good Charity and worked in sales at Team Sport. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Stellenbosch University and an Honours degree in Strategic Brand Management from Vega School, both in South Africa.</p>
Calvin Gopal
Project & Team Manager<p>Calvin has nearly 15 years of supervisory and management experience in customer service and operations stretching across a range of organizations, including six years at Virgin Active South Africa, the country’s largest fitness gym network.</p>
Philip Denton
IT Manager<p>Philip is a Salesforce Certified Administrator with more than decade of IT, business and operations management experience, and nine years of leadership experience a U.S. Army officer. He holds a bachelor’s of Military Arts and Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Texas A&M Mays Business School.</p>
Ranju Shirish
Strategic IT Specialist<p>Ranju has more than 20 years of IT experience that includes database administration, migration, technical support, with specialized expertise with Oracle Database, RAC and Replication. She manages all projects, systems and processes related to Salesforce CRM. Ranju holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.</p>
Danica Blyth
HR Assistant<p>Danica has a decade of experience spanning sales, customer service and human resources. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Strategic management from Varisty College in South Africa and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate from i-to-i.</p>
Arun Venkataraman
Salesforce Specialist<p>Arun has more than 20 years of experience as a senior IT manager and software engineer, having worked for organizations ranging from GE to Wipro. He specializes in digital transformation (through cloud, Saleforce, Big Data and SaaS), managed services (ITSM & Servicenow) and product engineering, development and lifecycle (PLM, ALM).</p>
Chris Fahlin
Chief Operating Officer<p>Chris served in the military from 1996 to 2005 in leadership and management positions as an enlisted U.S. Marine and then a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He spearheaded the founding of a corporate humanitarian program for Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and managed it and its annual $100K budget since 2007.</p> <p>He has previous experience as Chief Operating Officer while working at a design-build start-up in his Engineering Team Leader position. Chris has worked internationally (mostly in the water sector) in Nicaragua, Belize, and Togo.</p> <p>He holds a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). As a process engineer for water and water reclamation/wastewater plants since 2005, Chris has served in a variety of roles from concept through construction with a strong emphasis on meeting and exceeding plant operators’ expectations for facilities expected to last 10 or more years. Chris has been activity applying the ROCKS acronym to his pro-bono international development work as well as his US-based work since 2008.</p>Francois Marais
Manager of Operations<p>Francois ensures our continued growth and impact by designing and managing essential processes, leading strategic projects and identifying ways to make our teams more effective across the organization. Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Francois co-founded the online coffee shop Steam Co., volunteered at Do Good Charity and worked in sales at Team Sport. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Stellenbosch University and an Honours degree in Strategic Brand Management from Vega School, both in South Africa.</p>Calvin Gopal
Project & Team Manager<p>Calvin has nearly 15 years of supervisory and management experience in customer service and operations stretching across a range of organizations, including six years at Virgin Active South Africa, the country’s largest fitness gym network.</p>Danica Blyth
HR Assistant<p>Danica has a decade of experience spanning sales, customer service and human resources. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Strategic management from Varisty College in South Africa and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate from i-to-i.</p>Philip Denton
IT Manager<p>Philip is a Salesforce Certified Administrator with more than decade of IT, business and operations management experience, and nine years of leadership experience a U.S. Army officer. He holds a bachelor’s of Military Arts and Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Texas A&M Mays Business School.</p>Ranju Shirish
Strategic IT Specialist<p>Ranju has more than 20 years of IT experience that includes database administration, migration, technical support, with specialized expertise with Oracle Database, RAC and Replication. She manages all projects, systems and processes related to Salesforce CRM. Ranju holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.</p>Arun Venkataraman
Salesforce Specialist<p>Arun has more than 20 years of experience as a senior IT manager and software engineer, having worked for organizations ranging from GE to Wipro. He specializes in digital transformation (through cloud, Saleforce, Big Data and SaaS), managed services (ITSM & Servicenow) and product engineering, development and lifecycle (PLM, ALM).</p>
Bado Mnthali
Director (Interim Volunteer)<p>Bado Mnthali is a dedicated sustainability and climate resilience professional with over 20 years of experience in the area of area of WASH design, project preparation and management. Bado has led various climate resilience-related infrastructure programs for Governments, Private-Sector and DFIs throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region. He is also deeply involved in establishing partnerships with regional utilities focusing on Sustainable Utility Management through his work as a volunteer Director of Utility Partnerships for the ROCKBlue organization</p>Richard Noth
Development & Finance<p>Richard has over 40 years’ global experience as a management and financial advisor. He specializes in institutional development, finance and public private partnerships of utilities and infrastructure in developing and transition countries, in the fields of water, wastewater and sanitation. He directed 22 development projects and advised governments in 25 countries on the range of management and other factors supporting sustainable water utilities.</p> <p>He offers extensive experience in developing strategies, designing activities and financing infrastructure development programs, water projects, sanitation programs, including notably determining tariff systems and structures and investment implementation strategy for pro-poor service delivery.</p> <p>Richard has developed and strengthened regulatory frameworks, such as developing the framework South Africa implemented for the monitoring of its Water Boards and that Saudi Arabia adopted for regulating its water utilities. His proven experience in determining utility restructuring and privatization options includes analyzing options for Public Private Partnerships as well as build-operate-transfer schemes for water and sanitation services. He evaluated the economic feasibility of infrastructure capital expenditures and investment projects, including financial due diligence assessment and identification of investments, always founded on the requirements for their sustainability. He has authored and co-authored over 40 publications and speaks three languages.</p> <p>Richard has a Master of Public Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1973 and a BA, Labor Management Relations with concentration in Industrial Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1968.</p>
Lara Egbola-Martial
Performance Coordinator<p>Lara is a technical engineer and project manager with more than 5 years of consulting experience who is passionate about international development projects, particularly in water, wastewater and renewable energy. She holds a bachelor’s in Engineering (Civil Enginerringand APplied Mechanics) from McGill University and a master’s in Civil and Environmental EngineeringField Of StudyEnergy, Civil Infrastructure and Climate from UC Berkeley.</p>
Charmaine Leonidas
PAWS Manager<p>Charmaine has more than 15 years of experience in project management, operations and client services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Adminsitration and Management from Indiana University.</p>
James Patrick Chikwiti
Documentation Specialist<p>James has over a decade of strategic management experience. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Managment and Human Resources Development from the University of South Africa. </p>
Hlee Xiong
Documentation Assistant<p>Hlee has several years of experience in project, operations and account management. She is passionate about analyzing problems and designing workflows and creative solutions to help streamline internal processes.</p>
Utility Specialists
In-Country<p>7 team members in 7 countries</p>
Local Representatives
In-Country<p>9 team members in 7 countires</p>
Roster of Specialists
Global<p>Over 120 WASH specialists around the world</p>
Bado Mnthali
Director (Interim Volunteer)<p>Bado Mnthali is a dedicated sustainability and climate resilience professional with over 20 years of experience in the area of area of WASH design, project preparation and management. Bado has led various climate resilience-related infrastructure programs for Governments, Private-Sector and DFIs throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region. He is also deeply involved in establishing partnerships with regional utilities focusing on Sustainable Utility Management through his work as a volunteer Director of Utility Partnerships for the ROCKBlue organization</p>
Satish Menon
Advisor & Co-Founder<p>Satish brings over 25 years of technical experience working on international infrastructure and institutional development projects related to water and wastewater.</p> <p>Over the past decade, he has led multi-national and multi-disciplinary teams and managed delivery of successful projects in culturally diverse countries like Jordan, Venezuela, Pakistan, Lesotho and Zambia. The projects range from planning and designing infrastructure; assessing institutional capacities and capabilities; planning institutional requirements for sustainability; monitoring implementation and startup operations of infrastructure projects. Satish brings a collaborative approach to development that benefits clients, their institutions and donor agencies to achieve desired outcomes.</p> <p>He is currently based in Lusaka, Zambia managing a local team of resettlement and social experts on an MCC funded project. Satish is responsible for the capacity building of this team and to complete resettlement related activities associated with over $250 million-dollar water infrastructure investment on time and within budget.</p> <p>Satish has a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, 1994 and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State University, 1990.</p>Lara Egbola-Martial
Performance Coordinator<p>Lara is a technical engineer and project manager with more than 5 years of consulting experience who is passionate about international development projects, particularly in water, wastewater and renewable energy. She holds a bachelor’s in Engineering (Civil Enginerringand APplied Mechanics) from McGill University and a master’s in Civil and Environmental EngineeringField Of StudyEnergy, Civil Infrastructure and Climate from UC Berkeley.</p>
Richard Noth
PIP Specialist/Co-Founder<p>Richard has over 40 years’ global experience as a management and financial advisor. He specializes in institutional development, finance and public private partnerships of utilities and infrastructure in developing and transition countries, in the fields of water, wastewater and sanitation. He directed 22 development projects and advised governments in 25 countries on the range of management and other factors supporting sustainable water utilities.</p> <p>He offers extensive experience in developing strategies, designing activities and financing infrastructure development programs, water projects, sanitation programs, including notably determining tariff systems and structures and investment implementation strategy for pro-poor service delivery.</p> <p>Richard has developed and strengthened regulatory frameworks, such as developing the framework South Africa implemented for the monitoring of its Water Boards and that Saudi Arabia adopted for regulating its water utilities. His proven experience in determining utility restructuring and privatization options includes analyzing options for Public Private Partnerships as well as build-operate-transfer schemes for water and sanitation services. He evaluated the economic feasibility of infrastructure capital expenditures and investment projects, including financial due diligence assessment and identification of investments, always founded on the requirements for their sustainability. He has authored and co-authored over 40 publications and speaks three languages.</p> <p>Richard has a Master of Public Administration, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1973 and a BA, Labor Management Relations with concentration in Industrial Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 1968.</p>Charmaine Leonidas
PAWS Manager<p>Charmaine has more than 15 years of experience in project management, operations and client services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Adminsitration and Management from Indiana University.</p>Hlee Xiong
Documentation Assistant<p>Hlee has several years of experience in project, operations and account management. She is passionate about analyzing problems and designing workflows and creative solutions to help streamline internal processes.</p>James Patrick Chikwiti
Documentation Specialist<p>James has over a decade of strategic management experience. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Managment and Human Resources Development from the University of South Africa. </p>Utility Specialists
In-Country<p>7 team members in 7 countries</p>Local Representatives
In-Country<p>9 team members in 7 countires</p>Roster of Specialists
Global<p>Over 120 WASH specialists around the world</p>
Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>
Euné van der Walt
Marketing Assistant<p>Eune is a digital marketer and graphic designer with more than a decade of experience. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Stellenbosch University Academy of Design and Photography in South Africa.</p>
Kathy Kelley
Writer & Editor<p>Kathy has been a writer and editor for more than three decades, having gained deep experience across a range of topics, including environmental, scientific and technical subjects. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Advertising from Michigan State University.</p>
Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>
Moses Souta
WASH Scale Up Manager<p>Moses spent five years as a research technologist at the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI) in Zimbabwe. With a deep background in environmental engineering with a focus on water and sanitation, he holds bachelor’s in Environmental Monitoring and Modelling from University of South Africa, a Post Graduate Diploma in Water Supply and Sanitation from National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe and a master’s in Environmental Systems Engineering from University of Zimbabwe.</p>
Stella Muthungu
WASH Scale Up Assistant<p>Stella is a site engineer who currently supervises construction of an African Development Bank-funded wastewater treatment plant and sewer line construction project in Kenya. She has a deep interest in promoting public health and gender equality through water and sanitation, with a specific focus on urban informal settlements and rural areas. She holds a bachelor’s in Civil and Structural Engineering from the University of Eldoret in Kenya.</p>
Zoey Nyati
WULUW Manager<p>Zoey worked for more than five years as a community site coordinator for a health education platform at the Unniversity of Cape Town, after spending more than a year as the university’s NGO Project Facilitator in the Department of Public Health & Family Medicine. Zoey holds a bachelor’s in Health Sciences and Social Services from the University of South Africa, and plans to pursue a post-graduate diploma in Public Health. She has a passion for social causes including women’s empowerment and anti-homelessness.</p>
Barika Poole
OLS Manager<p>Barika founded BRP Consulting, Inc., an engineering consulting services firm specializing in water resources management, supply design, technical analysis and training. From 2020 to 2021, she served as executive director of SPOUTS, a Uganda-based NGO that provides access to safe, clean drinking water through ceramic water filter technology. For 12 years, she was a water resources project manager with CDM Smith, a leading global engineering and construction consulting firm. A professional engineer with nearly 20 years of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) experience, she has worked with municipalities, government agencies and private sector clients..</p>
Lakshmi Anandacoumar
ACORN Manager<p><span class="JsGRdQ">Lakshmi has over 20 years of experience as a data architect, having developed and managed multimillion-dollar IT projects for corporations ranging from IBM and AIG to Citigroup and Bank of America. She holds a master’s in Finance and Information Technology from Pondicherry University in India and she earned a certificate in Business Analytics from The Wharton School.</span></p>
Uys van Heerden
Chief Financial Officer<p>Uys has 20 years of experience in financial managment and accounting across a range of sectors. He oversees all things related to financial integrity, fiscal responsibility and accountability. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Acconting (Management Accounting) from University of South Africa, a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a Certificate in Operations Management from the University of Cape Town.</p>
Frances Minnaar
Financial Intern<p>Frances is passionate about numbers. When not volunteering with ROCKBlue, she tutors students in Statistics and Mathematics. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Mathematical Sciences from Stellenbosch University in South Africa.</p>
Chris Homer
Managing Director<p>Chris has more than 10 years of experience in engineering and construction related to water resources and energy. He managed the installation of almost 100 km (62 miles) of HDPE pipeline for high volume distribution of freshwater to support oil and gas developments in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He assisted in the design and management of mobile flowback treatment systems to support beneficial reuse of residual waste from hydrofracturing operations. Chris holds a bachelor’s of science in Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a master’s of science. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University.</p>
Chris Serjak
General Manager<p>Chris Serjak has 20 years of experience in water and sanitation, infrastructure project management, sustainable international development, and environmental consulting.</p> <p>Chris is currently South Africa Team Leader for the USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Finance project seeking to unlock funding for investment in the WASH sector to meet global targets for universal access to clean water and adequate sanitation. He previously led the $500M water and wastewater sector of USAID’s Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Program – the agency’s largest ever infrastructure project. Chris has also managed major infrastructure and environmental projects in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and the United States. He began his career in South Africa where he worked on environmental assessments of mining projects in the Royal Bafokeng Nation in northern South Africa, the Maguga Dam in Swaziland, and various commercial projects throughout South Africa and Botswana. </p> <p>Chris has a MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a postgraduate diploma in Construction Management from the University of Washington, and a BS in Geological and Environmental Science from Stanford University.</p>Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>
Janco Marais
Business. Dev. Man.<p>Janco has several years of international business development, strategic planning, sales, marketing, relationship management and quality control experience. He holds a Bachelor of commerce in Innovation, Strategic & Marketing Management from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a master’s degree in International Business Development from Université de Bordeaux in France.</p>
Kayla Parsons
Accounting Officer<p>Kayla has passion for international business and finance. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from Stellenbosch University (specializing in in Financial Management, Economics, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management and Strategic Management). She also has a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate from Global Language Training Ltd. Kayla participated in a student exchange program in International Business and Economics at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.</p>
Chris Homer
Managing Director<p>Chris has more than 10 years of experience in engineering and construction related to water resources and energy. He managed the installation of almost 100 km (62 miles) of HDPE pipeline for high volume distribution of freshwater to support oil and gas developments in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He assisted in the design and management of mobile flowback treatment systems to support beneficial reuse of residual waste from hydrofracturing operations. Chris holds a bachelor’s of science in Civil Engineering from Penn State University and a master’s of science. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University.</p>Chris Serjak
General Manager<p>Chris Serjak has 20 years of experience in water and sanitation, infrastructure project management, sustainable international development, and environmental consulting.</p> <p>Chris is currently South Africa Team Leader for the USAID Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Finance project seeking to unlock funding for investment in the WASH sector to meet global targets for universal access to clean water and adequate sanitation. He previously led the $500M water and wastewater sector of USAID’s Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Program – the agency’s largest ever infrastructure project. Chris has also managed major infrastructure and environmental projects in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, and the United States. He began his career in South Africa where he worked on environmental assessments of mining projects in the Royal Bafokeng Nation in northern South Africa, the Maguga Dam in Swaziland, and various commercial projects throughout South Africa and Botswana. </p> <p>Chris has a MSc in Sustainable Development from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a postgraduate diploma in Construction Management from the University of Washington, and a BS in Geological and Environmental Science from Stanford University.</p>Shannon Roxborough
Chief Marketing Officer<p>Shannon leads all marketing, content and communications efforts globally, with a focus on brand awareness, digital strategy, content development and fundraising growth.Prior to joining ROCKBlue, Shannon served as CMO of School Group, an early-stage global nonprofit startup, where he built the marketing department from the ground up, lead a team across five continents and played a catalytic leadership role in the organization’s global branding, marketing, content, social media and communications efforts. Before that, founded and ran his own marketing and content advisory firm for 20 years, working with leading media brands, digital creative agencies and companies ranging from Time Inc. to AOL.A former longtime independent international consultant specializing in relocation, business and investing, he worked with and advised expatriates, governments, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in more than 60 countries, including Johnson & Johnson, HSBC and the governments of Sri Lanka and Ethiopia. He is an authority on global mobility, world affairs and China.As a freelance writer, journalist, storyteller and content strategist for more than 30 years, Shannon has written for hundreds of world-class publications, websites and brands, and had his research and commentary featured in Money, BusinessWeek, Barron’s and the New York Times.In 2019, he left corporate and agency work to bring his marketing and global expertise to the nonprofit sector to drive positive change and make a difference in people’s lives and the greater world.Over the decades, Shannon volunteered for the Red Cross, assisted with Peace Corps projects, raised funds for Habitat for Humanity and donated supplies to Refugee Relief International. In 2019, he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his charitable work.He believes that addressing clean water and sanitation challenges in developing countries can help shape a better future by promoting health, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, economic progress, sustainable development, education and gender equality.</p>Janco Marais
Business. Dev. Man.<p>Janco has several years of international business development, strategic planning, sales, marketing, relationship management and quality control experience. He holds a Bachelor of commerce in Innovation, Strategic & Marketing Management from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a master’s degree in International Business Development from Université de Bordeaux in France.</p>Kayla Parsons
Accounting Officer<p>Kayla has passion for international business and finance. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from Stellenbosch University (specializing in in Financial Management, Economics, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management and Strategic Management). She also has a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate from Global Language Training Ltd. Kayla participated in a student exchange program in International Business and Economics at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.</p>
William Howard
Brand Ambassador<p>William is brand ambassador at ROCKBlue. He also serves as an executive vice president of CDM Smith, a Boston-based global consulting, engineering and construction firm, where he also acts as strategic advisor to the CEO and President. He had previously held executive leadership roles in some of the firm’s largest international units, and served as a member of its board of directors for 20 years.</p> <p>William is also currently president of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), where he has since 2000 served on various committees. Former chair of the American Council of Consulting Engineers (ACEC), a fellow at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a board-certified environmental engineer with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES), William’s global experience in senior leadership, quality control, risk management and training spans North America, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.</p>Satish Menon
Advisor & Co-Founder<p>Satish brings over 25 years of technical experience working on international infrastructure and institutional development projects related to water and wastewater.</p> <p>Over the past decade, he has led multi-national and multi-disciplinary teams and managed delivery of successful projects in culturally diverse countries like Jordan, Venezuela, Pakistan, Lesotho and Zambia. The projects range from planning and designing infrastructure; assessing institutional capacities and capabilities; planning institutional requirements for sustainability; monitoring implementation and startup operations of infrastructure projects. Satish brings a collaborative approach to development that benefits clients, their institutions and donor agencies to achieve desired outcomes.</p> <p>He is currently based in Lusaka, Zambia managing a local team of resettlement and social experts on an MCC funded project. Satish is responsible for the capacity building of this team and to complete resettlement related activities associated with over $250 million-dollar water infrastructure investment on time and within budget.</p> <p>Satish has a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University, 1994 and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State University, 1990.</p>
Vicky Bhogal
Fundraising<p>Vicky has experience building meaningful and impactful relationships with individual and corporate donors. She brings with her nearly 10 years of experience working in WASH & international development with both Water For People and Engineers Without Borders. Vicky is passionate about helping organizations define strategic and sustainable goals while identifying opportunities to make the greatest positive impact. Most recently, Vicky has joined Jumpstart as their Director of Donor Impact – West Coast, where she works to ensure that every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. Across sectors, Vicky’s goal has been to help underserved communities gain access to their most critical needs – be that water or education. While she no longer works in the WASH space, Vicky believes deeply that access to water and sanitation services is a basic human right that should be guaranteed for all.</p>
Randy Braley
Strategic Planning<p>Randy is an international strategist and executive coach. He has global experience in planning, design, construction and management of water-related infrastructure. His experience includes international enterprise leadership for consulting and construction firms resulting in: tripling of revenues and profitability, entry into new service offerings, geographic expansion and organization-leading staff development. His specialties include increasing organizational financial performance and growth through: strategic development and implementation, business development; project management, development of risk management programs, and planning for water projects.</p>
Karen Chama
Fundraising<p>Karen is a seasoned project and Grants Acquisition and Management professional with over 17 years of working experience with International NGOs; 5 years of which have been with the private sector. She has vast experience managing projects and fundraising across a multi-sectoral and multi-donor array at micro and macro levels. Among them in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming; in 11 countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Her experience spans across various donors including bilateral, multilateral, corporations, foundations and philanthropic agencies. Karen is currently leading VisionFund (VF) International’s teams in strategic fundraising and grants management initiatives across 11 countries in Africa where VF has a footprint. She holds an MS degree in Business Management; is a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA UK), Zambia National Accounting Technician (NaTech), Project Management in Development Professional with APMG International and a certified proposal professional.</p>
Kevin Convery
Strategic Planning<p>Kevin Convery is a venture investor and partner in the consulting firm; Next Horizon, LLC with over 30 years of start-up and early commercial business experience. His business focus is in the biotechnology and medical device market segments. He played lead roles in the early establishment of successful healthcare ventures that resulted in acquisitions by industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson and Stryker Corporation. Kevin has a strong personal passion for improving the health and welfare of under-served communities with a particular focus on access to clean water and sanitation. He currently holds an advisory board position at Water 1st, a Seattle-based water and sanitation focused NGO. Kevin and his wife Jennifer have three sons and reside in Oak View, Calif.</p>
Janien Macy
Marketing<p>Janien is former Director of Marketing & communications and ROCKBlue, where she lead the organization for five years, from the early start-up phase until 2020. Janien has 20 years of experience starting up projects, organizations and initiatives as well as managing local and regional offices. Her management background is extensive in the fields of legal and engineering having served in critical positions for the operations of both. She has managed the office of a US-based engineering company responsible for over $2B of infrastructure work in Africa, has project managed office construction projects. She has been a key player on large marketing and proposal writing pursuits for projects having capital values of multi-billions of dollars.</p>
Bill Peacock
Operations<p>Bill stepped down as a Non-Exec Director of Clean Team Ghana in September 2018. He retired from WSUP at the end of March 2018, after joining in March 2014 as senior adviser to the program in Kenya, based in London. He became Director of Programs, with direct responsibility for WSUP’s programs in Kenya and Mozambique. He is an experienced civil & water infrastructure engineering manager, with a track record of delivery across business management, project portfolio direction, business development, client relationship management and strategic thinking. He has over 40 years of experience across multiple geographies and a wide range of infrastructure disciplines both for major consultancies and for a utility company. He has resident experience in the UK, Ireland, India, Jordan, Kenya and Somalia as well as non-resident experience in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, the USA and Latin America.</p>
Bill Parente
Aid Agencies<p>Bill is an engineer with over 40 years of experience in the planning, design, and management of various types of infrastructure projects worldwide. Bill is a professional project manager and a recognized expert in public-private partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure, as well as urban environmental services, civil engineering, and planning. He has international experience, having spent 32 years overseas, in: Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He has performed engineering and management projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, The Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lebanon, Egypt, Romania, Kosovo, Nigeria, Liberia and South Africa. Bill has spent more than 10 years assisting and training government agencies in various aspects of PPP in water supply, and facilities development, establishing legal and regulatory systems for PPP/PSP, structuring projects and managing risk, as well as preparation of feasibility studies, contract documents and establishing procurement procedures.</p>
Mthokozisi Ncube
International Finance<p>Mthokozisi is a water professional with experience including: water resources planning, utility services and management, program and project management, as well as research and innovation within the Southern African Region. He is currently a Water Sector Specialist with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). Prior to that he was with Johannesburg Water as both Manager of Innovation and Technology as well as Investment. As the Investment Manager he was responsible for program and project management of capital projects. This included overseeing the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control of a multi-million Rand projects in water and sewer reticulation. Earlier in his career he was the Senior Manager: Water Services Operations for the Ugu District Municipality. In this role, he was the Head of O&M for the water services comprising bulk water supply, water and wastewater treatment, water and sewer reticulation, electromechanical services and telemetry, water conservation and demand management.</p>
Nat Paynter
M&E/Reporting<p>Nat is a results-oriented executive with 18 years’ experience in the non-profit world. Currently responsible for business development with a focus on development agencies, governments, foundations, and corporations. Additionally I oversee Sector Engagement & Advocacy programs and Communications. Expertise in strategic planning, program design and implementation, managing teams, monitoring and evaluation, public-private partnerships, and results-based management, and grant writing. Experience in over 20 countries with a demonstrated ability to succeed in multi-culture environments. Specialties: Budget development and management, Team leadership, Public speaking, Mentoring, Writing, Conflict resolution, and Impact definition. His language capabilities include basic French and Kiswahili. He holds a BA from Brown University and a Masters from MIT (engineering).</p>