Volunteers

Marisa Altschul

Marisa Altschul retired from The Boeing Company after twenty years of work in the areas of process and program management and measurement. There she managed the implementation of a Center of Excellence for project management and process analysis and consulted on Process Management and Improvement. She also spent eight years at METRO managing software requirements and quality assurance related to transportation problems. Marisa was a professor of Statistics at Kent State university during the May 4, 1970 events, and started her work life more than forty-two years ago, as the resident “mathematician and project manager” for a construction company that built prefabricated homes in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina; the job consisted of scheduling and optimizing the builds using a hand cranked calculator. After retirement, she has chosen to work doing outreach to the local Latino community on issues of health care and leadership, as a volunteer benefits advisor for the State Health Insurance Commissioner’s office, and conducting women’s leadership workshops for the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center.

Marisa was born and raised in Argentina, is fluent in English and Spanish, has done simultaneous translation in technical conferences, and is qualified as a bilingual medical interpreter.

Marisa holds a MSc degree in Operations Research and Management Science from Case Western Reserve University (Multi-project scheduling algorithms), and a MSc in Mathematics from the University of Buenos Aires (Macro and Micro Economic models).

Bryan Collings

Bryan Collings is entering his final year of school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, pursuing a degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Finance. He has a passion for sustainability and green business, and is excited to further the development of Water for Humans. In his spare time, he enjoys fly fishing, backpacking, cooking, playing guitar, cold beer, and being an active member of the Cal Poly Kiva club.

Michael Hughes

Michael Hughes is an award-winning marketing and public relations professional with experience in promoting progressive and social justice issues. He brings a passion for empowering underserved populations and for helping those in need. A political junkie and close follower of local and world news events, Michael brings a background as a community organizer, as well as experience in promoting greater awareness of the worldwide safe drinking water shortage and sanitation crisis. He is excited to be able to contribute his communications skills to Water for Humans. Michael earned a B.A. in Journalism from California State University, Fresno, and a M.A. in Education from the University of Puget Sound. He lives north of Seattle.

Jitendra Joshi, MCA

Jitendra Joshi is the webmaster for Water for Humans. He has an MS in Computer Applications and a wide range of experiences both in web and software development. He is a code junkie and passionate about computer programming. He loves reading philosophical books, playing chess, learning new skills and technologies.

Ryan Judge

Ryan Judge is a UN ECLAC trained economist. He has a master’s degree in Latin American studies, with concentrations in economics and history. He has spent ten years living abroad including Mexico, South Korea, Ecuador, and Chile.

His research topics in Latin America have included migration, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, social movements, economic and political crises, and growth. His research on Korea has focused on development history, education, and trade.

Ryan enjoys outdoor activities and facilitating cultural exchanges.

Claire LaPoma

Claire LaPoma earned a BA in Public Relations and Spanish from the University of Oregon, and has volunteered extensively in Ecuador, living in three small communities that all lacked potable water. She's eager to contribute to Water for Human's efforts to bring clean, drinkable water to communities throughout Latin America. She currently lives in Portland, OR.

Eric Marhofer, PE

Eric is an environmental engineer with Aspect Consulting in Seattle, Washington, where he designs and implements innovative solutions for the remediation of sites with soil and groundwater contamination. He also develops strategies for the responsible management and treatment of industrial stormwater runoff.

In late 2009, Eric and his wife, Angela, spent two months volunteering with the ProWorld Service Corps in Oaxaca, Mexico. Working through the ProMexico program, he collaborated with Water for Humans to gather essential information and community support for a constructed wetland project in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla. Eric is excited to be a part of the Water for Humans team.

Susan Peacock

Susan Peacock: born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I started learning Spanish when I was six years old. I have continued to study and learn for twelve years and enjoy speaking and writing in the language whenever I can. I currently live in Eureka, California with my husband of twenty-six years. We have two children in college and are really looking forward to their graduations in 2010 and 2011. I will be one of the mouthpieces for Stan and Rick as we implement the water purification systems in Oaxaca.

Rubi Romero

Rubi Romero graduated from the University of Washington with a Master of Communication in Digital Media. She provides consulting services as a Digital Media Specialist to non-profits, politicians and media, in the areas of social media, internet content and online business. She specializes in the Hispanic/Latino business market in and outside the United States. She is a content/news writer for Flip the Media (University of Washington blog), Vision Latina (bilingual blog) and the author of Tweeting in Latino America -book chapter published by the University of Washington on Twitter Best Practices. Rubi worked in the non-profit field for over ten years creating programs to assist Hispanic/Latino victims of crime across the State of Washington and created an international collaboration to end domestic violence and child abuse with Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Chile. Currently, she serves as a board member of the Latino Community Fund to create better opportunities for Latinos in Washington State by cultivating new leadership, create a special fund for Latino non-profit organizations, scholarships, and training. She is also a Member of Partners of America where she assists in the areas of education and training in social justice, mobilization and organization using social media and mobile technologies.

Samantha Rowell

I have lived in Charlottesville, VA for the past six years. I graduated from the University of Virginia in 2008 with a B.S. in civil engineering. After graduating, I worked for Draper Aden Associates, a local civil engineering consulting firm, for a year and a half. I left that job in the spring of 2010 to go intern on a diversified organic farm in Madison County, Va. For the past seven years or so, I have also been a part-time figure skating instructor, teaching both group and private lessons.

Luis Saga

Luis joined Water for Humans in 2010, with a strong conviction and commitment to supporting the development of the organization and to accomplishing its vision. Luis is a passionate and dynamic individual, committed to social balance and sustainability. He is interested in implementing innovative approaches to business and organizational development. He is deeply engaged with the regional Hispanic community and will encourage its participation to develop a synergistic relationship with our organization.

Luis is a native of Mexico City, and has a B.S. in marine sciences from UABC. He has advanced his education at UW in mass spectrometry, and at UGA in complex carbohydrates. He has devoted over eighteen years of his life to biotech research as a protein chemist, and is currently working as an analytical scientist in Seattle. He is co-founder and board member of SAJUG, a statistics educational organization. He has invested over ten years in real state, refurbishing former residential properties to provide housing in the region. His latest venture, over the last two years, has been the promotion of nutrition and well-being through the development of a catering organization. Its goal is to introduce affordable, healthy and delicious food to our community. He believes in the importance of clean water and sustainable social systems to create organic synergy in our health and environment. As Luis continues supporting the development of Water for Humans, he will continue his support in the promotion of the global health effort.

Marni Siegal

Marni Siegal has eight years professional experience as a medical interpreter/translator and ten years experience working in the non-profit sector. She earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a minor in Women's Studies and a focus in Religious Studies. She currently spends her time raising her son, teaching yoga classes and enjoying the great outdoors of Colorado.

TJ Sundsvold, MPH

Ms Sundsvold has a long standing interest in water and sanitation, humanitarian aide and food security issues. She worked as a virologist for several years before completing her master of public health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health. Currently she is a research coordinator for the University of Washington and a volunteer for Water for Humans. She will assist the organization in conducting needs assessments, health analyses and the development of a monitoring and evaluation plan for their project in Oaxaca, Mexico.