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About Our Clean Water for Africa Charity, Drop in the Bucket

OUR MISSIONis to build wells and sanitation systems at schools throughout sub-Saharan Africa, enabling youth to fully harness the life-changing power of an education.

OUR GOALis to provide schools and communities with tools they need to improve child health, increase school enrollment rates and promote gender equality.

DROP KEY STAFF & BOARD

KEY STAFF
Stacey Travis
John Travis
Dan Gieschen
Laury Woollery
Cassie Lambert
Ted
Ted Gieschen
Hunter Beaty
Bill McKay
Andrew Oloy
Julius Langoya
Francis Oyar
Paska Chandia
Rosemary Atimango - Administrative Assistant
Rosemary Atimang
BOARD
Scott Llewellyn
Judy Chen
Simon Renshaw
Patty Ivins
Ryan White
Kristie Kershaw
Rob McDermott
Rebecca Salgado

ORIGIN OF DROP

Drop in the Bucket was formed by a group of friends from Los Angeles who wanted to do something to give back. TV Producer Stacey Travis heard that two doctors from her hometown in Tennessee were going to be traveling to Uganda on a medical trip and asked if she could come along. Before going on the trip, she was talking to one of the doctors and she asked what was the best and worst things about the work they were doing. He replied that the best part is helping children, and the worst part is knowing that the next time you go back everybody will be just as sick. When Stacey asked why, the doctor said “It’s the water they are drinking. It’s keeping them sick”. READ MORE

OUR APPROACH

We build wells and sanitation systems at schools, and teach the importance of clean water, hands and living spaces – empowering children (particularly girls) to go to school instead of spending hours fetching water.

Drop 2023 Financials Chart
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CLEAN WATER CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

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Copyright ©2024 Drop in the Bucket

DAN GIESCHEN

HEAD OF DIGITAL AND TECHNOLOGY

Dan Gieschen is a highly accomplished, award winning software & technology developer and an expert in lean start-up and organizational management. In addition to over 15 years experience creating, managing, and supervising the development and maintenance of high-end technology applications and solutions for Fortune 500 companies, Dan was a founding member of a small 5 person entertainment software company that rapidly grew to support over 1 million daily players, 100+ employees, and went on to become one of the top grossing iPad and Facebook applications multiple years in a row. The company achieved successful, high valuation exit within 2 years. Projects he has worked on have won numerous awards including IDEA Gold Medal in 2007, Phase 2005 2 SBIR Award from US Department of Education, grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), and a grant from the National Science Foundation.

LAURY WOOLLERY

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER & FRONT-END WEB SUPPORT

ANDREW OLOY

Finance Manager

Julius Langoya

WASH Officer

Francis Oyar

Drilling Supervisor

Paska Chandia

Education Officer

Rosemary Atimango 

Administrative Assistant

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Joseph Olweny M&E Officer

Joseph Olweny 

M&E Officer

Geofrey Oteam 

Procurement and Logistics Officer

LAURY WOOLLERY

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER & FRONT-END WEB SUPPORT

FRANCIS LUBANG 

Education Manager

Ted

TED GIESCHEN

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Ted graduated from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich with a degree in Computer Science and Computer linguistics in 2016. He specialized in the application of machine learning algorithms for text classification and wrote his thesis on the use of Latent Dirichlet Allocation for patent classification. During his time as a student, he learned how to develop for Wordpress autodidactically, which he has been able to apply for multiple other projects. Ted is excited to be able to apply his skill set to help Drop in the Bucket.

CASSIE LAMBERT

Cassie moved from Indiana to LA in 2003 and has produced TV programs for The Food Network, HGTV, Discovery Health, The History Channel, CMT, TLC, Style Network, E! and The Travel Channel. She has spent the past six years traveling the world as a Supervising Producer on ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Cassie has traveled to Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan to photograph, film and participate in the installation of water wells. Cassie is involved with helping Drop on donor relations, development and outreach.

REBECCA SALGADO

LIVE NATION – GLOBAL MARKETING COORDINATOR

Before joining LiveNation, Rebecca had worked at several accounting firms and record labels including Interscope and Epitaph. She brings to the table a background in organization, coordinating, project management, finance and bookkeeping.

ROB MCDERMOTT

ENTERTAINMENT MANAGER – PRESIDENT MAD MAC ENTERTAINMENT

In a career spanning almost twenty-years, Rob has worked directly with multi-platinum artists such as Linkin Park, Rob Zombie, Pantera, Staind and Static-X. Throughout the years, Rob’s strategic marketing skills have helped some of the largest musical acts in music history achieve insurmountable success. Rob was previously with the entertainment company The Firm as a Senior Manager, where he played an instrumental role in the careers of musical acts such as The Backstreet Boys, The Dixie Chicks, Michelle Branch, Korn, Enrique Iglesias, Limp Bizkit and Snoop Dogg, among others. Rob played a major part in helping Linkin Park establish their “Music For Relief” charity, which was formed in response the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia and raised over one million dollars in the first year under Rob’s leadership.

BILL MCKAY

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

Perth, Australia – After a very distinguished and extensive career as an engineer that started in 1963 and involved some very senior positions working in, amongst other places, Uganda, Bill retired to Australia. However since 2006 Bill has served as an Advisory Board Member to Drop in the Bucket overseeing designing water systems, training and project management. Bill was the main engineer involved in designing the Drop in the Bucket Eco-Sanitation System and the largest rainwater harvesting system built at any school in Uganda.

HUNTER BEATTY

ADVISORY BOARD – FINANCE

Perth, Australia – Hunter brings to the table a long and distinguished career in the field of Quantity Surveying. Hunter advises Drop in the Bucket on project costs, amounts and is actively involved in new designs and development. Hunter is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered surveyors and was Awarded the President’s Medal for services to the Profession in 2003.

KRISTIE KERSHAW

With over 15 years of experience in advertising and marketing as a writer, strategist, and creative director, Kristie Kershaw brings her unique brand of insight and passion to every project. Kristie has helped to both launch and advertise many successful brands and properties, ranging from the print campaign for the Academy Award nominated film War Horse, to Barbie, to Cirque du Soleil. Kristie works with Drop on creating the copy for the website, posters, informative materials and keeping the messaging consistent.

RYAN WHITE

FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER OF INSIGHT2PROFIT

Founder and managing partner of INSIGHT2PROFIT Ryan helps B2B companies—including leading Fortune 500 Corporations and Private Equity firms—improve profit through better price management. Ryan’s drive for focus and measurable goals define INSIGHT2PROFIT’s unique value proposition. Ryan, a Six Sigma Black Belt, earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College and MBA from Lehigh University. He measures success not by “what have I earned,” but by “what have I given back.” On the business side, this means Clients achieving measurable profit gains or they don’t pay. On the personal side, this means being actively involved—even traveling to Uganda—with Drop in the Bucket.

PATTY IVINS

PB&J TELEVISION – OWNER/PRESIDENT

Patty Ivins has been working in reality television and news/documentary for over fifteen years and since 2004 has been producing under her own company banner, PB&J Television, Inc. Ivins has executive produced NBC’s Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Model Search, Showtime’s Reversal of Fortune, three seasons of Style’s hit show Dress My Nest, TLC’s Date My House, The Miss America Pageant reality series for CMT and TLC, and ABC Family’s America’s Prom Queen. Patty produced season 1 of The Simple Life and The Simple Life Reunion and also produced and directed Making the Band, Road Rules, and Who Wants to Be a Playboy Playmate? In 2004, Ivins won a Daytime Emmy for the AMC documentary, Hollywood Rocks The Movies: The 1970’s, narrated by David Bowie.

SIMON RENSHAW

STRATEGIC ARTIST MANAGEMENT LLC – PRESIDENT

Strategic Artist Management LLC – President Music Manager, President & CEO of Strategic Artist Management is a 30 year veteran of the entertainment industry and is probably best known for guiding the Dixie Chicks’ career to superstardom. Over the years he has represented a diverse group of artist including Mary J Blige, Miranda Lambert, Tears For Fears, Paulina Rubio and Clay Aiken. Renshaw was the recipient of the 2000 Pollstar Personal Manager of the Year award, and a 2003 Bill of Rights Award from the ACLU. In 2007 he was named by Advertising Age as one of the Entertainment Marketers of the Year. Widely known as a fierce advocate of artist’s rights, he has testified before the Federal Trade Commission, The California Senate and The Copyright Tribunal.

JUDY CHEN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR CRYSTAL GEYSER WATER COMPANY

Judy Yee is a seasoned brand marketer in the consumer products industry. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Strategy for Crystal Geyser Water Company and was the Chief Marketing Officer at Earthbound Farm driving the company’s transformation from an organic produce to a food company. Judy was the Group Leader of Marketing and Business Development at Chiquita Brands International, finding new and innovative ways to bring fresh and healthier products to consumers and revitalizing the iconic Chiquita brand. Judy began her marketing career with The Clorox Company leading a variety of strategic businesses and new product innovation from Hidden Valley salad dressing to Glad food storage products. While at Nestle, she managed (and enjoyed) ice cream novelties brands such as Drumstick, Crunch and Butterfinger. Outside of work, Judy has served on Boards of nonprofit organizations focusing on women leadership and development and advised various early-stage companies.

SCOTT LLEWELYN

MORRISON/FOERSTER LLP – PARTNER

Colorado based attorney Scott Llewellyn is a partner in the Morrison Forster law firm. He has been involved in Drop in the Bucket since the very beginning and is very active as a board member and advisor.

STACEY TRAVIS

CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR

Stacey spent over 15 years producing high-profile television programs for networks such as A&E, AMC, TLC, and FOX. In 2006, she decided to take her production experience and sensibility into the aid world. Using a fresh, creative and hands-on approach, she began developing the DITB Water and Sanitation Program, focusing on long-term and effective solutions. Stacey coordinates with local and government officials, and works hand-in-hand with the teams on the ground to implement DITB’s innovative program. She now spends over half the year in the field overseeing teams and managing everything from site selection, community mobilization, village trainings, field crews, all aspects of construction and regular follow-up. To find out more about Stacey’s work in Africa please go to http://staceytravis.wordpress.com

HEINER MARKHOFF

PRESIDENT & CEO GE POWER & WATER, WATER & PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

Heiner Markhoff is President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Power & Water, Water & Process Technologies, overseeing a worldwide company that brings together experienced professionals and advanced technologies to solve the world’s most complex water-related challenges. Employing approximately 8,000 people, Water & Process Technologies provides innovative solutions that address the growing demand for increased water availability and quality, while improving customers’ productivity and meeting more stringent environmental regulations. The business operates in over 100 countries.

Heiner’s GE career began in 1994 as a member of GE’s Corporate Business Development team in Fairfield, CT. In 1995, he joined GE Silicones Europe as marketing manager. He subsequently held several leadership roles, including general manager-automotive for GE Plastics Americas, and CEO of GE Bayer Silicones. Before assuming his current role in October 2008, Heiner led GE Plastics Europe, Middle East, Africa for two years. Prior to joining GE, Heiner served as an associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton, a strategy and technology consulting firm. Heiner graduated from the University of Cologne, Germany, with a degree in business administration and economics. He and his wife have 3 children and live in the greater Philadelphia area.

JOHN TRAVIS

CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR

Drop in the Bucket – Co-founder/President After more than two decades of working as a music producer, John decided to start splitting his time between making music and building wells in Africa. John is responsible for communicating with donors, coordinating volunteers, social media and some of the fundraising as well as provides the necessary support Stacey needs while working in the field.