Key Contributors

Jackie Farley

She earned a B.S. in biology and chemistry from Boston University, conducting research in the photochemical oxidation of organic pollutants in wastewater. She earned an M.S. in the Department of Pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida, conducting research in epidemiology, microbiology and immunology. Jackie has six years’ experience as a microbiologist and chemist in water quality and environmental laboratories in Hawaii, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, analyzing drinking water, wastewater, soil, and sewage sludge, and has volunteered many hours for beach cleanups and community stream quality sample collection and analyses. She currently works as a freelance writer, and is involved with SAFE Water Now as a grant writer.

Lorna Katica

Lorna is an attorney with her own practice, emphasizing Labor and Employment Law, Health Care Law and Education Law.  She is a former member of the Congress of Fellows of the Center for International Legal Studies (2008).  Lorna received a B.A. in Economics from the Tufts University and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.  She is also a Masters Degree (Candidate) for Health Care Law, Policy, and Ethics at the University of Denver.  She currently provides legal expertise to SAFE Water Now. To read more about Lorna and her work, go to http://www.katicalaw.com/Practice-Areas/Grant-Research-Writing.aspx.

Terry Kidder

A consultant with a B.S. in Chemistry from Tufts University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Terry has more than 20 years of project management experience with organizations including Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) and The Home Depot.  As the Director of Global Logistics systems for The Home Depot, she directed IS strategic planning, full life cycle development (custom, third party and joint development with software partners) and production support for global Distribution, Transportation, Delivery and Import systems for the company’s global logistics operations. In her work with Andersen Consulting, Terry led multiple logistics engagements and also managed Andersen Consulting’s LOGISTICS 2000 showcase exhibit in Atlanta.  She has been providing independent consulting services for the past six years consisting of project management support with an emphasis on logistics, IT, due diligence and strategic planning. She currently provides strategic planning and operations expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Leslie Koehler

We were very fortunate to have a wonderful volunteer, Leslie Koehler, who moved her family to Tanzania from July 2011-July 2012 to work with our factory, Safe Water Ceramics of East Africa (SWCEA). Leslie is an artist, a professional potter for twenty years, and founder of L. Koehler Pottery in Marshfield, Vermont. Leslie received a degree in Art History from the University of Massachusetts focusing her studies on Japanese Ceramics. After graduation she held a year long apprenticeship with a potter in Amherst, Massachusetts. Leslie then traveled first to Alaska, then to Africa where she worked with traditional potters to learn the artistic skills of indigenous cultures. Moving to Vermont in 1985, Leslie worked as studio assistant at the University of Vermont, then resident potter and instructor of pottery at both the Shelburne Craft School and Goddard College. Now that Leslie is back home in Vermont, she will be assisting SAFE Water Now by providing technical and operational expertise.

Amanda Mejia

A doctoral student in Economic Decision Analysis in the school of Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech. She also holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and will attain her M.S. in Logistics in May 2011. She has interned at Walt Disney World and Shaw Industries, a textile manufacturer, and worked as a risk analyst at CarMax Auto Finance in Kennesaw, GA. Through these professional experiences, Amanda realized the potential of industrial engineering in a wide variety of applications, so she decided to return to Georgia Tech to pursue her PhD in January 2009 in order to help people in need through research in humanitarian and healthcare logistics. In her research, Amanda works with Atlanta-area hospitals to improve their healthcare delivery operations. Amanda reports to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Health Organization Transformation and was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in March 2010. She currently provides research expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Jorge Mejia

A management and IT consultant with two years of international experience in defining web strategy and transforming business processes. He holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Business IT from Georgia Institute of Technology. Jorge previously worked for two startup companies in developing their business plans and participated in the Business Plan Competition at Georgia Tech. He currently provides social media expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Dr. Ileko Mugalla

Ileko has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and Demography and an MPH in Behavioral Science and Demography.  She has worked in public health as a research scientist, public health analyst and program manager in various organizations and was also the Lead Training Economist at the CDC from 2005 to 2007.  Ileko began her career in Public Health in 2000 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University and has worked in both chronic and infectious disease areas, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, mental health and reproductive health.  She has worked at prestigious institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control, Emory University, and Vanderbilt University and also as a consultant for the New York City Department of Health.  Her experience includes project management and coordination; the design of programs, projects,  data collection and assessment tools; collection, management and analysis of data; human ethics assurance for research studies; and employee training and assessment.  She currently provides grant and research expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Alyssa Nimetz

A Certified Public Accountant and has worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in their Private Company Services group since 2003 where she provides tax compliance and consulting services to a wide range of clients including individuals, trusts, financial institutions, manufacturers, distributors, software companies, private foundations, and insurance companies.  Alyssa is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy with a concentration in Tax.  She has been involved in volunteering with Junior Achievement for several years and has also been involved with the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/Sutton Middle School partnership.  Alyssa helps to coordinate PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Atlanta’s involvement in The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program and has been a site leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s annual Day of Service on multiple occasions. She currently provides accounting and finance expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Wayne Paul

Founder of Paulway Group, LLC, a supply chain management advisory services company. Wayne has over 30 years of progressive responsibility in managing corporate and entrepreneurial supply chain solutions including global distribution and transportation operations, strategic business plans, management practices and operating concepts to support high growth and market expansion. Before starting Paulway Group, he had integral roles in senior management, including: VP of Transportation for The Home Depot; VP of Logistics for 7-Eleven, Inc; Area VP and General Manager for Webvan Group, Inc; Senior VP of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc; and senior management positions at North American Van Lines, Inc. and Burnham Service Corporation. Wayne has a B.S. in Transportation from the University of Alabama, an MBA from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a MABC from Luther Rice University. Wayne also holds numerous professional affiliations including the American Management Association, Academy of Management, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Who’s Who in International Business, the National Defense Transportation Association, the Logistics & Supply Chain Forum Conference Advisory Board, and the Northwestern University- Transportation Center-Business Advisory Committee, and the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Freight Advisory Task Force. He currently provides logistics and operations expertise to SAFE Water Now.

Catrina Rosa

A designer at tvsdesign, a global architecture firm in Atlanta, Georgia.  Catrina has two years’ experience in international retail planning and design, specifically in South America. She attended The University of Georgia and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in interior design. Along with design, Catrina is passionate about helping those less fortunate.  After learning of the world water crisis, she reached out to find a local organization where she could volunteer her design talent and skills. She currently provides graphics and creative marketing to Safe Water Now.

Dorian Usherwood

Founder of Dauhaus, a branding and marketing agency focused on helping clients envision, express and extend their brand message. Dauhaus deploys a variety of platforms such as creative strategy, print innovation, interactive programs, web and mobile technologies. Areas of expertise are product and brand innovation, program design, graphic design, identity and new media integration. Dorian began his career working as a creative analyst at Accenture, where he developed a business acumen that blended business requirements with creative out-of-the box thinking. As an Accenture analyst he was propelled into the dot-com world where he worked as Art Director for E*Trades second generation website. Later, he joined Answerthink as a Senior Consultant / Art Director to develop interactive programs for Visa International/ Visa USA and Verizon. His desire to explore science led him to work at Meditech Media where Dorian created the brand for the International Society for Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses (ISIRV). Dorian then accepted a position as the Director of Creative Services with Shaw Science Partners where he could focus on helping pharmaceutical clients create and execute programs that required a high level of creative strategy. Dorian attended Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to study Communication Design and later attended The Maryland Institute College of Art and Lee University.  He currently provides marketing expertise to SAFE Water Now.