Board of Directors

Bill was the President and CEO of Coskata, a biotechnology firm based in Chicago, from 2007 to 2015, and then retired to pursue volunteer work. Prior to that he had a 29-year career progressing to COO at Nalco, the world leader in industrial water treatment and specialty process chemicals. He holds BS and MS degrees in Chemistry from Creighton University and the University of Notre Dame. In addition to serving on the Water For People Board, Bill serves on the Board of Trustees of Creighton University. Bill understands the mission of those working in the WASH sector, and is honored to be able to help Water For People excel in their role in that mission.

Dr. Cindy Paulson, a Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer with Brown and Caldwell, is responsible for advancing the company’s technical resources and bringing innovative solutions to BC’s clients. In her 26 years with the firm, she has managed programs and projects across a range of water-related issues throughout the U.S., including water supply, ecosystem restoration, watersheds and water quality, sustainability, and stakeholder/community engagement. She recently completed a multi-year effort as Project Director on the $50 billion Master Plan for Coastal Louisiana Restoration and Protection. Currently, she serves as Executive Director for the California Urban Water Agencies, a non-profit corporation of 11 major urban water agencies, working to inform statewide policy and provide reliable water supply to two-thirds of California’s population. Cindy holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado, a Master’s in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Colorado State University, and undergraduate degrees in political science and environmental science from Whitman College. Several years ago, she helped create BC’s workplace giving program and continues to engage as the company’s senior sponsor. Cindy has been working with Water For People over the last several years and visited Rwanda on an Impact Tour in July 2011.

Irene Lofland is a strategic leader who is currently vice president of investor relations for DCP Midstream. With over 20 years of finance and risk management experience, she has held numerous executive roles leading treasury, information technology, internal audit, ethics and compliance, and enterprise risk management. In 2015 she was named the Outstanding Woman in Business in Energy by the Denver Business Journal and in 2013 she received the Impact award from the American Heart Association. Irene grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Denver. She is passionate about community service and has dedicated herself to organizations which promote women’s issues, health, and children’s causes. She has had the privilege to serve on the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce board, chair American Heart Association’s Go Red campaign/luncheon and corporate health committee, as well as serve as the executive sponsor for DCP’s Business Women’s Network.

A native of Uruguay, Beatriz Bonnet is the President and CEO of Syntes Language Group in Centennial, Colorado. She is a seasoned translation industry executive, consultant, translator and conference interpreter with over 30 years of industry experience. Beatriz has been a Member of the Boards of Directors of the American Translators Association, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter, and the National Association of Women Business Owners (Denver Chapter). She was Chair of the American Translators Association’s Standards Committee for 16 years and worked on ASTM International and International Standardization Organization (ISO) translation and interpreting quality standards. She has an interest in nonprofits that promote women’s empowerment, international development and the environment. Beatriz is a frequent speaker at industry and business conferences. A classically-trained musician, Beatriz’s first experience in translation was translating concert reviews for the Houston Symphony. She never stopped working in the field and now enjoys leading and teaching the team at Syntes.

Eleanor Allen is fiercely passionate about improving the state of the world with respect to water and sanitation and has dedicated her career to this goal. First as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, then as a consulting engineer (at CH2M and ARCADIS), and now as the CEO of Water For People. As a professional civil engineer, Eleanor has lived over half her professional life in Latin America and has worked all over the world. Currently she is dedicated to leading Water For People to bring reliable and lasting access to safe water and sanitation in Latin America, Africa, and India. With her family (husband and two boys) she loves to explore the outdoors and to travel to new places. She also loves fast cars. Eleanor holds a BS from Tufts University and a MS from the University of California at Berkeley.

John Coonrod is the Executive Vice President of The Hunger Project, where he is responsible for research and advocacy. In addition to serving on the Water For People Board, John serves as co-chair of InterAction’s Food Security and Agriculture working group, as advisor and board member to a number of emerging international non-governmental organization, (NGOs). John grew up in the Midwest and was trained as a physicist at Stanford (BSc) and the University of California-Berkeley (MS, PhD). He worked as a research physicist at Princeton University from 1978 through 1984. He is an avid amateur photographer and figure skater and met his colleague and future wife Carol at The Hunger Project. They were married in 1988 and are living happily ever after in Washington, DC.

Vanessa is the Managing Partner at Panorama Consulting Solutions, which helps government and business clients achieve digital business transformations. She brings a proven management track record with over 20 years of experience. She’s led multiple mergers & acquisitions and turn-around projects helping organizations achieve radical transformation and increase net profits. She has also served as a policy advisor to develop and implement strategies for effective citizen engagement and interaction. Vanessa has graduate certificates from Harvard Business School and the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. She holds a B.S. in Rhetoric and Legal Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Vanessa has served on various non-profits boards.

Michael Deane is a water management executive with long experience in the business, government and nonprofit association sectors. He most recently was the Executive Director of the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), the organization representing private water operating companies in North America. Michael brings extensive leadership experience and the perspective of having worked in both the public and private water sectors to the Water For People Board of Directors. Before joining the NAWC in 2009, he was Associate Assistant Administrator for Water in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he played a key role in developing and implementing national water policy. Prior to his appointment at the EPA in 2006, Michael served as an executive at several water management companies, including United Water and its parent company, SUEZ, and the U.S. operations of Veolia, where he focused on innovative financing and infrastructure policy.

Michael also serves on the Pictet Water Fund Advisory Board and previously on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships and the Executive Committee of AquaFed, the International Federation of Private Water Operators.

Michael holds a master of environmental management degree in resource economics and policy from Duke University and a bachelor’s in biology and geography from Gustavus Adolphus College.

John A. Eckstein is a senior corporate and finance attorney and shareholder at Fairfield and Woods, P.C. an 85 year old law firm in Denver, Colorado. His clients include family offices, investment advisers, venture capital, and technology-based SME’s. John is the immediate past chair of Paltown Development Corporation, a Washington DC-based nonprofit serving the social media community needs of patients, survivors and care givers for selected critical diseases. He has been on the boards of numerous professional, nonprofit, government, and for profit entities, including service as board chair of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute (CATI), a state agency which successfully promoted economic development through technology transfer. John obtained his BA (political science / history) from the University of Iowa, his MA (economics) from Johns Hopkins SAIS, and his JD from the University of Virginia. John is enthusiastic about the opportunities for economic growth which are enabled by sustainable, quality water and sanitation projects through Water for People.

Alan was the founder and managing director of Farkas Berkowitz & Company, a management consulting firm serving the engineering and construction industry. Prior to starting the firm in 1983, he served as vice president and partner at Booz Allen & Hamilton, where he established and directed the firm’s environmental consulting practice. In addition to management consulting, Farkas Berkowitz helped to establish and then manage two trade associations of service providers to the municipal water and wastewater market. Alan fully retired in the spring of 2016. He received his A.B. degree from Princeton University, where he graduated magna cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He pursued his studies of developing countries at Yale University, where he received an M.A. degree in international relations. He serves as Chair of Water For People’s Leadership Council.

Neeraj Jain, is PATH’s Country Director for India, based in New Delhi. He oversees the country program and serves as a liaison between the office in India, PATH headquarters, donors, partners, and national-level ministries. Mr. Jain has more than 27 years of experience in strengthening organizations. His strengths lie in setting up new ventures, organizational development, and he has provided strategic leadership for change management in organizations across Asia and Europe.

Prior to PATH, Mr. Jain led WaterAid India through a dynamic phase of transition as its chief executive. He was instrumental in setting up the India Sanitation Coalition as part of the governing committee and heads their Engagement with Central and State Governments Task Force. Prior to WaterAid India, Mr. Jain was associated with Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, where he worked for child development. He also headed the Asia region for Vestergaard Frandsen, a Swiss company that manufactures water purifiers and insecticidal mosquito nets.

Mr. Jain holds a BA in business studies from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He completed his MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

Katy is the Chief Executive Officer at LQ Digital, a digital marketing agency. Prior to joining LQ, she served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Business Development and Alliances at Lithium Technologies. Prior to joining Lithium, she served as Executive Vice President, Marketing of ServiceSource Corporation. Katy has over 20 years of experience in business-to-business (B2B) marketing and software as a service (SaaS). She holds an M.B.A from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University (where she was an Austin Scholar) and a B.A. degree in History from the University of Virginia. She was a trustee to the Redwood Day School for many years.

Mohsen Mortada is President of Cole Engineering Group in Ontario, Canada. Mr. Mortada started his career in the public sector working with Tucson Water department operations. After several years with Tucson Water, Mohsen moved into consulting at Arcadis with a focus on strategic planning, utility business optimization and large infrastructure projects throughout North America and the Middle East. Mohsen relocated back to Canada to work with Cole Engineering Group as Chief Executive in 2014.

Matthew is the Chief Financial Officer of SITE Centers, an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers. He has over 20 years of experience in real estate. Prior to joining SITE Centers, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Equity One Inc. Matthew also served as Managing Director and Associate Director of Research, among other positions, at Morgan Stanley. He holds a dual M.S. degree in Real Estate and City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in History from Tufts University. Matthew has served on various corporate boards.

Maureen A. Stapleton is the General Manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, the regional water agency that provides up to 90 percent of all the water used in San Diego County. Since taking over the agency in 1996, Stapleton has led the Water Authority’s diversification efforts and successfully developed a comprehensive array of water supply and infrastructure programs designed to diversify and improve the reliability of San Diego County’s water supply. Stapleton oversees a dynamic agency, managing a $3.1 billion Capital Improvement Program and leading the Water Authority’s efforts in the region’s water supply reliability through implementation of the Imperial Valley water transfers, the Carlsbad seawater desalination project, advancement of regional water efficiency and conservation programs, and water recycling and reuse.