About Us

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Our Mission

Surge for Water invests in communities with safe water, sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health solutions to help end the cycle of poverty

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Community Driven

People know what they need, we work with them to make it a reality.

Women Led

Women Led, Women Centered

Women bear the heaviest burden of the water crisis, so we help them advocate for themselves.

West Uganda

Scaling Partnerships

We strengthen the capacity of our field partners so they can achieve their vision.

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Our Founder’s Story

Shilpa Alva, Executive Director, United States

My motivation to start Surge began when I was a child visiting family in India. I saw children my age who didn’t have the luxury of playing; instead many were fetching water. Even as a seven year old child, I saw the inequity  –  children should not have to bear this kind of responsibility for their family’s survival.

When I was 21, I spent a few months on a teaching assignment in Rajgarh, a remote Indian village. Many of my students missed school due to water-borne illnesses or constraints. I once again witnessed how access to water was a fundamental precursor to attending school – and getting a proper education.

The founding of Surge in 2008 was in response to this essential need and a calling.

In 2014, this calling intensified. All this while, I was running Surge while also managing a successful Management Consultant career. I realized that I had to go all in to bring Surge to its full potential. And so I started to spend more time in the communities where we work. This is how Surge’s community-led, women centered model came to be. I listened to and learned from the locals and understood that in order to drive sustainable change it had to be them driving the agenda on their terms and timeline.

Today, a global team of talented staff and volunteers run Surge. And together with the local communities where we work, we are making a transformational difference.

See our founder, Shilpa Alva at TEDx

Our Team

Surge is a women-led organization that centers women’s voices and ensures that she has an active role in advocating for her solutions.

Leadership

Shilpa Alva

Shilpa Alva

Founder, Executive Director, Board Member

Marita Peters

Marita Peters

Executive Director, UAE

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Ashley Quinlan

Operations & Development Manager

USA Board

Anna Paul

Anna Paul

Operations Director, USA

Director of Administration for the Village of Barrington Hills

Channa North Hoffstaed

Channa North-Hoffstaed

Board Chair, USA

VP Professional Services NA at Kinaxis

Chris Beukenkamp

Chris Beukenkamp

Governing Board, USA

Certified Distinguished Enterprise Architect at Salesforce

Emily Lawrence North American Director Of Sustainable Investing, Northern Trust Asset Management

Emily Lawrence

Governing Board, USA

Director Sustainable Investing Client Engagement at Northern Trust

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Josh DeBartolo

Governing Board, USA

Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Purview

Mary Hall Director Of Global Talent Services Pmi

Mary Hall

Governing Board, USA

Director, Global Talent Services at Project Management Institute

Sarah Lynch

Sarah Odde Lynch

Marketing & Communications Director, USA

Vice President of Sales and Marketing at BevSource

Scott Minger

Scott Minger

Development Chair, USA

Senior Vice President of Development at Vitamin Angels

Shilpa Alva

Shilpa Alva

Founder, Executive Director, Board Member

Suvai Gunasekaran Md Phd Candidate At Northwestern University

Suvai Gunasekaran

Governing Board, USA

Postdoctoral Researcher at Northwestern University

Trisha Bhagat

Trisha Bhagat

Treasurer, USA

Associate Director, Business Compliance at Abbvie

UAE Leadership

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Jennie Stallings

Director, UAE

Partner/Commercial Manager at ChelseaGREEN

Laila Al Yousuf

Laila Al-Yousuf

Director, UAE

Design Director at Say Studio

Lorraine Alva

Lorraine Alva

Director, UAE

Mriganka Peters

Mriganka Travasso

Director, UAE

Partner at PlumSheep

Marita Peters

Marita Peters

Executive Director, UAE

Country Partners

Camille Tahura

Camille Tahura

Operations Director, Clean Water International, Philippines

Gentallan,delfin

Delfin Gentallan

Executive Director, Clean Water International, Philippines

Dr. Pierre Erol Rene

Dr. Pierre Erol Rene

Director, ASSHLA, Haiti

Florence Ringe

Florence Ringe

Executive Director, POPOW, Uganda

Godwin Uganda

Godwin Ogenrwot

Program Manager, POPOW, Uganda

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I Made Chakra Widia

Founder, Tri Hita Karana, Indonesia

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Jean “Sonel” Auracy

Project Manager, Frmwrx, Haiti

Lorensius Gatot Widyartoak

Lorensius Gatot Widyartoak

Founder, YLRA, Indonesia

Porgo,analyn

Ana Porgo

Project Manager, Clean Water International, Philippines

Monica Anitya Delmuti

Monica Anitya Delmuti

Program Manager, YLRA, Indonesia

Rachelle Jean Pierre

Rachelle Jean Pierre

Program Supervisor, ASSLHA, Haiti

Associate Board

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Alison Gibraski

Commercial Manager at HDR

Amal Isa

Amal Isa

Partner Business Manager at VMware

Begench Amangeldiev Global Compliance Risk Monitoring & Analytics Google In Health

Begench Amangeldiev

Global Compliance Risk Monitoring & Analytics at Google Health

Chris Kayondo

Chris Kayondo

Lead Engagement Manager at Corptax

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David Brown

National Sales Director at WindSmart Systems

Elizabeth Settle

Elizabeth Settle

Strategy & Analytics at Salesforce

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Jay Patel

Climate Fund Venture Capital Analyst at Toyota Ventures

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Josh Riddell

Manager at PwC

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Julie Ward

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Kajal Chokshi

Senior Manager, People Analytics at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

Meg Ryan Energy Sustainability Analyst At Jll

Meg Ryan

Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability at Ciena

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Meghan Joost

Administrative Support Assistant for the US Army Corps of Engineers

Mitali Shah

Mitali Shah

Pediatric Infection Preventionist at Advocate Children's Hospital

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Cynthia Ngarambe

Interim Associate Board

Proxy & Engagement Specialist at Northern Trust Asset Management

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Salama Lipdo

Interim Associate Board

Regulatory Affairs Coordinator at the University of Chicago

Advisory Board

David Linnear

David Linnear

Project Manager at US EPA

Harleen Singh

Harleen Singh

Development Director at The Sikh Coalition

James Hagen Co Founder Ceo At Boka

James Hagen

Co-founder/CEO at BOKA

John Casmon Acquisitions And Investors Relations At Casmon Capital Group (2)

John Casmon

Acquisition and Investors Relations at Casmon Capital Group

Kamal Sundar Supply Chain Professional

Kamal Sundar

Senior Vice President - Supply Chain at ShipBob Inc.

Kim Miller

Kim Miller

Vice President Human Resources at Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium

Lubna Hussain Global Product Manager, Catalent Pharma Solutions

Lubna Hussain

Director of Marketing at Curia

Rob Walsh

Rob Walsh