Born in New York, raised in Maryland, a Clemson graduate, a love for helping people and drive to make a difference. It is my second day as a member of the CWS Team and I couldn’t be more excited! I have found the job that I am extremely passionate about and an organization I am so proud to be a part of.

I graduated Clemson in 2008 with a Bachelor’s in Health Science with a concentration in Promotion & Education and a minor in Psychology. Upon graduation I was able to spend three months in South Africa as Project Materials Developer for a non-profit located within Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. I was able to gain insight to the current health issues lying within Africa and the social aspects surrounding those concerns.  I had fallen in love with international development. I had returned back to Maryland with the drive to conquer the field and with a job market with very little options. I didn’t let that discourage me and continued to stay focused with what I ultimately wanted.

In the Winter of 2011 I was selected as a Fellow for Community Water Solutions. I was thrilled to get back to Africa and to get first-hand experience on the current global water crisis. In my first day in Ghana I was shocked at the dire need for water improvement. Seeing children dip their hands in water that animals defecate in and water bottles filled with water more murky then our rainy day street puddles hurt my heart. It didn’t take long for us to see the how greatly we were needed to help give these people something so simple—Clean water. And the most amazing thing, it would only take three weeks to do so.

The Ghanaians greeted us with arms wide open. I was amazed at the great sense of community and the way they looked out for one another with a “no man left behind” attitude. They took the matter very seriously and were there every step of the process. In completing our time in Ghana I left the village, Chanaayilli, with great confidence that the community would sustain their water treatment center and provide a clean water source for their community indefinitely.

In my return to the US I knew CWS was something I wanted to stay a part of. I had seen that the project had truly worked—there was no doubt in my mind that CWS would continue to grow and succeed in bringing people clean water. When I was offered a position on the CWS Team I knew this was an opportunity I could NOT pass up! I am so excited to see the places CWS will go and so proud to be a part of it!

-Sam