About Us Meet the Team Meet the Team We’re passionate about the impact that clean water and sanitation can make to people’s lives, and are committed to working towards the end of the water crisis in our lifetime. We're mostly based in London and Dorset.Drop us a line, tweet, connect with us - we'd love to hear from you. Find out more about our Trustees, or meet the team below... Fiona Jeffery OBE, Founder & ChairmanFiona founded Just a Drop in 1998 shortly after becoming a mum, and upon learning that a child died every 20 seconds (it’s now every 2 minutes) because of dirty water - and that just £1 could provide a child with clean water for 10 years. At the time, Fiona was Chairman of the travel industry's global event World Travel Market (WTM), and by setting up Just a Drop hoped to encourage travel and tourism businesses to give back to the communities they operated in across the world. Fiona also established World Responsible Tourism Day at WTM, now the largest responsible tourism gathering across the world. Fiona has been there every step of the way throughout Just a Drop's growth and development over the past 19 years, and continues to volunteer her time for us and play an active role. Fiona, a graduate from Edinburgh University, sits on the UN World Committee for Tourism Ethics, loves being a mum, enjoys travelling and sport; and in 2012 was awarded an OBE for her services to the travel & tourism industry.@FionaJeffery LinkedIn_FionaJefferyOBEf[email protected] Amy Sendell, Programmes ManagerAmy runs our Project Programme with Melissa, coordinating and managing projects from initial proposal to completion, and undertaking field visits to our projects. She's been with us for 6 years. Amy previously volunteered for the British Red Cross' youth and school programmes, and holds a degree in International Education from Bath University. As part of her studies, she visited schools in remote areas of Zambia, and saw how important access to water was in enabling children to go to school. This experience led her to working for Just a Drop. Amy lives in Dorset and is an adrenaline junkie, spending her free time mountain biking, snowboarding, sailing, and kite surfing. Amy's highlight of working at Just a Drop is visiting our projects twice a year, and seeing the impact clean water has on communities. Meeting the people we work with and hearing their inspirational stories motivates her to continue to do more. @amysendellLinkedIn_Amy Sendella[email protected] Bella Mytton-Mills, Programmes CoordinatorBella coordinates our busy Projects team. She studied Politics and Philosophy at Cardiff University, completing a dissertation on the human right to water before working on a water and sanitation project in Tanzania with Raleigh International, shortly after graduating in 2014. Bella has held a passion for travelling since she was small, and partly grew up in Singapore, where she developed her talent for South-East Asian cookery. On weekends you’ll find her out with her camera, and walking her dog in the Dorset countryside. Bella loves being able to see the complete circle of Just a Drop’s projects, from when they come in, to approval and finding funding, to construction and finally to seeing the completed result and the impact on the community.LinkedIn_Gabriella Mytton-Mills[email protected] Brendan Hanlon, Head of Fundraising and Communications Brendan brings a wealth of experience from his career working in organisations large and small, including running HIV/AIDS charity AVERT, and founding two Community Interest Companies. A key part of Brendan's role at Just a Drop is developing our partnerships. Originally from Merseyside, Brendan now lives by the sea in Brighton with his family, where he enjoys cooking Italian food - inspired by his Italian wife - and spending time with his three children, who keep him busy. Although he still finds time to run at least one marathon a year and get to the football now and then. Brendan's highlight of working for Just a Drop was visiting our Nicaraguan projects with our US Ambassador, and seeing first-hand the impact that Just a Drop makes to people's lives.LinkedIn_Brendan Hanlon[email protected] Elizabeth Cushman, Finance OfficerElizabeth handles our finances and is a chartered management accountant. Prior to working for Just a Drop, Elizabeth worked at Reed Exhibitions for 14 years. Elizabeth is a school governor and enjoys singing in her local community choir.[email protected] Helen Hoang, Development OfficerHelen handles our work with schools and supports the busy Fundraising and Communications team. She holds a law degree from the University of Nottingham and spent a year studying abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Whilst at university Helen volunteered for a number of charities including Three Faiths Forum and as a Community Organiser for Australian national anti-racism charity All Together Now. In her free time Helen loves travelling, new culinary experiences, scuba diving, snorkelling and being by the sea. Helen enjoys working for Just a Drop because she's passionate about supporting women and children, who benefit the most from access to clean water, and feels that by working for a smaller, growing charity she can make a bigger difference.LinkedIn_Helen Hoang[email protected] Helen Steward, Events and Partnerships ManagerHelen manages Just a Drop’s events and a number of our corporate partnerships. She has over 10 years’ experience organising a variety of events within the charity sector, from large international conferences to small educational events, awards ceremonies and a variety of fundraising events. Helen has worked for a range of non-profits, from diversity to animal welfare charities, including six years at the Dogs Trust. Helen has three children and loves eating out together with her family and exploring new places, whether towns or the great outdoors, where you'll find her camping, wild swimming and paddle boarding. Helen was drawn to working for Just a Drop because of the sustainability of our projects, alongside the opportunity to be part of a growing charity that benefits communities around the world.LinkedIn_Helen Steward[email protected] Holly Blaxill, Communications ManagerHolly handles all aspects of communications for us, and has worked for charitable arts organisations for the last 9 years including at the Southbank Centre, Serpentine Galleries, at Shakespeare’s Globe on a world theatre tour of Hamlet, and for the cultural publishing house Thames & Hudson. She holds a degree in Anthropology from the London School of Economics, and is inspired by travelling and culture, and enjoys painting, gardening, and swimming. Holly enjoys the varied nature of working for Just a Drop, and her highlight was visiting our projects in Kenya and meeting the communities we work with, learning some Kamba, dancing with the local self-help groups, and seeing the positive impact clean water has on people's lives.@HollyBlaxillLinkedIn_Holly Blaxill[email protected] Melissa Campbell, Senior Programmes Manager Melissa runs our Projects programme, co-ordinating and managing projects from initial proposal to completion, and undertaking field visits to our projects at least twice a year. Melissa previously spent 6 years working in Kenya for the Rehabilitation of Arid Environments Trust (RAE) in Baringo, which gave her a grounding in the importance of working at a grass roots level; and for Trusts for African Schools (TAS), which supports some of the poorest schools in Africa. Both organisations work in extremely arid areas and highlight how access to water transforms lives – which led Melissa to Just a Drop. Melissa holds a Master's degree in International Development and has worked for the Scientific Exploration Society, tracking wolves in Romania and wild elephants in Nepal, and enjoys running marathons, running with her dog, pilates, swimming (preferably in rivers), walking and travelling. She’s also a trustee for TAS. LinkedIn_Melissa Campbell[email protected] Our Experienced Engineers and Country Managers volunteer their time and skills for Just a Drop... Our Project Engineers and Managers all have significant professional experience on water development projects worldwide. We're hugely grateful that they all give their time to Just a Drop voluntarily, and do not take a salary. Geoff Pook, Project Engineer, CambodiaGeoff is a chartered civil engineer with extensive professional experience on water and sanitation projects in the UK, the Caribbean, Egypt, India, and Hong Kong. Geoff monitors our projects in India and Cambodia, and says that Just a Drop gives him the opportunity to use his skills to help others and get to know people in a way only working in a country can. Geoff is also one of our Trustees. Jamie Riches, Hydrogeologist & Country Manager, KenyaJamie has 25 years experience working on water supply projects in Africa and the Middle East, and holds a degree in Geology with Geophysics, and a Masters in Hydrogeology. He specialises in groundwater development, and has extensive knowledge of well drilling. Jamie works in the Groundwater Resources team at Thames Water full time, and volunteers his time for Just a Drop, as our Country Manager for Kenya. Jamie is a qualified football coach and manages his son’s team, and takes part in games of ‘Dads’ football himself. he also enjoys planning trips into the wilderness to challenge his understanding of the rocks beneath his feet. Jamie enjoys working for Just a Drop in Kenya as he gets to see the positive impact of projects almost immediately, and he says that the determination, warmth and incredible happiness of the people he meets is truly inspiring. Jim Baldwin, Project Engineer, IndiaJim is a chartered civil engineer with over 45 years’ experience in the implementation of major civil, water and sanitation projects worldwide. Jim monitors our projects, and prospective projects, in India. He has wide experience in water resource development, water supply, sanitation, well drilling and irrigation projects in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Jim previously worked in India for many years on large projects, and so finds working on our smaller-scale projects with individual villages, closer to the people who benefit, a much more satisfying experience. Jim is retired and so dedicates his time to us voluntarily; he is passionate about his work, and his wife advises ‘not to start him on sanitation - he never stops’. Nancy Stone, HydrogeologistNancy is an experienced hydrogeologist specialising in water resources assessment. She works as a Principal Hydrogeologist within the groundwater team at Wood, and holds a degree in Geology, a Masters in Hydrogeology and is a Chartered Geologist. Nancy has spent most of her career to date in UK environmental consultancy but also has a strong interest in rural water supply and water resources management in developing countries, with particular experience in East Africa. Nancy offers hydrogeological support to all Just a Drop programmes as needed, with a particular emphasis on water quality. She loves using her knowledge and experience to directly impact the lives of communities and believes we all can make a difference to things we care about. As part of a previous project with WaterAid Nancy lived and worked in southern Ethiopia during a major drought, which really made her understand what it means not to have clean water or a toilet. She has witnessed first-hand the impact Just a Drop has on people's lives and says 'it's all credit to a great bunch of very hard working folks'. Nancy lives in Berkshire, is married to a surfing and snowboarding addict, and spends her spare time running around after two adventurous small girls and tripping over her family's two lazy cats. Nancy loves music and is a classically trained oboist, having played in orchestras, chamber groups... and on tour with Elton John! Peter Marsh, Project Engineer, ZambiaPeter gained experience of project work in Africa during his 34 years’ service in the Royal Engineers; and latterly worked for a specialist engineering company as a Chartered Environmentalist on the review, implementation and management of construction projects. Peter is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and finds his work with Just a Drop very rewarding. He was attracted to volunteer his time for Just a Drop to be able to help improve the lives of families in rural Zambia who endure sickness and hardship through lack of clean water. Peter says that seeing communities' joy at their new boreholes and hand pumps is a wonderful experience which although he is fortunate to witness, a whole team of people and sponsors make happen. His work continues to give him great satisfaction. Tim Kingham, Project Manager, NicaraguaTim is a chartered civil engineer with over 40 years’ experience in the global water and environmental sectors. His experience spans DfID and the Halcrow Group, where he was responsible for technical and water sector business performance assignments. Tim enjoys using the professional experience and skills gained during his professional working life for the benefit of Just a Drop, and enjoys the challenges and opportunities of working in countries that both he and Just a Drop haven’t worked in before. Currently, Tim monitors our projects in Nicaragua, and as a retired engineer, works for us voluntarily. Tim has had an eventful and exciting career, having worked on many projects abroad early on, including with VSO; who sent him to Nigeria, only for Tim to be evacuated after a year when he was taken hostage along with other volunteers by the Biafran army. Tim continued his second year in Montserrat, in the West Indies, where he met other volunteers including his future wife, before Montserrat subsequently almost disappeared as the result of a volcanic eruption, and most of the island became, and still is, uninhabitable.