Millennium Water Alliance

Rafael Callejas

Executive Director
Rafael de Jesús Callejas Calderón has been President of the Millennium Water Alliance since June 2008. Prior to this position, Mr. Callejas was the Regional Director for the Latin America and Caribbean Region of CARE USA overseeing relief and development in 8 Latin American & Caribbean countries, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti for 7 years. He was also the Country Director for CARE El Salvador from 1996 to 2001. He holds degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois and from José Simeón Cañas University, El Salvador.

John D. Sparks

Director of Advocacy and Communications
John D. Sparks is the organization’s first Director of Advocacy and Communications. Sparks has more than 25 years of experience in Washington and New York in lobbying, coalition building, media relations, political campaigns, and nonprofit executive leadership. Most recently, Sparks was Director of Campaign Finance Reform at the public interest group Common Cause. Previous postings include Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at the American Symphony Orchestra League (now the League of American Orchestras) for nine years, and extensive work in nonprofit rights, energy resources, transportation, and government reform. He served as press secretary to two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was director of government relations for two Washington public affairs firms.

Susan Dundon

Program Development Officer

Susan Dundon joined the MWA as a Program Development Officer in 2010. Previously, Susan worked with Médecins du Monde (Medicos del Mundo) implementing community health programs in the Bolivian, Paraguayan and Peruvian communities near Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has also worked extensively implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programming in the peri-urban slums of Lima, Perú. She also worked for a number of years in the U.S. labor movement, primarily as a researcher for the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the United Automobile Workers (UAW). Susan received a M.Sc. in Global Public Health from Trinity College in Dublin, an MA in Political Economy from Northwestern University and a BA from Oberlin College.

Peter Gichuru

Senior Accountant

Peter Gichuru joined Millennium Water Alliance as a Senior Accountant in December 2010.Prior to this position, Mr. Gichuru was the Corporate Financial Grants Manager for World Relief Corporation, an international nonprofit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to joining World Relief, Mr. Gichuru worked for fifteen years in the United Nations World Food Program Kenya office as an accountant. Born and raised in Kenya, he holds an MBA in accounting from Washington International University.

Allan Elvir

Program Assistant

Allan Elvir joined Millenium Water Alliance as an Intern in April of 2011. He has 9 years of professional experience in the legal field working for the public and private sector in his home country, Honduras. He has professional experience working as the Commercial Counselor for the Embassy of Honduras in Washington D.C. in matters of trade and development, and as an associate for the Central American Law Firm “Lexincorp”. Elvir has a Law degree from the National University of Honduras and also holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Ben Mann

Development Assistant

Ben Mann graduated from Clemson University in 2009 with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Environmental Engineering. He is currently a graduate student at the University of Maryland working on a Masters of Engineering and Public Policy. Ben’s graduate studies are focused on international development and clean water infrastructure, where he is working on integrating new technologies into global water projects. Ben is a student member of American Society of Civil Engineers, American Water Works Association, and Engineers Without Borders.

Teshome Lemma

MWP Coordinator, Ethiopia
Teshome Lemma has been the Coordinator of the Millennium Water Program Secretariat office in Ethiopia Since May, 2007. Teshome has over 18 years of experience working in the WASH Sector. Prior to this position, Teshome was the Water Resource Advisor of CARE International in Ethiopia for 2 and half years; and served in Government offices for more than 13 years in different positions. He got Master of Science Degree in Hydraulic Engineering from UNESCO-IHE, Delft-The Netherlands in June 2003.

Daniel Kiptugen

MWP Director, Kenya
Mr. Daniel Kiptugen is a professional with a background in soil and water engineering, disaster management, peacebuilding and conflict management. Daniel has over 20 years of hands on experience working at different levels, ranging from working with relevant government ministries, NGOs, CBOs and the general community in Kenya and the Karamoja, Borana and Somali clusters in the Horn of Africa. Daniel has held the positions of Soil and Water Conservation Officer, a Projects Coordinator, an Area Development Programme Manager, a Regional Manager and deputy Operations Director. His last posting was a Security, Conflict and Peace Advisor with Oxfam GB in Sudan and Kenya as well as a Diversity Focal Point Person, where he was instrumental in mainstreaming conflict sensitivity in service delivery and development programming.