Each year we recognize a member of our community whose contributions to our work are remarkable. This year we are honored to celebrate John Crossman as our 2020 Water Ambassador.

John’s brilliant mind and unique background contribute to the invaluable support he has provided us over the past fifteen years – from his service in the Peace Corps, to his role as an aerospace engineer on the Apollo Project, to managing the National Refugee Resettlement Program. John was one of a handful of original board members in 2005 who wholeheartedly believed in making our vision of Water1st a reality. He worked closely with our staff to establish the International Programs policies and procedures that we still follow to this day. He helped codify and operationalize our evaluation methods that serve as the backbone of our data collection and project monitoring.

John has traveled with Water1st staff to every program country, he supported every initial country partner search, and assisted with our ongoing monitoring of projects. His participation solidified our community-based philosophy of development and resulted in us being an industry leader in monitoring and evaluation.

Fluent in Spanish and a lover of home-cooked meals, John is always warmly welcomed on community visits. John is a builder of friendships and adored by our local partners who had the pleasure of his lively conversation on many a long car ride to project sites. John’s ready sense of humor and respectful demeanor make a lasting impression on everyone he meets. Although it has been almost 10 years since his last international trip with us, people in our project communities still ask how John’s doing and when he might be coming to visit again. Love and admiration for John is universal.

John’s contributions continue to touch every single one of our projects. On behalf of Water 1st, we honor John Crossman for helping make the dream of safe water come true for 236,000 people and counting.