Meet our global team
Sean Kerrigan, is the Senior Director, WASH for WVI and WVUS. He leads the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) team responsible for oversight and technical support of WASH projects and programmes around the globe. Since joining World Vision in 2006, Sean has managed strategic cross-functional teams to: develop World Vision US’s Web strategy, design World Vision International’s global fundraising strategy and investment, and lead Economic Development fundraising. Most recently he helped facilitate the start-up of a large-scale campaign as the Liaison between donors and international programming. Prior to World Vision, Sean worked in the water and sanitation sector designing and installing turnkey water and wastewater treatment systems in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East with Water Missions International. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, an MA in Biblical Theology from Wheaton College, and an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management. He and his wife Rachel live in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with their four children.
Michael Poustie has been with World Vision since July 2014 as the Urban Technical Specialist for the WASH sector. Prior to World Vision he was part of the research and teaching staff at Monash University. While at Monash he spent 5 years investigating socio-technical transitions to sustainable urban water management in the developing countries of the South West Pacific Region for his doctoral research. Other experience has included working in regional Bangladesh as an Environmental Engineer and delivering grant agreements for the Australian Aid agency.
Samuel Diarra is the Technical Director of WASH Operations for WVI. He is a water and sanitation specialist with 25 years’ experience in diverse branches related to WASH, such as community water supply, hygiene and sanitation, surface water and groundwater studies, community mobilization, education and sensitization. His main areas of expertise are rural water supply in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly groundwater development surface water management, sustainability of water and sanitation interventions, hygiene promotion and environmental sanitation, project and programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Most recently, Samuel serves as the director of the expanded WASH learning centre in West Africa. Samuel previously worked for Mali Government over 14 years in water sector development. He joined World Vision in 2002 as Mali Rural Water Project
John Collett is the Senior Advisor, Hygiene Promotion and Behaviour Change for WVI. He has been working in international development for over 30 years, specializing in rural water, sanitation and hygiene. Passionate about tackling the sanitation and hygiene situation for the 2.5 billion people worldwide without access to a safe, clean and dignified toilet - especially the 1 billion people forced to defecate in public. Before joining World Vision International in November 2011 as Senior Adviser for Hygiene Promotion & Behaviour Change in the Health & WASH Global Centre Team, he worked with Voluntary Service Overseas, Practical Action, the Catholic Institute for International Relations, the Aga Khan Foundation, Save the Children UK, Plan International and the Netherlands Development Organization in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He is currently based in Nairobi.
Robel Lambisso Wamisho is a WASH specialist for WVI's West Africa region. Robel has served in World Vision Ethiopia for nearly 11 years assuming diverse responsibilities including: Infrastructure Officer, ADP Manager, WASH Associate Director and WASH Director until he transitioned to an international role with Samaritan's Purse International Relief in South Sudan. He worked for Samaritan's Purse as a WASH Program Manager and Area Coordinator for Northern Unity State of South Sudan Operations. Robel is a passionate development and emergency expert with extensive experience in the WASH and development sectors.
Ashley Labat is the WASH Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist for WVI. She has been with World Vision for more than five years. Ashley has a deep passion for information and technology and works to ensure that World Vision's WASH work is measured and evaluated effectively. She has developed a standard monitoring framework for World Vision’s Global WASH Program, the roll-out of Continuous Quality Improvement projects in West Africa, and collaboration with The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina on World Vision’s future WASH evaluation strategy.
Ashley is married to her husband Nate. They both originate from California, but live in the Seattle area.
Ray Norman is the WASH Director of Faith Leadership. This is a new role focused on how World Vision integrates Christian Commitments with its WASH interventions. Ray is responsible for developing a practical theological framework for WV’s WASH operations in mixed faith contexts, especially where social, cultural, religious dynamics differ.
Ray Norman first joined World Vision in 1999 as National Director in Mauritania. After serving with World Vision in Mauritania, Ray joined Messiah College as dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Health where he has served for the past 12 years. While there he continued to intersect with World Vision on a number of fronts, but primarily as the principal investigator for the Hilton funded Africa Water and Disability Study.
Ray holds a PhD in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Cornell University. He is married to Helene (a French national) and has two grown children, Nathaniel and Hannah. Ray and Helene presently reside in Pennsylvania. Although he will be serving full-time with World Vision, he will also maintain connections to Messiah College as a Scholar-in-Residence. He is the author of Dangerous Love, a telling of his remarkable experiences as national director in Mauritania.
Dr Emmanuel Opong, is the Regional Director, WASH and Learning Centres, for World Vision’s Southern Africa Region. WV Southern Africa Region, has been working with World Vision for 29 years. He provides leadership and management for both the SAR WASH programmes and four learning centres –Health, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, Education, Christian Commitments, and Food Security and Economic Development. He is based in Lusaka, Zambia. Emmanuel’s childhood experiences in Ghana, together with his early post-secondary and graduate education, influenced his interest in water issues. Growing up in a small village, he spent six hours each day searching for water from a 25-foot deep well. Several young friends lost their lives by falling into the well or from water-related diseases, such as diarrhoea. This is why he’s passionate about the issues of WASH. He holds a Ph.D. and two masters’ degrees in Psychology and International Development, and Post-Graduate diplomas in WASH and Health Education. He started his profession as a trained Registered Nurse.
Abraham Asmare is the Associate Director, East Africa Regional WASH Learning Centre. He received his B.Sc. Degree in Water Resource Engineering, M.Sc. Degree in Construction Technology and Management and Certificate in Drilling Operations and Management. Abraham is a certified professional water resource engineer by the ministry of water, irrigation and energy of the Government of Ethiopia. He has worked in World Vision Ethiopia for last 14 years at different capacities. Most importantly, he played key role in the establishment of the WASH Program from scratch in World Vision Ethiopia and served as the Director of the Program. Since April 2011, he is supporting the nine countries in East Africa region in the establishment, planning and implementation of WASH Programs. Prior to joining World Vision Ethiopia, Abraham worked for the government of Ethiopia as design engineer and team leader for water resource projects including dams and diversion weirs. He has rich and proven experience in the management, planning, and implementation of WASH programs. Abraham is married and father of two daughters and one son
Dr Greg Allgood, MSPH, PhD, is Vice President at World Vision where he helps lead World Vision’s efforts to address the global clean drinking water crisis. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina Water Institute. Prior to joining World Vision, he worked for Procter & Gamble (P&G) for 27 years and is the Founder of the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program. He has a PhD in Toxicology from North Carolina State University and a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where he did research in water quality. In 2013, Dr Allgood was named a Conde Nast Visionary for his advocacy to address the global water crisis. In 2012, he was a co-winner of the Economist Social Innovation Award for one of the world’s most impactful developments, was honored as Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and was named as one of the top 100 marketers in the world by Internationalist Magazine for helping to shape P&G’s global image.
Kristie Urich is the WASH Knowledge Management Coordinator for World Vision International. Her role is to coordinate sharing and learning between WASH practitioners at World Vision and to help facilitate World Vision’s contribution to the global body of WASH knowledge. She has worked with World Vision since 2006 and has experience in advocacy, communications and public health. Prior to World Vision, she served in Cameroon as a health, water and sanitation volunteer with the US Peace Corps for two years. She resides in Washington State, USA, with her husband and two small children.
