About Us - WellDone

We are WellDone. We are an organization of young individuals, working to raise awareness on the global water crisis and provide clean water to communities in need. Read more about our story, our principles, and our people in the pages below.

The Story
Guiding Principles
The Team
Contact Us

Our Vision

Raising global awareness, Providing clean water, Sharing the joy

Our History

We started WellDone in 2007 with a simple goal, to drill one well in one village in Ghana. At that time, there were no strategic plans, no corporate sponsors, no administrative burdens. We began through the simple commitment of a group of friends, pooling our time, talents, and even finances to provide clean water for those who need it most. Since then, we've helped provide clean water to over fifty communities throughout the developing world, expanding in geographic focus, breadth of solutions, and diversity of supporters. Yet the founding spirit of WellDone remains intact - that lasting impact can be made through the collective effort of a group of regular individuals. We invite you to join in this story.

Our Goal

"WellDone" - what started as a play on words has grown into a driving philosophy. Our first well is long since completed, but the work is far from done. Our goal is to partner alongside communities in supporting sustainable clean water solutions, while engaging project supporters in ways that creates heightened awareness and lasting change. In such a way, we aim to raise public awareness of the global water crisis, while effectively providing clean water for communities in need.

The 5 Principles of WellDone

Empowering
Grassroots
Efforts

We started WellDone as a small group of young individuals - by no means experts in the field, yet driven by the conviction that we could collectively pool our talents to make a difference. We continue to hold onto this spirit, and aspire to empower and support other individuals and groups in their community efforts to address the global water crisis.
Moving
Beyond
Charity

The success of any clean water project is directly related to the level of involvement the host community plays in the planning, implementation, and maintenance of the actual work. From enlisting local labor and resources to sponsoring community micro-enterprises, we aim to partner alongside communities in supporting their clean water needs.
Sparking
Partnership

The clean water crisis is vast and complex, and as such will not be solved by any single individual or organization. That includes ourselves. We believe in the power of partnerships, and aim to develop a synergy between organizations, governments, and businesses focused on tackling the global water crisis.
Innovation and
Learning

We believe that increased impact comes through progressive innovation - a progression that is only achieved through persistent trial and error. As such, we aim to launch a host of projects frequently, learning from our mistakes and improving upon them. In this spirit, we also focus on developing partnerships with organizations on the forefront of innovations to scale clean water access in the developing world.
Communicating
Through
Design

From effectively communicating a message to simply capturing an individual's attention, we believe design has the power to change the world. Whether it be designing an award-winning t-shirt or developing simple educational pamphlets, WellDone strives to harness the power of design in stimulating awareness on global water issues in a creative, head-turning way.

Joshua To

Core Member, Head of Development

Contact

josh@welldone.org Joshua on Twitter

Biography

Head of Development, works as the Director at Soup, a start-up focused on bringing design, technology and business to tackle the world's gnarliest problems. Previous to Soup, Josh served as a Program Manager for Google in Mountain View, CA overseeing internal product development and global marketing initiatives. Josh loves to connect the dots, bringing together individuals with diverse talents to work towards a unified goal.

Jim Yoon

Core Member, Head of Projects

Contact

jim@welldone.org Jim on Twitter

Biography

Head of Projects, is a doctoral student at Stanford University, researching sustainable water resources management and policy in the developing world. Previously, Jim worked as a water resources engineer for MWH, dealing with Southern California water supply and management issues. Through WellDone, Jim utilizes his background to explore ways to effectively and sustainably improve clean water access across the globe.

Amanda Patterson

Core Member, Head of Outreach

Contact

amanda@welldone.org

Biography

Amanda works as WellDone's Head of Outreach. She is responsible for all marketing, fundraising, promotions, event planning and relationship building. Before WellDone, Amanda ran an event management company in Vancouver and also spent 6 months in Kenya as an advisor to a local non profit, volunteer organization. She has worked in the non profit world for many years and is very committed to WellDone's overall vision and goals.

David Gumbiner

Core Member, Head of Operations

Contact

david@welldone.org

Biography

As Head of Operations, David oversees both the long-term strategy and day-to-day operations of WellDone. He is responsible for partnerships, administration, and program management. Before WellDone, David was the Programs Manager for the Eat Real Festival and managed a small web startup. He has a degree in international Development and has traveled around the world twice. He is committed to bringing water issues to the forefront of public dialogue and to the use of design as a tool for lasting positive impact.

James Buyayo

Core Member, Head of Design

Contact

buyayo@welldone.org James on Twitter

Biography

James oversees the design output of WellDone as Head of Design. A recent transplant to San Francisco, he also works as a designer at C2. James is keenly interested in the role design can play in creating elegant solutions to the critical and pressing issues of the day. Previously, James worked at SapientNitro as an Art Director and graduated from the design department at UCLA. His dog, El Chupacabra, goes everwhere he goes.

Angelica Nava

Core Member, Social Media Director

Contact

angelica@welldone.org

Biography

By day, Angelica advises on and executes social media strategy for clients in the tech industry. By night, Angelica assists WellDone with posts and tweets, and helps the team plan new ventures into social. Angelica is interested in social media for social good, and can't wait to watch WellDone, and the global communities of which we are a part, grow and thrive.

Peter Jin Hong

Core Member, Creative Director

Contact

peter@welldone.org

Biography

On paper… as part of his path in innovation and research for 12+ years, Peter focuses on conceptualizing and rapid prototyping next-generation applications. He does that now for the UX group at Google—and in the past, as the Group Creative Director at the world-leading interactive agency Blast Radius, and the National Creative Director at Tribal DDB Canada. In life… he'll answer that he's wandering, exploring and gathering stories from amazing people and places. Stories like: diving from planes above the ocean, and diving beneath them to soar with giant manta rays; eating strange foods with strangers on even stranger roads; and receiving surprising wisdom and insight from people wherever he goes. WellDone, Malawi, and working alongside the people involved… makes him happy.

Michelle Brook

Core Member, Design Director

Contact

michellebrook@gmail.com Michelle on Twitter

Biography

Hailing from the NYC area, Michelle currently resides in San Francisco and works at C2. She is most interested in the bigger picture where design intersects with humanitarian issues, discovering and answering needs rather than generating more noise within the visual landscape. Because of her tendency toward conceptualization and experimentation, she seeks involvement in socially-conscious, free-thinking initiatives like Project M and Soup. Previously, Michelle worked in advertising, print, editorial, and has freelanced for a variety of clients; Primarily Nike’s non-profit departments. She holds degrees in Graphic Design and in Illustration, having studied at RIT and the Bauhaus. Moving forward, she aims to live by the following philosophy; Think the unthinkable, conceive the inconceivable, and do the undoable.

Ardy Ghanbar

Core Member, Finance Director

Contact

ardy@welldone.org

Biography

Head of Finance, currently works as the Manager of Finance and Accounting for Air Lease Corporation in Los Angeles, CA. He began his career as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he spent three years in various audit-related roles. He is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of California, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of CPAs. In his spare time, Ardy enjoys mountain pursuits from alpine mountaineering to rock climbing. Through WellDone, he utilizes his career expertise in keeping the organization's finances in order.

Belinda Tang

Core Member, Intern

Contact

bellyinda@gmail.com

Biography

Belinda is a Freshman at Stanford University studying Public Policy, with a concentration in foreign policy. Growing up in Silicon Valley, she has become very interested in the intersections of technology and society, and in the ways technology can be used in order to influence problems in society for the better. She joined WellDone for its innovative commitment to approaching issues in exactly this way. As a college student, she does not have very much free time, but likes to spend it helping with WellDone, doing yoga and traveling to new places around the Bay.

Jen Kovnats

Core Member, Webmaster

Contact

jen@welldone.org

Biography

Jen has recently joined our team to maintain and improve WellDone's website and help to shape our long-term strategy for technological projects. She is eager to build online spaces where people can get involved in development work, connect with one another, and share information.

Join Us

Core Member, WellDone is looking for design interns!

Contact

info@welldone.org

Biography

Design is at the core of WellDone. We hope to add another incredible designer to our team who will be able to learn and grow with us. We see this as a mutually beneficial relationship: you, the young designer, will get exposure for your design, build your portfolio, and get to work successful and well-known designers. WellDone's office space is also a design consultancy, so you'll be interfacing with design professionals through our workspace. Moreover, the work you do with WellDone will directly positively affect the lives of those in need. If you have ever wanted the opportunity to apply your skill set towards creating design for the greater good - this is your chance! If you are interested in this volunteer design internship position, please contact us at info@welldone.org, with your resume and a few work samples.

Frank Rijsberman

Advisor, Head of Water & Sanitation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Biography

Dr Frank Rijsberman currently serves as director of Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this capacity, Dr. Rijsberman leads a foundation team dedicated to reducing the burden of water-borne disease and improving access to sanitation, particularly in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Frank served as a Program Director at Google.org, responsible for partnerships in the ares of health, geo and the environment. He has also served as Director General (CEO) of the non-profit research institute International Water Management Institute. Rijsberman holds a BSc and MSc from Delft University of Technology in Civil Engineering and a PhD from Colorado State University in Civil Engineering (Water Resources Planning and Management). He was a Professor at UNESCO-IHE International Institute for Water Education from 1999-2008, and jointly appointed at Wageningen University from 2003-8.

Willem Henri Lucas

Advisor, Chair, UCLA Design Media Arts

Biography

An award winning Dutch designer, serves as Chair of the Design Media Arts Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Willem studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Arnhem, and The Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam in the Netherlands. From 1990 to 2002 he served as a professor and chair of the Utrecht School of the Arts’ Graphic Design department. In 1998 he designed holiday postage stamps for the PTT (Dutch Post and telecom company), and in 2003 and 2004, won a ‘Best Book’ award and a nomination from the Art Director’s Club in the Netherlands. Mr. Lucas is a leading figure in efforts to utilize the design and media arts for the social good, engaged in such initiatives as Art/Sci and the Center for Design Influence at UCLA.

John Bielenberg

Advisor, Founder, Project M & C2

Biography

What John does best is help organizations find the courage and the sense of humor to consider whole new "wrong" ways of bringing their stories, ideas, and innovations out into the world. John feels so strongly about the value of thinking wrong that he created a program called Project M that is designed to inspire and educate young designers, writers, photographers and filmmakers by proving that their work—especially their wrongest thinking—can have a positive and significant impact on the world. Project M has developed projects to help a conservation area in Costa Rica, Micro-financing in Ghana, New Orleans after Katrina, the community of East Baltimore and connecting households to fresh water in Hale County Alabama. Last year, Project M created a multi-use community space called PieLab that was nominated for a James Beard Award for restaurant design. In his career, John has won over 250 design awards, was nominated for 2 National Design Awards from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, served on the AIGA National Board of Directors, and teaches at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has acquired six of his projects and staged a solo exhibition in 2000. In addition, John is a founding partner of C2, MavLab, and Nada Bike Collective, and a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique International). Most recently, John was awarded the Skandalaris Award for Entrepreneurship in Design from Washington University in St. Louis. C2, c2llc.com Project M, www.projectmlab.com PieLab, www.pielab.org Nada Bike Collective, www.nadabike.com

Peter Sims

Advisor, Author

Contact

sims.peter@gmail.com

Biography

Peter Sims is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. His latest book is Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, from Simon & Schuster: Free Press. Previously, he was the coauthor with Bill George of True North, the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek best-selling book. He also worked in venture capital with Summit Partners, a leading investment company, including as part of the team that established the firm’s London Office. His articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Tech Crunch, The Financial Times, and as an expert blogger for Fast Company. He received an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School, where he and several classmates started a popular course on leadership, and he collaborates with faculty at Stanford’s Institute of Design (the d.school). He frequently speaks or advises at corporations, associations, and universities, including Google, Eli Lilly, Pixar, ConAgra, Cisco Systems, and Stanford University. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he lives in San Francisco and his great-great-great grandfather, Jacob Gundlach, founded Gundlach Bundschu (GunBun) in Sonoma, California’s oldest family-owned winery, which is run today by his cousins who, unlike Peter, know a lot about wine.

Christopher Szecsey

Advisor, International Development Consultant

Contact

cs@christophersconsulting.com

Biography

Christopher Szecsey has over 40 years of international development and humanitarian assistance experience in more than 45 countries worldwide. Christopher works as a consultant, trainer, facilitator, and technical assistance provider to multi-lateral and international organizations, NGOs, government agencies, and foundations. His key areas of technical assistance include: grass roots development; civil society building/NGO capacity development; program/project development and management; multi-stakeholder collaboratives/partnerships/networks; leadership and team development; etc. Christopher also has significant experience and skills in participatory learning, learner-centered, interactive, and collaborative processes, to ensure client and stakeholder engagement and ownership for positive, strength-based change, using such approaches as Appreciative Inquiry. His "water" experience includes: water conservation and recycling; water catchments; waterless toilets/composting toilets; school and household water catchment tanks; solar and wind community water system on a coral atoll, etc. He has held several positions such as a Peace Corps volunteer, Non-Profit Director in the USA, INGO Field Director overseas for 9 years, Non-Profit board chair and member of 3 organizations, etc. More info: www.christophersconsulting.com.

Mike Fogel

Contributor, Engineer

Contact

mike@welldone.org Mike on Twitter

Biography

Mike leads technical development at Soup, a venture to combine design, technology and business to tackle some of the world's gnarliest problems. Soup's showcase product is FutureBuilding, a online software platform which brings an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability to the online donation process for non-profits. Before joining Soup, Mike completed a triple major at UC Berkeley and a Masters in Computer Science at Stanford. He was also first employee of OpenDNS, a successful startup working to make the Internet safer, faster and smarter. Outside the technology world, Mike loves to cycle, run, climb and travel.

Katy Liao

Contributor, Graphic Designer

Biography

Katy Liao envisions her own design making the world a better place for women and girls. She believes it is important for people to have healthy bodies, minds, and hearts for us to have a healthy environment. Katy graduated with a BA in Japanese from Soochow University in Taiwan and an MFA in Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University. She has extensive internship experience at I shot him because I loved him, damn him, a design studio working to “change hearts, minds, and habits.” She also worked at Altitude Associates, a creative agency in San Francisco that helps consumer brands engage people through inspiration. She is currently working with WellDone as a volunteer graphic designer.

Daniel Schwartzbaum

Contributor, Videographer

Contact

dschwartzbaum@gmail.com

Biography

Daniel Schwartzbaum has worked as an editor for a variety of non-fiction television programming for such clients as Discovery and National Geographic channel. He seeks to use his production experience to tell the stories of people working to further positive change in Malawai and beyond and hopes to inspire the audience to be part of that change.

Joanne Chiu

Contributor, Grant Writer

Contact

Joanne@welldone.org

Biography

Joanne volunteers at WellDone as a grant writer. Joanne recently moved to the Bay Area from southern California and currently works at Peninsula Open Space Trust, where she protects the open space lands of the Peninsula and South Bay. Previously, Joanne worked for the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development. She enjoys hanging out with Ollie (her dog), teaching the drumline at a local high school, and is committed to improving the lives of people locally and around the world.

Tanya Elshahawi

Contributor, Graphic Designer

Biography

Tanya is a New York based web designer currently working at Interactive Partners, a rockin’ interactive agency in Soho. Outside of that, she is a designer with an interest in crafting seamless user experiences. Tanya appreciates the beauty of simplicity and striking the delicate balance of form and function both in print and on the web. She has a passion for social justice and an immense desire to make the two worlds of social change and excellent design collide. Tanya is a culture-junkie, a slow coffee drinker, a sucker for World War Two movies and admittedly, a huge nerd. In her spare time, she volunteers for Nomi Network & WellDone.

Grace Chen

Contributor, Administrative Assistant

Biography

Grace is a NorCal native and recent graduate in Economics at the University of Utah. She has spent time in India working in microfinance with SKS Microfinance and has also worked with HELP International in laying groundwork for the U.S. based organization to establish branches in India. She believes that with the right tools, we can all do our part in make a dent in poverty around the world. She currently works as a financial advisor by day and is very excited to be able to contribute her talents to WellDone.

Sheena Yoon

Contributor, Marketing

Contact

sheena.yoon@american.edu

Biography

Southern California Native. Currently studying International Development & Psychology in Washington D.C. at American University. Work studying at Human Rights Watch and leading the creative direction of a startup consulting company for non-profits. Found WellDone through a random sticker in D.C. and after leading a clean water campaign on campus. Deeply intrigued by design and innovation for social change. Aspiring iron chef contestant and photo subject on the "Sartorialist". Also, very interested in Icelandic music and sparring.

Alice Tzou

Contributor, Web Developer

Contact

awtzou@gmail.com

Biography

Alice helped with the development of the Welldone web site. Previously, she was an engineer for a San Francisco interactive agency. She holds BAs in Computer Science and Molecular Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, where she was also a reporter and editor for The Daily Californian. Alice loves traveling, reading, and reality television.

Drew Yoon

Contributor, Photographer

Contact

drew.yoon@gmail.com

Biography

Drew Yoon is a documentary photographer and UI/UX designer based in Los Angeles. He graduated from UCLA with a BFA in Design, Media Arts and has since been working professionally in both careers now for over a decade. Driven by his hunger for simplicity, he strives to create better experiences on our screens or in our pockets, so that we might regain some sanity and essentially, time... and everything that time affords, you know, everyday life with all its beautiful, unnoticed moments, these things we have in common as humans - that's what Drew loves to photograph. His online portfolio: drewyoon.com

Matthew Lee

Contributor, Cinematographer

Contact

bennimoto@gmail.com

Biography

Matt loves cameras, good stories and moving pictures. Currently, he works as an Art Director at Pixomondo, a Los Angeles based visual effects studio with offices around the world. Most recent projects he's been a part of include James Cameron's "Avatar" and Zack Snyders "Suckerpunch." After joining WellDone in 2010, he accompanied them to Africa to document their journey through Malawi building up relationships with the locals and capturing the incredible work being done by Marion Medical Missions. He continues to contribute to the WellDone cause focusing on providing media for fundraising campaigns.

Arthur J Nelson

Contributor, Events & Partnerships

Contact

arthur.j.nelson@gmail.com

Biography

Arthur is Management Consultant who coordinates events and fundraisers for WellDone in Washington, DC. As a consultant, he works with other organizations to help improve overall people and process effectiveness. His passion for the entrepreneurial culture of a start-up, and strong belief in a commitment to social development, is what led him to WellDone in 2009. When he's not working with clients he's usually moonlighting as a DJ or freelance writing.

Tai Brook

Contributor, Motivational Speaker

Contact

tai@welldone.org

Biography

I used to live in Taipei outside a school where 2-legged chihuahuas would scream and give me pudding maybe. After years of strayness I got caught in a bad typhoon and was rescued by a nicer big 2-legged tall dog. Now, I spend my days in America with a ginger, spinning in circles, scratching while spinning in circles, sneezing violently, and trying to win Gabby's approval. It's pretty much my dream life, besides the ginger. As for the ladies, I'm in an open relationship with Gabby Shepherd. I'm currently accepting applications in the form of lamb meat.

El Chupacabra Buyayo

Contributor, WellDone Ambassador

Contact

chuppie@buyayo.com

Biography

Chuppie works to raise awareness of the issues around the global water crisis, representing the organization in the public forum. As a global representative of WellDone, Chuppie is a world traveler and speaks multiple languages including French, Dog, and English. In his free time, Chuppie is keenly interested in keeping the trees in the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francsico alive and well, taking daily arboral excursions to ensure the trees are well hydrated and fertilized. Growing up near the coastal bluffs of Del Mar, CA, Chuppie loves to take long nature walks on the beach, and riding along Highway 1 with the convertible top down.