ABOUT DROP IN THE BUCKET
Twenty Years of Turning Donations Into Lasting Change
Over the past twenty years, that belief has grown into long-term partnerships with schools and communities across Uganda and South Sudan. By combining clean water, sanitation, education, and women's health, we help remove the barriers that keep children out of school and prevent communities from thriving.
Today, we work alongside schools and communities across Uganda and South Sudan. We begin by listening. Every project starts with understanding what a community needs most before designing solutions that strengthen local capacity and create lasting change.
Our Story
Before the trip, she asked one of the doctors about the best and worst aspects of their work. He replied, “The best part is helping children, and the worst part is knowing that the next time you go back, everybody will be just as sick.” When Stacey asked why, the doctor explained, “It’s the water they are drinking. It’s keeping them sick.”
Determined to make a difference, Stacey and a group of friends organized a fundraiser to drill a well in the village the doctors were visiting. In 2006, Drop in the Bucket was born with the drilling of its first well.
Why Donors Choose DROP
Mission Vision Approach
OUR MISSION
OUR VISION
OUR GOAL
Leadership Team
Stacey Travis
Co-Founder / Director
Stacey spent over 15 years producing high-profile television programs for networks such as A&E, AMC, TLC, and FOX. In 2006, she decided to take her production experience and sensibility into the aid world. Using a fresh, creative and hands-on approach, she began developing the DITB Water and Sanitation Program, focusing on long-term and effective solutions.
John Travis
Co-Founder / President
After more than two decades of working as a music producer, John decided to start splitting his time between making music and building wells in Africa. John is responsible for communicating with donors, coordinating volunteers, social media and some of the fundraising — as well as providing the necessary support Stacey needs while working in the field.
Dan Gieschen
Head of Digital and Technology
Dan Gieschen is a highly accomplished, award-winning software and technology developer and an expert in lean start-up and organizational management. In addition to over 15 years experience creating, managing, and supervising the development of high-end technology applications for Fortune 500 companies, Dan was a founding member of a small 5-person entertainment software company that rapidly grew to support over 1 million daily players and 100+ employees, becoming one of the top grossing iPad and Facebook applications multiple years in a row — achieving a successful, high-valuation exit within 2 years.
Projects he has worked on have won numerous awards including the IDEA Gold Medal in 2007, a Phase 2 SBIR Award from the US Department of Education, a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), and a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Laury Woollery
Social Media Manager & Front-End Web Support
Drop in the Bucket is fortunate to have Laury's expertise in social media and web support helping to spread the word about our mission.
Cassie Lambert
Cassie moved from Indiana to LA in 2003 and has produced TV programs for The Food Network, HGTV, Discovery Health, The History Channel, CMT, TLC, Style Network, E! and The Travel Channel. She has spent the past six years traveling the world as a Supervising Producer on ABC's The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
Cassie has traveled to Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan to photograph, film and participate in the installation of water wells. She is involved with helping Drop in the Bucket on donor relations, development and outreach.
Ted Gieschen
Software Developer
Ted graduated from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich with a degree in Computer Science and Computer Linguistics in 2016. He specialized in the application of machine learning algorithms for text classification and wrote his thesis on the use of Latent Dirichlet Allocation for patent classification.
During his time as a student, he learned to develop for WordPress autodidactically, which he has been able to apply across multiple projects. Ted is excited to apply his skill set to help Drop in the Bucket.
Hunter Beatty
Advisory Board – Finance
Based in Perth, Australia, Hunter brings a long and distinguished career in the field of Quantity Surveying. He advises Drop in the Bucket on project costs and amounts, and is actively involved in new designs and development.
Hunter is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and was awarded the President's Medal for services to the profession in 2003.
Bill McKay
Design & Engineering
Based in Perth, Australia, Bill had a distinguished and extensive engineering career that began in 1963 and included very senior positions working in, amongst other places, Uganda. After retiring to Australia, Bill has served as an Advisory Board Member to Drop in the Bucket since 2006, overseeing the design of water systems, training and project management.
Bill was the lead engineer involved in designing the Drop in the Bucket bio-digestion sanitation system.
Board of Directors
Scott Llewellyn
Morrison/Foerster LLP – Partner
Colorado-based attorney Scott Llewellyn is a partner at the Morrison Foerster law firm. He has been involved with Drop in the Bucket since the very beginning and remains very active as a board member and advisor.
Judy Chen
Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Strategy, Crystal Geyser Water Company
Judy Yee is a seasoned brand marketer in the consumer products industry. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Strategy for Crystal Geyser Water Company and was the Chief Marketing Officer at Earthbound Farm, driving the company's transformation from an organic produce to a food company.
Judy was the Group Leader of Marketing and Business Development at Chiquita Brands International, finding new and innovative ways to bring fresh and healthier products to consumers while revitalizing the iconic Chiquita brand. She began her marketing career with The Clorox Company, leading strategic businesses and new product innovation from Hidden Valley salad dressing to Glad food storage products. While at Nestlé, she managed ice cream novelty brands including Drumstick, Crunch and Butterfinger.
Outside of work, Judy has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations focusing on women's leadership and development, and has advised various early-stage companies.
Simon Renshaw
Strategic Artist Management LLC – President
Simon Renshaw is a 30-year veteran of the entertainment industry, best known for guiding the Dixie Chicks' career to superstardom. Over the years he has represented a diverse group of artists including Mary J. Blige, Miranda Lambert, Tears For Fears, Paulina Rubio and Clay Aiken.
Renshaw was the recipient of the 2000 Pollstar Personal Manager of the Year award and a 2003 Bill of Rights Award from the ACLU. In 2007 he was named by Advertising Age as one of the Entertainment Marketers of the Year. Widely known as a fierce advocate of artists' rights, he has testified before the Federal Trade Commission, the California Senate and the Copyright Tribunal.
Patty Ivins
PB&J Television – Owner/President
Patty Ivins has been working in reality television and news/documentary for over fifteen years. Since 2004 she has been producing under her own company banner, PB&J Television, Inc. Ivins has executive produced NBC's Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit Model Search, Showtime's Reversal of Fortune, three seasons of Style's hit show Dress My Nest, TLC's Date My House, The Miss America Pageant reality series for CMT and TLC, and ABC Family's America's Prom Queen.
Patty produced season 1 of The Simple Life and The Simple Life Reunion, and also produced and directed Making the Band, Road Rules, and Who Wants to Be a Playboy Playmate? In 2004 Ivins won a Daytime Emmy for the AMC documentary Hollywood Rocks The Movies: The 1970's, narrated by David Bowie.
Ryan White
Founder and Managing Partner, INSIGHT2PROFIT
Ryan helps B2B companies — including leading Fortune 500 corporations and Private Equity firms — improve profit through better price management. His drive for focus and measurable goals define INSIGHT2PROFIT's unique value proposition.
Ryan, a Six Sigma Black Belt, earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Lafayette College and his MBA from Lehigh University. He measures success not by "what have I earned" but by "what have I given back." On the business side, this means clients achieving measurable profit gains or they don't pay. On the personal side, this means being actively involved — even traveling to Uganda — with Drop in the Bucket.
Kristie Kershaw
CEO of Fanthropolgy
With over 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing as a writer, strategist, and creative director, Kristie Kershaw brings her unique brand of insight and passion to every project. She has helped to both launch and advertise many successful brands and properties, ranging from the print campaign for the Academy Award nominated film War Horse, to Barbie, to Cirque du Soleil.
Kristie works with Drop in the Bucket on creating copy for the website, posters, and informational materials, keeping the messaging consistent and compelling.
Rob McDermott
Entertainment Manager – President, Mad Mac Entertainment
In a career spanning almost thirty years, Rob has worked directly with multi-platinum artists such as Linkin Park, Rob Zombie, Pantera, Staind and Static-X. Throughout the years, Rob's strategic marketing skills have helped some of the largest musical acts in history achieve remarkable success.
Rob was previously with entertainment company The Firm as a Senior Manager, where he played an instrumental role in the careers of The Backstreet Boys, The Dixie Chicks, Michelle Branch, Korn, Enrique Iglesias, Limp Bizkit and Snoop Dogg, among others.
Rob played a major part in helping Linkin Park establish their "Music For Relief" charity, formed in response to the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia, which raised over one million dollars in its first year under Rob's leadership.
Rebecca Salgado
Live Nation – Global Marketing Coordinator
Before joining Live Nation, Rebecca worked at several accounting firms and record labels including Interscope and Epitaph. She brings a strong background in organization, coordinating, project management, finance and bookkeeping to her role with Drop in the Bucket.
VIDEOS FROM THE FIELD
See Our Work In Action
Financial Transparency
Transparency is One of Our Core Values.
