Our Board

Julie Gelaude

When Julie first learned about Her2O, she could not help but be excited about what Her20 stood for and how helping women gain a career in water and sanitation will bring change, not only to a mostly male-dominated field, but also helping women around the world. It only takes a drop of Her2O to create a wave of change. Working in corporate education for the past 21 years, she has seen how an opportunity can change a person’s life.  Her2O is that kind of opportunity.

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Julie has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and serves as a board member of the Black Hawk College QC Foundation, is the Scholarship Chair for the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Chapter #50, Quad Cities and is a trained mediator for small claims in the court system.  She has been married to her husband Ron for 25 years and has two sons, Braxton and Chase, who are her light and compass.  She enjoys reading and spending time with her family.  She feels blessed to be a part of a core group of women who have made an everlasting imprint on her life and she hopes she can do the same for   others.

Kyla Jacobsen

Kyla is originally from Northeastern Illinois, but her husband says she is from the United States. She has lived all over: several places in Illinois, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Nevada, and the panhandle of Florida. When she is not serving on the board of a nonprofit, she can be found on her road bicycle biking the backroads or in her kayak making waves.

Kyla loves everything about water. She loves to drink it, protect it, recreate with it, and share information about water. She is especially proud that she was the first female Water Director for her municipality. Kyla wants to promote careers and opportunities in the water field, especially for young women.

Susan Llewellyn

When Susan Llewellyn was asked to join the Her2O board, she knew this was an opportunity to continue her work in helping people identify and reach personal goals. With a Master’s degree in education, Susan has been an educator her entire career, a career which began with elementary teaching and moved to higher education. “I grew up in the era of the     women’s movement, when women were inspired to explore leadership opportunities and to seek less traditional female roles.”

There is a strong fit between Her2O’s mission of involving women in water management, and Susan’s skills in career and educational advising and workplace training. Susan has served the Quad Cities community as a board member of the Moline Housing Authority which provides safe, affordable housing for low-income families. She is a trained mediator for the Scott County court system and serves as a volunteer with World Relief. When it comes to relaxing, you might find Susan watching a movie with her husband or outdoors enjoying her Hosta    gardens. Then again, she might be practicing yoga or playing a round of golf.

Margaret Maina

Margaret has over 25 years of experience in the water sector, serving as Managing Director of Limuru Water and Sewerage Company for the past 14 years. She is most passionate about women in water management and is a founding member of Women in Water and Sanitation Association Kenya (WIWAS), through which she was instrumental in the formation of the Kenya Septage Emptiers Association and is a coordinator at Dada Women Mashinani in Waste and Sanitation.

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Born and raised in a small Kenyan village near the slopes of Mt. Kenya, Margaret awoke every morning to the smiling snow-capped mountain that touched the sky. Her early years were spent helping her mum look after her younger siblings, and completing household chores, including fetching water from local streams, finding firewood in nearby forests, and picking coffee berries. Margaret started her education at the Kenya Water Institute (KEWI), where she still volunteers with their TVET (Technical and     Vocational and Training) program. She then received a BA in Technology (Applied     Biology) at Technical University of Kenya (TUK) and received a Master’s in Public Health from Kenyatta University. 

Miranda Robinson

Miranda was born in Upstate New York. She       graduated from the University at Buffalo with a degree in Civil Engineering and became a     consultant upon graduation. After realizing she did not want to sit behind a desk for the rest of her life, she moved down state and worked in the mining field. It was one of the more rewarding jobs she had ever taken but required a lot of travel. After falling in love, she decided to go back to Central New York and now works for a small affluent municipality just outside of Syracuse.

Aside from being a super amazing woman in the water industry, Miranda is also a super amazing woman on water as a professional canoer! She became a national champion in her teens, which earned her a scholarship to be an NCAA D1 Rower for the University at Buffalo. Having participated in every General Clinton Canoe Regatta 70 since 1996 (when she was just 8 years old), she proudly wears the title of ‘Regatta Queen’. Oh, and last but not least, Miranda is our resident Her2O™ funny girl, and she definitely keeps us laughing.

Dawn Walker

For those who know her best, “water” has been a household name to Dawn. Raised in one of Chicago’s inner-city neighborhoods, Dawn noticed at an early age that water, though critical to the vitality of everyone, was rarely discussed, taught in schools, or advocated as a career pathway for young women, especially women of color. When she first heard about the mission of Her20, she jumped at the chance to join arms with like-minded women interested in advancing women in the water industry.

Throughout Dawn’s career, she has sought leadership roles understanding the importance of being at the decision-making table to advance other women, voice concerns of community leaders, and fight for equal opportunity. She is proud of her roles as former Board Trustee for the Illinois Water Works Association; Director of Rain Ready, a program aimed at developing community-based solutions to address flooding; Chief of Staff to a Cook County Sanitary District Commissioner; and, being featured on the Broad Cast. When she isn’t advancing water policies, she’s busy volunteering and mentoring other young women about the benefits of pursuing a career in water, spending time with her daughter, traveling, and roller skating (Yes, that's four wheels, not two).

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Martha Wells

Coming soon!