Committee Members are elected by the Sponsoring Partners of GWPO and are appointed for a term of three years. No Committee Member may serve more than two terms. Gender and regional balance on the Committee, and throughout the Partnership, is given high priority. The Commitee members serve in their individual capacity.
Steering Committee Members
Letitia A Obeng, Chair
Education: Ph.D. in public health and water resources engineering from Imperial College, University of London. She has extensive experience in water and sanitation strategy development and service delivery in Africa.
Dr. Obeng held increasingly responsible positions after joining the World Bank in 1982 until her retirement at the end of 2007, most recently as Director of Environment, Water Resources, Rural and Social Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region; Strategy and Operations Director in the Office of the Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Director, Office of the President, the World Bank.
Shaden Abdel Gawad
Egypt
Education: Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from University of Windsor, Canada
Organization: Governmental Research Center
Dr. Abdel-Gawad is the President of the National Water Research Center, Egypt, since 2005. She has extensive experience in water resources planning, development, management and environmental protection. She is also the Chair of the Water Science Council of the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research & Technology. Dr. Abdel-Gawad is also the Board Chair of the Joint Authority for the Study and Development of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System.
Ramon Alikpala
Education: Masters in Business Administration
Organisation/Category: Public Sector
Mr. Alikpala is the Chairman of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the water utility for approximately 14 million residents of Metro Manila. He previously served as Executive Director of the Philippine National Water Resources Board and Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian National (ASEAN) Working Group on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM). Mr. Alikpala has served as Chairman of the Philippine Water Partnership and sat as Philippine representative in GWP-Southeast Asia.
Alice Bouman-Dentener
Education: MSc in Biology
Organisation/Category: NGO
Ms Bouman-Dentener is Secretary-General at the Netherlands Council of Women. She is an expert on sustainable development, IWRM and gender, and an experienced lecturer, conference organizer and moderator.
Elisa Colom
Education: MsC. in Water Legislation
Organisation/Category: Public Sector
Ms Colom is Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat of the Cabinet on Water of the Government of Guatemala. Ms Colom has been a consultant in water law since 1988.
Oscar Cordeiro Netto
Education: PhD, Environmental Science and Technology
Organisation/Category: Academic Institution
Mr Cordeiro is senior lecturer at the University of Brasilia since 1996 and was Director at the National Water Agency (ANA) in Brazil from 2004 to 2008.
Jean-François Donzier
Education: Engineer in Agronomy
Organisation Category: NGO
Mr Donzier is General Manager of the International Office for Water and Permanent Technical Secretary of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO). He is a former Deputy Director of Rural Development at the French Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Kenzo Hiroki
Education: Civil Engineer
Organisation/Category: Public Sector
Mr Hiroki is Director for Infrastructure and Exploration, Science and Technology Bureau, Cabinet Office, Japan. During 2005-2008, Mr Hiroki was the Head of Secretariat of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).
Dorothy Manuel
Education: Bachelor of Accountancy
Organisation/Category: NGO
Ms. Manuel has extensive civil society organization management experience, particularly in Southern Africa, and has been instrumental in the formation of several dynamic and innovative regional organizations. She also brings strong financial oversight capabilities through her training and work experience as an accountant and audit specialist. Ms. Manuel recently headed a global network, providing leadership and strategic planning while managing and overseeing activities in 178 countries.
Meera Mehta
Education: PhD Economics, Masters in Urban and Regional Planning
Organisation/Category: Academic Institution
Ms Mehta is Professor Emeritus at CEPT University, India and co-project director for the 5-year action research project for setting up Performance Assessment System for UWSS in India. Previously she worked for the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program in Africa. She is also an international consultant in water, urban development and infrastructure finance, and has consulted for a large number of international agencies and leading NGOs.
Stanley Dhram Ragh Rampair
Education: MSc.-Distinction&Great Distinction in Land Resource Development
Organisation/Category: Public Sector
Mr Rampair is Chief Executive Officer at the National Irrigation Commission and Special Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture on Land and Water.
Eugene Stakhiv
Education: PhD, Water resources systems engineering
Organisation/Category: Public Sector/International organisation
Mr Stakhiv is U.S. Co-Director, International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS, 2006-2012) and Technical Director, UNESCO International Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM).
Gangyan Zhou
Education: Master in Hydrology
Organisation/Category: Public Sector
Mr Zhou is Director-General, Yangtze Water Resources Commission, China. He has 30 years of experience in water issues and is a member of the GWP China Technical Committee.
Permanent Observers
The World Bank
United Nations Development Programme
World Water Council
Financial Partners Group Representative, currently Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SOC)
Ex Officio Members
Dr Zafar Adel, UN Water Representative, Canada
Dr Ania Grobicki, GWP Executive Secretary
Dr Mohamed Ait-Kadi, Chair GWP Technical Committee
Mr Hama Arba Diallo, GWP Regional Chairs Representative, West Africa