Our Team 

FOUNDER & SENIOR STRATEGIC ADVSIOR

Salva supports the U.S. and South Sudan teams as Chief Strategy Director, located in South Sudan with appearances in the United States. Salva supports the U.S. and South Sudanese teams offering his counsel to increase operational efficiency. He also works to build strategic operational and funding relationships in South Sudan, the U.S., and around the world.
Read more about Salva

WFSS COUNTRY DIRECTOR

Ajang, more commonly known as AJ, serves as Country Director, overseeing projects at the WFSS compound in Wau, as well as new sanitation projects. He is also our coordinator for government relations and collaborative partnerships and co-chairs our Leadership Council in Wau. Also one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, he came to the U.S. in 2000, settling in Dallas and working for Samsung. In 2013, AJ joined WFSS as an intern on our drilling team. He quickly established himself as a valuable team member and also has served as assistant drilling manager and Associate Country Director before becoming Country Director for WFSS.

WFSS TECHNICAL ADVISOR

Ater, known to all as "Lion," serves as Technical Advisor, overseeing all drilling, well rehab, and hygiene projects and programs. He co-chairs our South Sudan Leadership Council, comprised of all managers in South Sudan. A former “Lost Boy” of Sudan, Lion met WFSS Founder Salva Dut in a refugee camp and relocated to the U.S. in 1996, working for Samsung in Texas. In 2008, Lion joined WFSS as a drilling team manager. After expanding his technical and leadership skills, Lion now serves as Technical Advisor and leads our Well Rehabilitation Team. Watch an interview with Lion here.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Shannon Hesel serves as Executive Director of Water for South Sudan, bringing over 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, program strategy, and partnerships. Her career has spanned global and domestic contexts, with a focus on expanding access to education, economic opportunity, and community-driven development.

Shannon has held leadership roles at organizations including the International Youth Foundation and Room to Read, where she advanced large-scale youth development and literacy initiatives. She has worked across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S., leading programs, managing complex grants, and building partnerships that deliver measurable results.

A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Guyana, Shannon began her career co-developing public health curricula and WASH infrastructure with local educators and health workers. She is a certified project manager and collaborative leader, committed to turning vision into action and advancing WFSS’s mission to deliver clean water and hygiene access across South Sudan.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

With over a dozen years of experience in nonprofit and client-service startup fields, Emily brings expertise in simplifying complexity and driving strategy. 

Her experience as a microfinance field intern in Uganda broadened her understanding of the complex cycle of poverty and the transformative power of education. As an AmeriCorps Member, she addressed food insecurity and nutritional access, witnessing the power of policy and funding on community well-being, sparking her commitment to purpose driven work.

Emily thrives at the intersection of people and systems, ensuring projects run smoothly for all stakeholders. A certified project manager, she finds success working with teams that positively impact lives. Emily joined WFSS in 2025.

SCHOOL FUNDRAISING AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Sheetal Pandey joined Water for South Sudan in 2025, primarily managing the Iron Giraffe Challenge and supporting global school fundraising and outreach.

Holding a Master of Science in Communication from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Sheetal believes in connecting people to meaningful causes—whether that is through creating digital and communication assets for public broadcasting, designing community engagement campaigns for educational and humanitarian initiatives, or expanding international school networks for the Iron Giraffe Challenge. She approaches communication with a focus on bridging creative storytelling with precise data management and strategic frameworks to build reliable community pathways and ensure that mission-driven messaging gives a clear, compelling voice to shared human goals.

Sheetal also enjoys writing poetry, exploring art galleries and museums, playing board games, and spending time with nature.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

Elissa joined Water for South Sudan in 2018 and serves as Director of Development and Communications, leading the organization's fundraising, donor engagement, and communications strategies. Her work focuses on building meaningful relationships, connecting supporters to WFSS's mission, and sharing the impact of reliable water access in communities across South Sudan.

Elissa's connection to WFSS began before joining the team. While attending Monroe Community College, she served as Vice President of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Project and chaired the second annual Walk for Water benefiting WFSS.

She holds a degree in Interpersonal and Organizational Speech Communication and Health Science from SUNY Brockport and previously worked with the National Kidney Foundation.

Outside of WFSS, Elissa enjoys teaching yoga, growing lavender, watching her children play competitive hockey and finding opportunities to connect with nature.

FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Denise is responsible for budgeting, reconciliation, payroll, out-of-state charity registrations, and revenue management to maximize fundraising efforts and fund more work in South Sudan. She has extensive experience in hospitality, focusing on general management, project management, business development, marketing, software and systems upgrades, product development, and finance. Denise joined WFSS in 2025.

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Ben joined Water for South Sudan in 2026, supporting the organization's database systems, standard operating procedures, and donor stewardship. He is currently pursuing a degree in Management Information Systems, building on a career spent improving systems across food, fuel, and now water.

Ben spent several years in operations  and sales management roles within the food distribution and electric vehicle charging industries, along with a consulting engagement supporting a small business through online sales platform adoption and wholesale/retail fulfillment process improvements. Across each of these roles, his focus remained consistent: connecting people to reliable systems, whether that meant sourcing food from local farmers, expanding clean energy infrastructure, or now, advancing sustainable water access in South Sudan.

Coming from a for profit background, Ben has consistently sought out mission driven work, and views his role at WFSS as a natural extension of that path: applying systems thinking to a mission of lasting consequence.

Outside of work, Ben enjoys live music, mushroom foraging, reading, trying new recipes in the kitchen, and gardening at his home and community garden.