Social entrepreneur and development specialist, Chris Dunston

We are pleased to welcome Chris Dunston to Norman this October to join the stellar group of water and sanitation professionals who will choose the next University of Oklahoma International Water Prize recipient.

Chris is currently the Senior Program Officer, International Programs at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation where he leads the Safe Water Strategy priority. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation aims to accelerate access to safe, reliable and affordable water services for communities, health facilities and schools in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia and Uganda.  The strategies focus on development partners – government, private sector and civil society – to collaborate more effectively with one another to design, test and implement different approaches for systems strengthening and water service delivery to all residents at the district level.  

Chris started his career in development 30 years ago as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer assisting women’s groups in Isiolo, Kenya to start businesses. This eye opening experience led Chris to earn a Master’s in Public Health, going on to work for CARE USA for about ten years. Here he held a variety of positions focused on household livelihood security in Bangladesh, Sudan and Madagascar. 

Prior to joining the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Chris lived in Madagascar for more than a decade as an entrepreneur. During this time, he started businesses that included managing a clinical trial for the treatment and diagnosis of human plague in 40 rural health care facilities with the Ministry of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions through a grant from the National Institute of Health.  Chris established several public-private partnerships with rural municipal governments for water resource management and service delivery, and microscopy services in health care facilities.  He also owned and operated a specialty business that grew, processed, and marketed Madagascan coffee that was exported through a direct farmer-to-market relationship with clients and retail outlets throughout the country.