Ned Breslin - WaSH Activist and Entrepreneur

Edward D. (Ned) Breslin has worked as an entrepreneur in the international WaSH sector for close to 30 years.  Joining Water For People as Director of International Programs in 2006, Ned served as its Chief Executive officer during the last nine years.  In 2011, Breslin received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship for his commitment and proven work with Water For People.

Ned Breslin speaks passionately and honestly about issues of sustainability in WaSH sector.

Ned discovered the challenges of water and sanitation in 1987 while living in the Chalbi Desert of northern Kenya, through a program offered by St. Lawrence University.  Before joining Water for People, he worked for a range of local and international Wash NGOs in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, including a position as Country Representative for WaterAid, Mozambique.

 

Women carry baskets of laundry along Indian Ocean shoreline, Mozambique.

Inspired by family and a passion to serve, Ned has promoted innovative and culturally sensitive water and sanitation programs. He firmly believes that responsible intervention efforts demand greater focus on understanding and accountability of project outcomes so that the lives of everyone affected are transformed positively and permanently, with sustainability and independence as the primary goals.

Broken water pump sits idle in Tanzania.

We are pleased to welcome Ned Breslin as one of the jurors to select the winner of the 2017 OU International Water Prize.  As part of the WaTER Center Symposium on September 22, Ned will also be part of a panel discussion on "Critical Water Issues in Today's World".