Lessons from Leaders: Featured Guest Gary White, CEO & Co-founder, Water.org & WaterEquity

I had the opportunity to sit down with Gary White, an inspiring problem-solver and innovator. With three degrees in civil and environmental engineering, Gary tells of his passion for social justice began in his 20s when he became aware of the alarming statistic that 1.5 billion people worldwide lacked access to water and even more lacked access to sanitation. As an engineer with a solution-seeking mindset, he was determined to find answers.

In our conversation about his unique start, Gary shares how his seed of information was found during his early exposure to TED, a key source of inspiration. He felt like a "kid in a candy store," exposed to so many diverse ideas and perspectives that were outside the engineering domain. He continues, "To be able to sit for a few days and hear ideas and concepts from people who are doing nothing like you were doing, and yet all of those ideas could kind of be borrowed or kind of bent in your direction. I think that's where the concept of bending microfinance towards water and sanitation was. Here was this thing that was happening around the world with others, and it was completely divorced from what we were doing with water. Why does that have to be? Let's bring those things together." 

Gary shares his experiences and insights on how he drew on this wealth of outside-the-box knowledge, bent it to become relevant to his work, and co-founded Water.org, a groundbreaking organization that helps finance water and sanitation solutions for individuals living in poverty. 

Gary's work is a testament to the power of creativity and passion in solving complex social challenges. Quoting Thomas Edison, Gary shares, 'I feel like I've never done a day's work in my life because it's all been fun.'

I am grateful to Gary for sharing his insights and inspiring us to think outside the box when faced with challenges. I invite leaders to listen to this episode and emerge with new determination and fresh ideas.

To connect with: Water.org - https://water.org/

To connect with Gary White on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waterpartners