DG Neil McBeth, Derek Locke, Katie Bush, Paul Mourad,
Athena Kolbe, Andrew Dowie
Derek Locke, Team Leader. Derek was born and raised in Plymouth, England, leaving there to work overseas for several years before settling in the US in 1981. Derek has been married to Dianne for 31 years and they have one son, Darren, aged 29. Working as a communications engineer and senior project manager, leading teams comprised of various engineering disciplines, gives him the experience to lead this team of young professionals. Derek has been a member of the Dearborn heights Rotary club for 9 years and in that time has held many club positions, including President 2006-07. Derek has also served the district as “Family of Rotary” co-chair and is currently serving his second year as Assistant Governor for Area 2. Water is one of Derek’s passions and being the lead for this team will give him the opportunity to identify needs in West Africa, which will hopefully lead to the implementation of one or more water projects.
Sadashiv Koushik, Alternate Team Leader. Metallurgical engineer, Sadashiv Venkataraman Koushik, has been selected by Rotary District 6400 as the Alternate Team Leader for the GSE group. Koushik has been a member of the LaSalle- Centennial Rotary Club, for six years. At 37-years-old, Koushik emigrated from India to Canada where he continued to work as a successful engineer. Koushik is now Partner at Shivenko Consulting.
Kathleen Bush. University of Michigan’s School of Public Health’s PhD candidate Kathleen Bush has been chosen as one of four GSE Team Members. Bush is currently in her third year in the PhD program. Bush completed her B.S. Biology and Environmental Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. After completing this she travelled to Roskilde University in Denmark as a visiting scholar. Bush has joined the efforts of the local NGO which is studying in Chennai, India at Sri Ramachandra University. Bush’s travels and training has provided her with the personnel and professional skills needed to define and test hypotheses that are essential for protecting complex systems. Bush is an eager individual who feels that joining forces with others who share her passion for environmental issues on an international scale will add to the global momentum and is sure to have a positive impact on the world.
Andrew Dowie, P.Eng., B.A.Sc., B.Sc., is a professional engineer employed by the Corporation of the City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. A native of the Windsor area, Andrew designs and manages wastewater and stormwater conveyance system projects for the municipality. He is currently managing the Street Lighting Service Delivery Review, has been appointed to the Job Evaluation Maintenance Committee, and participates on behalf of the Corporation in the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup organization. He was appointed in 2006 to the Committee of Adjustment of the Town of Tecumseh and to the Board of Directors of the Essex County Library. He also serves on the executive of the Windsor-Essex chapter of Professional Engineers Ontario and as a certified leader with Scouts Canada, 35th Tecumseh Group. Andrew is an alumnus of the University of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada), having earned a Bachelor of Applied Science (Co-Op) in Civil Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Computing Technology, and French Language Proficiency Certification in 2006. Andrew has also completed the Leadership Windsor-Essex program, earning a Professional Development Certificate in Community Leadership through the University of Windsor.
Athena Kolby. Athena Kolbe has been chosen as a team member for the GSE group. Kolbe is currently conducting research and training in connection with an NGO in Haiti whose project there is aimed at meeting the basic needs of the community for education, jobs and water. Kolbe believes that participating in the Rotary Group Exchange would allow her to learn on how other less-developed, water stressed communities use creative methods to produce and distribute clean water in a sustainable way.
Paul Mourad, P.Eng., B.Sc., B.A.Sc., is a professional engineer employed by the Corporation of the City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada working in stormwater drainage, wastewater collection systems and drain maintenance. As a native of the Windsor area, Paul has focused his academic and professional goals in water resources in and around the Great Lakes. He has worked in private practice conducting hydrogeological studies in soil, ground water and surface water resources, and in public practice for the local Conservation Authority in flood and erosion control management. Paul earned both a Bachelor of Applied Science (Co-Op) in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resources Management at the University of Windsor (Ontario, Canada).
