Who We Are

Sasha is an ecologist and human rights advocate who has been living and working in Haiti since 2004. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology from Stanford University in 2006 and co-founded SOIL that same year while also completing a postdoctoral research position...

Jessica has a PhD from the University of Miami with a focus on Haitian non-profits. Her academic background focused on international politics and her professional experience is with small, growing organizations in need of operational support.

Daniel Tillias is a community development agent with over 20 years of experience. He is a social entrepreneur and a visionary behind several sustainable initiatives all over Haiti including, ALAVET AYITI, FATRAKA, and Generation Leader 2030, and was most recently awarded the 2019 CNN Hero award.

Bob McLaughlin is a business and financial professional with over 60 years of experience in accounting, taxes and business consulting. He had his own CPA firm in Rockford IL. He is now semi-retired after his son took over the practice. Prior to owning his own practice...

Nathalie is an experienced Human Resource leader, Career Coach and a professional in theorganizational psychology & development field. For over 15 years, Nathalie worked for some majorplayers like MTV & AIG focusing on general HR work, coaching andrecruitment.

Nick has been with SOIL since 2010, serving first as Operations Director and then Director of Strategy before becoming Deputy Director in 2016 and then Chief Operating Officer in 2020. Nick has a masters in Public Health from Tufts University and was instrumental in coordinating SOIL’s emergency response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Ken is currently Director of Partnerships in Practice – a UK-based consultancy that focuses on ensuring that global to local partnership approaches are fit-for-purpose. Partnerships in Practice builds on the work of the World Bank-supported global multi- stakeholder initiative that Ken directed called Building Partnerships for Development (BPD).

Ingrid Henrys has a Master’s degree in International Agro-Development Engineering and a Master’s degree in Tropical Area Biodiversity and Conservation. She also took a Permaculture Design course in California and is now doing a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design with the International Permaculture University of Argentina.

Johnny Celestin is a current faculty member at the Studley Graduate Program in International Affairs program.  He was recently the Executive Director of the Future Leaders Foundation (FLF) and was also the Executive Director of the Centre Haïtien du Leadership et de l’Excellence (CLE), a Haitian

Alyse Schrecongost is a Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene Program where she leads the team’s regulatory and utility partnership work. Her grantmaking focuses on fostering change in sanitation sector so inclusive, safe sanitation services in urban areas are increasingly institutionalized and sustained as a sector norm.

Tanvi Nagpal is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, Johns Hopkins University – School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She was a Practitioner in Residence at SAIS from 2010 – 2021, and served as the Director of the International Development Program from 2019-2021.

Cyra is an experienced financial operations professional passionate about supporting organizations in sustainable administration and growth. Working for over 15 years in the industry, she has amassed a wealth of knowledge and is a leader in best practices around grants management, financial-based systems and templates, and policy and procedure creation...

Erica is a nonprofit professional committed to working for change alongside underserved youth and communities. Erica spent nine years working with SOIL as the Systems Director and later Research Director, during which time she piloted new technology, tested strategies to improve efficiency in operations, and co-authored multiple publications.