We would like to welcome our new EWB-DC 2022 Leadership team! Let’s get to know them.
Helen Girod, President – Helen joined EWB-DC in 2021, having recently returned from serving in the Peace Corps in Paraguay as a Community Agriculture Extension Promoter. She worked closely with her host community members to implement sustainable agricultural practices throughout the community and integrate these strategies into the curriculum at the local agricultural technical high school. Previously, she spent four years as a member of the Engineers Without Borders Johns Hopkins University student chapter, where she held the roles of chapter president and co-project lead for a program in Peru. Helen now works as an environmental engineer in the DC area, specializing in groundwater remediation. She began her involvement with EWB-DC by serving as the chapter vice president and has since transitioned into the president role.
Derryn Bracey, Treasurer & Fundraising/Outreach Chair -Derryn Joined EWB-DC in 2020, having recently moved from New Zealand where he was the professional development program manager at EWB New Zealand, as well as a design facilitator with EWB Australia in Nepal and Cambodia. He loves working across cultures and learning how to be a well-rounded, people-centered engineer, which is why he volunteers with EWB. He has been a key member of the Garden Bed Collaboration Project and has done an exceptional job on the fundraising chair role over the past couple years where he has successfully led the chapter through various fundraising initiatives. He will be transitioning to also take on the Treasurer’s role which is a perfect fit as he looks forward to seeing projects meet their financial goals so they can deliver on vital infrastructure.
As we transition to our 2022 Board, we also wanted to thank Nicole Regobert and Shea Metzgar for their extensive work as the Chapter President and Treasurer!
Nicole served as the Chapter President for three years, leading the chapter throughout the pandemic, which has been no easy feat. Not only did she find creative ways to keep the chapter connected and engaged during the challenges of the last couple of years, she also launched several new initiatives that connected the chapter to the broader DC community as well as with other EWB chapters! She has been inspiring in her hard work and commitment to engaging all EWB-DC project teams and maintaining a close involvement in the EWB-DC Garden Bed Collaboration Project. Although we are sad she will no longer be serving as President, Nicole will be sticking around to serve in the Past President role and continue her work with the Garden Bed Collaboration Project. Thank Nicole for your amazing commitment to EWB-USA and EWB-DC and we are excited you will still be working with us!
Shea served as the Chapter Treasurer and Co-Project Lead for the Panama Project for three years. During this time she diligently ensured that our projects had all the financial resources they needed and maintained Chapter finances so our chapter could run smoothly. Shea has contributed many hours to maintaining contact with the project teams throughout the pandemic manage chapter finances in these challenging years. Although Shea will be missed as she steps down from the treasurer role, we are lucky to have her continue working with the Panama Project Team. Thank you Shea for your hard work as the Chapter Treasurer over the past three years!
Visit our About page here to learn more about our 2022 Chapter and Project Leadership team!