John has fifteen years experience running a variety of non-profit, First Nations focused education and training programs in Canada. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, studying community development and the biophysical environment, and gained his master’s degree at the University of Victoria with a focus on non-profits and government policy. He has worked with numerous NGOs abroad in the fields of education and water. At the University of Guelph, John has worked as a degree program design consultant and lecturer, and he currently sits on the advisory board of the university’s Institute for Development Studies. John started Water First in 2009, in the back of his home, in Creemore, Ontario. Water First now has 22 staff and has collaborated with over 50 Indigenous communities in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec & Labrador.