Who We Are
Tim O. Moore II, P.E. - Project Leader
Tim is currently in the process of earning his Ph.D. in Civil/Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he focuses on running the Flux Lab for the Atmospheric Measurement of Emissions (FLAME), a mobile lab developed specifically for the purpose of measuring anthropogenic emissions in rural settings. Tim obtained his Professional Engineering license in 2001 and has 10 years of progressively responsible experience on a variety of engineering planning, design, and construction projects. He completed the Review and Update of Technical Specifications, Standards, and Drawings for the City of Fort Myers, Florida, concentrating on infrastructure upgrades and bringing Fort Myers specifications up to speed with new engineering technologies.
Tim has also been the project manager for many projects in Naples, Florida, to include the North County Inflow / Infiltration (I&I) Study, the South County Inflow / Infiltration (I&I) Study, the Review and Update of Technical Specifications, Standards, and Drawings; and the Merging of Technical Standards, Specifications, and Drawings for Collier County. He was part of the project team for the design and construction of the Santa Barbara Force Main and the C.R. 951 and U.S. 41 Water Mains.
Tim has been instrumental in developing a number of water and wastewater treatment projects for the U.S. Navy at several bases in the southeast and served as construction engineer for a municipal public works department in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as being responsible for design of new and replacement water and wastewater pipeline projects and pipeline rehabilitation projects as the head of a design team. Tim served in the United States Air Force Reserves for six years and participated in numerous humanitarian efforts to include natural disaster relief, hospital and clinic repair and rebuilding, home and shelter repair and rebuilding and runway design and repair in austere locations. Additionally, Tim has experience in orphanage site planning and design in San Salvador, El Slavador.
Tim earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Military Institute, Lexinton, VA, and his Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland College Park.
E-mail Tim at timmoore@vt.edu.
Theo A. Dillaha, P.E. - Project Advisor
Theo is a professor of biological systems engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He currently serves as the Program Director for the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM CRSP), a $12 million USAID program that supports sustainable development in developing countries around the world. His research interests include environmental engineering, functioning of riparian buffer zones, water-quality modeling, nonpoint source pollution control, TMDLs, and water supply and sanitation in developing countries. Dr. Dillaha has extensive international development experience and has worked in Albania, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guam, Guatemala, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Micronesia, Morocco, Philippines, and Vietnam. He is currently the faculty advisor for EWB-VT and is the project mentor for EWB-VT projects in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Haiti. Dr. Dillaha received his B.E. and M.S. in environmental and water resources engineering from Vanderbilt University and his Ph.D. in agricultural engineering from Purdue University.
Kara Mullin
Kara Mullin is a senior in the Civil Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. Kara's concentration is structures, geotechnical engineering, and construction with a minor in business. She gained international experience studying and traveling in and around Australia at the University of New South Wales. She also volunteers at the Cranwell International Center and plays club water polo at Virginia Tech. Kara read Mountains Beyond Mountains and a few days after completing it, found out about this project and jumped at the opportunity to get involved. Kara will be focusing on all structural and geotechnical aspects of the project as well as working with the group to present our proposal to various funding organizations and developing relationships with funding foundations. She is originally from Wilmington, Delaware.
Susan Pleasants
Susan is a 1980 Graduate of the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing. She has obtained certification in both Case Management (CCM) and Legal Nurse Consulting (CLNC). Currently she is working for Patient First, a company which specializes in primary and urgent care and has centers across Virginia and Maryland.
Susan first visited Haiti in 2004 as a member of the first team from her parish of St. Michaels located in Glen Allen, Virginia. The team was sent to begin the twinning relationship with a parish in Dos-Palais, Haiti. During this visit she met two physicians who would influence her life and future work in Haiti; Dr. David Walton and Dr. Desire Roland . This relationship led to becoming the Vice-Chair of the Haitian Health Care Foundation ( www.haitianhealth.org ). During this time she worked with area parishes around Lascahobas and Zanmi Lasante to help open a new dental clinic at their Lacolline hospital. Also she helped to establish a library and wellness program at Maison Fortuné Orphanage. "To be able to serve God through my relationship with the many wonderful health professionals and friends that I have met in Haiti and the United States is a tremendous blessing to me." "It is important to listen to the people and their needs and then, if you have been given gifts to be able help, to then use your gifts for the benefit of the poor." Susan states, "I am fortunate to have worked as a case manager in a variety of settings during my career. I believe it prepared me to be able to serve in Haiti and I am eternally grateful for this."
The Board of the Haitian Health Care Foundation elected Susan as their Chair on June 21, 2008. Susan states "I am so pleased about the recent endorsement and donation of $5000.00 by the Haitian Health Care Foundations for this project. It is an honor to serve with the Haitian health Care Foundation Board. This new clinic will have a tremendous impact on the health and wellness of a large community of 75,000 people in and around Hinche."
Raoul Raphael, MD, MPH
Regional Director
Ministry of Public Health and Population
Health Direction for the Center region
Gilles M. Divoux - Interpreter
Gilles is a Ph. D candidate in Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Virginia Tech, and studies the effect of processing induced morphological changes on performance of proton exchange membrane for fuel cell applications.
Gilles is a French licensed mechanical engineer since 1987, who graduated from the "Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Metz" (France). He then taught mechanical engineering at Garoua Government Technical High School in Cameroon for two years. In 1990, he joined Bouygues Construction, a subsidiary of the worldwide industrial group known as Bouygues and worked for five years as junior and senior project engineer on projects such A4, A5 and A6 Highways in France and the Northern High Speed Railroad project. In 1995, he joined Leroy Gabon, a subsidiary of the European industrial group Isoroy that harvests Okoumé, an African hardwood specifically used for high-tech plywood panels. At Leroy Gabon, he started as senior engineer supervising the maintenance teams and then rapidly became director of operations and implemented sustainable forestry techniques to preserve the unique natural resources that the Gabonese rain forest offers
In 2000, he left Gabon and came to the United States to obtain his MBA from Henderson State University in Arkansas (2001) and a master's degree with emphasis in finance at Louisiana Tech University (2003). He then started his Ph. D in polymer science at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2003 and transferred in August 2007 to Virginia Tech.
When he found out about this project, he did not hesitate and knew that it was the opportunity to make the difference in helping people in developing communities gain access to technologies and medical care that will improve their lives. Gilles decided to join the team to help the project with French translation and interpret for the teams and partners that are involved in this project.
Email Gilles at: gilles.divoux@vt.edu
Maggie Morrison - Industrial and Systems Engineering
Maggie Morrison is starting her 4th year in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech and has been interested in international service and missions since she was young. She joined EWB and the Haiti project team after hearing about the health care clinic project and EWB-VT’s partnership with Partners in Health. She had read Mountains Beyond Mountains previously and jumped at the opportunity to get involved with an organization which so passionately provides aid to those struggling in Haiti and around the world. Maggie has traveled to Kenya twice on short-term trips to help in an AIDS orphanage and she lived in India last summer, teaching at a school, helping in an orphanage, and tutoring the children in the orphanage. She is furthering her international experience in Italy this summer, assisting with research at Politecnico di Milano. Maggie is very excited to be a part of the Fundraising Team in raising support for this much-needed medical clinic in Hinche, Haiti.
Sarah Alston - Webmaster
Sarah Alston is a web developer volunteering as webmaster for clinicsforhaiti.org. She received her BSBIT in 2006 from Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business and is currently working as a webmaster for Denver Health & Hospital Authority. Denver Health is a non-profit hospital in downtown Denver, CO that offers health care to both the insured and uninsured. Sarah has volunteered as a web master for several other groups and organizations, including PACÉ (Poverty Awareness Coalition for Equality) and Bridge for Haiti, with the hope to help organizations like these raise awareness. You can contact Sarah via e-mail at salston@vt.edu