Building Momentum
by Jenny Bramhall – co-founder, Trees, Water & People
Trees, Water & People (TWP) is 26 years old? That can’t be right. The years that Stuart and I spent creating and building TWP remind me of the years raising our three children. There were months of momentum and optimism that raced by at a gallop, and also moments of loss and challenges that felt like we would never make it through. All in all, we have been so proud and hopeful about this organization we were privileged to create, becoming more meaningful and impactful than anything we could have imagined when we started.
Stuart Conway and Jenny Bramhall, co-founders of Trees, Water & People
The vision for TWP began when Stuart, Richard Fox, and I sat in the basement of Union Station in Washington, D.C., brainstorming about a nonprofit that cared about the environment and about the people living in that environment with equal ferocity. We wanted to plant trees and protect watersheds alongside those who lived near them. We envisioned how much good we could do with scant resources just from friends’ donations.
Stuart and Richard were a powerful team as co-executive directors. We were thrilled by the many talented people who came to work for us or serve on the board. And I cannot say enough about how much we learned from our community partners: finding and fostering those local relationships has been a nonnegotiable pillar of our work.
Day-by-day, we were humbled by the beauty and insight of the folks living in the communities we served and grateful for the brave generosity of those who donated.
TWP has grown in so many important ways, and defining our five mission priorities — dignified livelihoods, environmental stewardship, gender equity and inclusion, Indigenous sovereignty, and youth development — has helped us stay on track as we grow. And our staff has come to reflect the diversity of those we serve.
Finding Sebastian Africano — first as a barely paid intern in Honduras and now as executive director — was a great stroke of luck for our beloved nonprofit. Sebastian has grown into an influential, big-hearted, tireless leader who has guided TWP into the new level of changemaking. His leadership will be so important as we face political and economic uncertainty.
To all who have contributed to TWP over these 26 years, I give a huge abrazo and a heartfelt thank you.