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Filter of Hope

Founder and CEO

Bart Smelley

Throughout his business career, Bart has traveled to many developing countries on international mission projects. During his travels he surveyed families living in abject poverty and became aware of the global water crisis - specifically, the fact that thousands of children die each week from drinking contaminated water. This heartbreaking discovery led to the design of a simple, household water filter that removes all harmful bacteria from polluted water sources.

In 2012, Bart felt God’s call to full-time missions and his passion for evangelism and providing clean drinking water to families in desperate need inspired him to start Filter of Hope. God has used Bart and his skills as a life-long entrepreneur to grow the ministry through partnerships around the globe. Today over 80,000 families in more than 65 countries have access to safe drinking water right in their own home - and hundreds of thousands have heard the gospel message and been introduced to the “Living Water” of Jesus Christ.

Bart and his wife, Sissi, live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where the Filter of Hope headquarters is located. Sissi serves in the administrative department of the ministry. They have 3 beloved children and have 6 beautiful grandchildren.

Founder and CEO

Bart Smelley

Throughout his business career, Bart has traveled to many developing countries on international mission projects. During his travels he surveyed families living in abject poverty and became aware of the global water crisis - specifically, the fact that thousands of children die each week from drinking contaminated water. This heartbreaking discovery led to the design of a simple, household water filter that removes all harmful bacteria from polluted water sources.

In 2012, Bart felt God’s call to full-time missions and his passion for evangelism and providing clean drinking water to families in desperate need inspired him to start Filter of Hope. God has used Bart and his skills as a life-long entrepreneur to grow the ministry through partnerships around the globe. Today over 80,000 families in more than 65 countries have access to safe drinking water right in their own home - and hundreds of thousands have heard the gospel message and been introduced to the “Living Water” of Jesus Christ.

Bart and his wife, Sissi, live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where the Filter of Hope headquarters is located. Sissi serves in the administrative department of the ministry. They have 3 beloved children and have 6 beautiful grandchildren.

International Staff

Edgar René Arellano
Country Director:
Costa Rica

Heredia, Costa Rica

Cerbin Vargas
Country Director:
Panama

Panama City, Panama

Derrick Pitts
Country Director: Belize

Belize City, Belize


International Partners

Rony LaRose - Haiti Ministry Coordinator

Bossuet Lexius - Haiti Ministry Coordinator

Daniel Augustin - Haiti Ministry Coordinator

Filter of Hope Board Members

Dr. Bony Barrineau - Board Member / Medical Director

Bony is a retired orthopedic surgeon. Raised in a small town in Alabama, Bony, which is his given name dreamed of becoming a doctor. He attended Medical School at the University of Alabama and practiced for 39 years. He has been involved in Filter of Hope since its inception and has traveled to many countries. His education and passion for microbiology, health and serving the poor makes him a valuable part of the Filter of Hope board and team. He and his wife Robbie have 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

Steve Hillis - Board Chairman

Steve is the CEO of Empower Partners and has over 32 years experience in developing sales organizations by recruiting, training and managing sales teams. Steve is an expert in business turn-around, strategic planning, sales force structure and national account programs. Steve is committed to using his God given talents to do Kingdom work. Steve resides in Canton, GA with his wife, Ann Gladden Hillis. He and Ann have 3 sons and 2 beautiful grandchildren.

Dr. Jerry Palmer - Board Member

Jerry grew up as the son of a Baptist preacher. He studied medicine at the University of Akron and Ohio State Medical School. After his Oncology Fellowship, Jerry served in the US Navy before starting his own practice in 1980. Dr. Palmer has served as the Medical Director for the Northport Medical Center and the VP of Medical Affairs for the DCH Health Systems. Dr. Palmer has a love of the ocean and sailing and spends a lot of time on his boat. He and his wife Mary Etta live on a farm and raise livestock, chickens and ducks.

Todd Cowart - Board Member

Todd is the Senior Accountant and Chief Financial Officer for Steve Richardson & Company, PC. His focus of practice is Small Business and Individual Taxation and is the Director of our Nonprofit/Church Auditing and Consulting Practice. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama Accounting Program and has been with the firm since 1997. He has a beautiful wife, Aimee, and three children. Todd serves as worship leader at Northport Baptist Church and is involved in several local charities and activities.

Louise Price - Board Member

Louise began her connection with Filter of Hope when she traveled on a mission trip with FOH to Haiti and the Dominican Republic in 2011. She continued to reflect on this experience and years later found herself wanting to get more involved. She began working for FOH and helped create the initial Kids’ Clean Water Curriculum. She has a heart for culture, diversity, the nations, and spreading the good news of Jesus which is what has connected her deeply to the mission and vision of Filter of Hope. She teaches Spanish in Mountain Brook, Alabama, and is involved in various community and charitable organizations. Louise and her husband, Bradford, have three children.

Ron Buck - Board Advisor

Ron is the son of a sharecropper in Tennessee and lived and worked on the farm until he joined the US Navy until 1973. Ron graduated with a degree in Agri-Business and Marketing from Austin Peay University. Ron formed Ronald D. Buck Inc. and specializes in real estate acquisitions and rehabilitation of underperforming assets. Ron took his first mission trip in 1987 to Zimbabwe and developed a huge heart for those living in poverty. Ron helped create a mission organization in Zambia Africa called Mufutuli Ministries which consists of an orphanage, school and farm. He currently lives with his wife of 49 years, Mary and their son EJ on a beautiful farm on the Harpeth River in Franklin, Tennessee.

Vicky Patterson - Board Member Emeritus

Vicky worked in the corporate world for over 20 years before returning to college. She received her Masters Degree in Economics from Middle Tennessee State. She worked at the Center for Economic Education at MTS before moving to Nashville to teach Micro and Macro Economics at Belmont University. Vicky has traveled extensively teaching families living in poverty how to start sustainable small businesses. She was instrumental in the formation of Filter of Hope and now resides in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bart Smelley - Board Member / Founder and CEO

Bio Above

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Filter of Hope (FOH) is committed to being a good steward of our resources to maintain the trust and confidence of donors and partners. One way we can do this is by protecting any personal information that you entrust to us.

Information We Collect

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FOH uses your information to understand your needs and provide you with better service. We may use your information to complete a transaction, issue you an income tax receipt for a donation, or to personalize our website for you. If you agree to be contacted, we may also use this information to update you on projects and activities. Credit card numbers are used only for donation or payment processing of merchandise purchased on our website and are not retained for any other purposes.

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FOH never sells, rents, leases, or exchanges your personal information with other organizations or groups. The identity of all who contact us through this site are kept confidential. Use of personal information will be limited to the internal purposes of FOH and only to further our projects, activities and purposes.

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FOH is committed to ensuring the security of your personal information. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the proper use of information, we have established and implemented appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. FOH uses DigiCert’s Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Protocol when collecting or transferring sensitive data such as credit card information. Any information you enter is encrypted at your browser, sent over the public Internet in encrypted form, than de-encrypted on a secure server.

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Mandy Greer

Mandy Greer, a devoted Filter of Hope office team member, finds purpose in contributing to positive change. Alongside her husband, Michael, and their son, Brayden, Mandy is part of a faith-filled family. Her enthusiasm for impactful work reflects a commitment to making a difference in the world, fueled by her deep love for Jesus Christ.

Dave Worman

Dave’s background includes executive leadership roles in areas of marketing, customer care and leadership development and 30 years as an international motivational speaker and presenter. He spent 10 years as a Public Relations Manager for NFL players, responsible for their public appearances, various forms of media contact, and negotiating contracts with major football shoe corporations. After recently retiring Dave felt Gods call to ministry and joined Filter of Hope where he will serve in the area of donor relationships and assist the CEO with special presentations. Dave lives in Brandon, Mississippi with his wife Kathy and close to their 2 grown children and 4 wonderful grandchildren.

Jill Bauer

Jill and Dan met through Cru at Eastern Michigan University in 1985. Over the past 30 plus years they have raised four awesome kids, built a thriving business, served in various areas of their local churches, and have helped lead many campus and church mission trips. They are blessed to serve the Lord with Filter of Hope leading trips and working on special projects from their home near Austin, Texas.

Dan Bauer

Dan and Jill met through Cru at Eastern Michigan University in 1985. Over the past 30 plus years they have raised four awesome kids, built a thriving business, served in various areas of their local churches, and have helped lead many campus and church mission trips. They are blessed to serve the Lord with Filter of Hope leading trips and working on special projects from their home near Austin, Texas.

Brenda Russell

Brenda served as a Children’s Pastor for 25 years and upon retirement, she and her husband, Paul, moved to Gadsden, Alabama. They have two adult sons and four grandchildren: Reagan, Cohen, Olivia, and Charlie. Brenda remains passionate about Children’s Ministry and has a heart to serve, encourage and inspire Children’s Pastors. She believes kids can make a difference and loves showing them how, through Filter of Hope's Kids' Clean Water Project, they can have a tangible impact on the global water crisis and share the good news of Jesus with kids just like them.

Wendy Elrod

Wendy and her husband Geoff live in Gordo, AL where he is the pastor at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. They have 1 son, Jacob, who is an engineer in Dallas, TX. Wendy loves serving the Filter of Hope team in her role at our headquarters. She and her husband are also looking forward to participating in future Filter of Hope mission trips where they will be able to help share the gospel and clean water with those in desperate need of both.

Don Johnson

Don has a background in engineering and, after 25 years on church staff, he spent 15 years as a corporate sales manager. With Filter of Hope since its inception, he brings a wide range of experiences to bear. Don directs our sales efforts as well as our partnerships with churches and other missions organizations. He lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with his wife Christy. They have 2 adult children and 2 grandchildren.