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.
U.S. Staff
Lisa Santee
Community of Hope Director & Ministry Coordinator
Noblesville, Indiana
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International Staff
Mario Carvajal
FOH Co-Director
San José, Costa Rica
José Luis Castillo
FOH Church Partnership Director
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Gilles Durand
FOH Operations Director
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Mario Miranda
FOH Co-Director
San José, Costa Rica
Julio Quiroz
FOH Director
Belize City, Belize
Cerbin Vargas
FOH Director
Panama City, Panama & Antigua, Guatemala
María Elana Vásquez
FOH Ministry Coordinator
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Unreached People Groups (UPG) Staff
* Some names and photos have been altered for security purposes
Jacob Bashia
FOH Director
Bangladesh
Rt. Revd Jackson Aripa Gabriel
FOH Director
South Sudan
David Ibrahim
FOH Regional Director
Pakistan
Iram Javaid
FOH Regional Director
Pakistan
Lotus Marwadi
FOH Regional Director
India
Quentin Ngamo
FOH Director
Cameroon
Sai Nipuna
FOH Staff
Thailand
Chandan Poon
FOH Director
Nepal
Sila Prauthen
FOH Director
Laos
Peter Rao
FOH Regional Director
India
Gill Sahib
FOH Regional Director
Pakistan
Borin Touch
FOH Director
Cambodia
Mooh Wonglewi
FOH Co-Director
Thailand
Pai Wonglewi
FOH Co-Director
Thailand
International Partners
Odwar Acevedo - Partnership Director - Belmopan, Belize
Jacobis Aldana - Partnership Director - Santa Marta, Colombia
Arnie Andino - Partnership Director - La Paz, Honduras
Daniel Augustin - Partnership Coordinator - Haiti
Evelyn Cevallos - Partnership Coordinator - Ecuador
Clint Coyan - Partnership Director - Ecuador
Marcelo Diez - Partnership Director - Baní, Dominican Republic
José Escobar - Partnership Director - Cartagena, Colombia
Oscar Fuentes - Partnership Director - Pasaco, Guatemala
Rony LaRose - Partnership Coordinator - Haiti
Bossuet Lexius - Partnership Coordinator - Haiti
Juanpi Mul - Partnership Director - Punta Chame, Panama
Jim Murphy - Partnership Co-Director - El Yoro, Honduras
Sandra Murphy - Partnership Co-Director - El Yoro, Honduras
Samuel Pabon - Partnership Director - Las Juntas, Costa Rica
Olter Peréz - Partnership Co-Director - Dominican Republic
Javier Pico - Partnership Coordinator - Ecuador
Otto Salcedo - Partnership Director - Barranquilla, Colombia
Heather Sánchez - Partnership Co-Director - Puebla, Mexico
Victor Sánchez - Partnership Co-Director - Puebla, Mexico
Samuel Sierra - Partnership Director - Zambrano, Honduras
Giselle Soto de Peréz - Partnership Co-Director - Dominican Republic
Rodrigo Wave - Partnership Director - La Libertad, El Salvador
Kim Weiler - Partnership Director - Guazacapán, Guatemala
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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Copyright © 2024 Filter of Hope
Filter of Hope is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Filter of Hope is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
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