Draft:George S. McGraw

  • Comment: We'd need one or two more independent sources that discuss George in detail (NOT interviews.) Qcne (talk) 15:45, 17 April 2024 (UTC)

George McGraw
McGraw in 2018.
Born (1986-10-23) October 23, 1986 (age 38)
Lake Forest, Illinois, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationLoyola University Chicago, United Nations Mandated University for Peace
Websitewww.digdeep.org

George McGraw (born October 23, 1986) is the founder and current CEO of the non-profit DigDeep.[1] He also serves as Vice President of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.[2] McGraw is co-author of the first national report on water and sanitation access Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States.[3][4]

DigDeep

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McGraw founded the nonprofit WASH organization DigDeep in 2011 to improve access to water and sanitation in rural South Sudan and Cameroon.[5][6]

McGraw shifted DigDeep's focus to the United States in 2013 with the founding of its Navajo Water Project. The organization is now solely focused on bringing hot and cold running water and working toilets to the approximately 2.2 million Americans who still don’t have them.[6][7] McGraw credits the shift to a 2013 phone call with a donor who refused to support his work in Africa until he agreed to visit a small Navajo community without running water in Southwest New Mexico.[8]

Personal life

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McGraw is queer and was closeted until his late 20s, an experience he describes as having "led [him] to be more empathetic with others who were facing insurmountable challenges."[9]

References

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  1. ^ Leah, Willingham (June 28, 2022). "Report: Lack of water access costs U.S. $8.6B each year". The Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Richard Katz elected President and George McGraw Elected Vice President of L.A. Board of Water and Power Commissioners". LADWP. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. ^ "When it comes to access to clean water, race is still strongest determinant, report says". NBC. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Meet The Entrepreneur Who Is Closing America's Water Gap". Forbes. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  5. ^ Sullivan Hill, Maura (2018-04-01). "Opening the Floodgates". Loyola University Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  6. ^ a b "The DigDeep Story". DigDeep Righ to Water Project. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  7. ^ Dodge, Blake (2019-11-18). "More Than 2 Million Americans Living Without Clean Water, New Report Shows". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  8. ^ Gifford, Bill (2020-12-01). "Monumental Effort: On the Navajo reservation, a tiny nonprofit is bringing life-giving water to the Indigenous people hardest hit by the pandemic". RedBull. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  9. ^ Gifford, Bill (2020-12-01). "Monumental Effort: On the Navajo reservation, a tiny nonprofit is bringing life-giving water to the Indigenous people hardest hit by the pandemic". RedBull. Retrieved 2024-04-25.