MEET OUR TEAM

Sunny Forsyth
Chief Executive Officer

Sunny founded Abundant Water in 2008. In the years since he has been on the ground in project countries such as Laos and Nepal, refining filter systems and growing the social businesses.    

He is continually inspired by the human spirit’s capacity for practical creativity and to link across the world in order to overcome global obstacles.

Stuart Forsyth
Chairperson

Stuart was instrumental in founding Abundant Water in 2008 and is dedicated to developing a culture of innovation and enterprise. 

He trained in Zen Buddhism and Eastern medicine, works in Health Care and Conceptual Art, and has extensive experience in community organisations.

Yu (Grace) Mao
Treasurer

Grace is a Master of Economic Policy graduate from Australian National University. She has experience in financial management within a healthcare setting and audit experience in an accounting firm. She aligns closely with Abundant Water’s adaptive leadership approach, valuing continuous learning, initiative, and the ability to contribute and grow across diverse contexts.

Meanwhile, Grace enjoys hiking, travelling, and exploring the world. She also likes trying new recipes and values time spent engaging with nature.

Chris Draper
Director of Business Partnerships

Chris Draper was Abundant Water’s first Australian Volunteer and used to be our Program Supervisor in Timor-Leste, supporting the organisation’s growing presence in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. Today, Chris is back in Melbourne and he continues to share his experiences with current Abundant Water volunteers and Adaptive Edge trainees.

Paola Cerrato
Director of Volunteering

Paola's career spans more than twenty years in predominantly public service managerial appointments, but with a smattering of work in the corporate sector – including cyber. Currently, she is a Manager for Defence, specialising in strategic partnering and industry engagement, with an emphasis is on attracting people with diverse backgrounds to careers in security. Her experience is complemented by her master's and bachelor's degrees in politics and diplomatic studies, and specialised courses in public policy and leadership. Italian born, her interests beyond work include engagement with the Italian communities in Australia, the arts, fitness, glittering events management, travel and balancing her professional role with family commitments.

Justyn McDonald
Director of Communications

Justyn is a professional in the Disability services sector for over 30 years, specialising in leadership, quality management and communications.

Justyn is passionate about human connection, the environment, and sustainable development. Justyn is new to Abundant Water and is inspired by the strong mission and values it holds.

Sava Momcilovic
Director of Governance

Sava has degrees in urban and regional planning, geography and economics. He has extensive experience in public sector and private sector (top 100 ASX company) with work in policy, programs, investment planning with 10 year horizons, project development, project management and maintenance contracting for Australia wide infrastructure. He has experience with contributing to governance aspects to achieve good social and financial outcomes.

Jasmine van Raalte
Secretary

Jasmine holds a double degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Mandarin Chinese) from the Australian National University. She brings consulting experience across a range of projects, including work in the sustainability space and systems mapping. Inspired by Abundant Water’s mission, she is passionate about supporting the delivery of clean water alongside lasting social and environmental outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, painting and practicing yoga.

Ariah Holmes
Advisor to the Board

Ariah is an expert in volunteering, volunteer management and not for profit leadership. After three years of service as Director of Volunteering, Ariah now supports Abundant Water as an advisor to the board. With a Diploma in Leadership and Management, Ariah brings extensive knowledge of volunteer management best practice, National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, and strategic vision. She is passionate about inclusion, connection, sustainability and impact measurement.

Lucian Russ
Advisor to the Board

Lucian is a former Director of Communications at Abundant Water and is now an advisor to the Board. Lucian has spent 37 years working and learning including; delivering newspapers, supermarket shelf stacking, being a team member at McDonalds, residential aged care worker, owning a Wealth Management Practice and running an enterprise skills Not For-Profit in Cape Town, South Africa.

Lucian currently owns and operates his own Financial Planning firm, is Director of an investment company and Chairs the Board of a disability services provider.

Nathan Cammerman
Advisor to the Board

Nathan is the principal of Yew Investments, a progressive and established investment vehicle. It is a founding shareholder in a number of private, publicly unlisted and publicly ASX listed entities. With a moral philosophy of environmental, social governance at its core, it works with teams of start-ups across a range of industries including, but not limited to, the resource sector, environmental services, clean energy and information technology.

Yew Tree has a demonstrated track record in start-up, turnaround and rapid growth situations with a proven aptitude to identify and capitalise on unique opportunities.

Vaclav Rabas
Program Supervisor
Laos & Philippines

Vaclav joined the Abundant Water team in Laos in 2022. Following the smooth transition of the Laos program to local operations, he took on the role of Program Supervisor for both the Laos and Philippines programs.
With a master’s degree in Asian Studies and International Relations, Vaclav has dedicated over 7 years to working in Asia, focusing on project management and finance. His decision to join Abundant Water stems from his desire to share his skills and experience in the development sector.

Nukham
Local Social Entrepreneur

Nukham has been with us since the beginning in 2008.  She is a founding member of Abundant Water and our kiln master, and the years of pottery expertise she brings is invaluable. 

Nukham is married and has 2 children and 1 grandchild.

John Dashe

Program supervisor

John joined the Abundant Water team in 2025. Originally from Boston, he arrived in Timor-Leste in 2023 through a U.S. State Department Fulbright fellowship. After three years in the country working in diverse roles spanning education, public diplomacy, and business development, he was excited to join Abundant Water and fulfill a long-held ambition of working in international development. He is attracted to Abundant Water's mission and sustainable enterprise model, which sets it apart from traditional development organizations.

Olandino Pereira

Business Development Manager

Olandino is experienced in business development, sales and marketing, having previously worked for phone, beverage and print marketing companies in Timor-Leste. He has previously worked closely with small retailers in rural areas to improve their businesses by enhancing their community engagement focus to ensure greater product consumption and loyalty.

Marcos Gusmão

Stakeholder Relations
Coordinator

Marcos, who is from Baucau, completed his studies at the National University of Timor-Leste in 2011, having majored in Agronomy. Before joining Abundant Water in December 2020, Marcos worked in several agencies including the UN- FAO, GIZ, NCBA and PLAN VIVO. Marcos is motivated to work for Abundant Water because he is aware of how much the project helps people in rural areas in being able to consume clean water, and also because it has allowed him to develop his English and business skills.

Libania Freitas

Finance & Sales Officer

Libania, who is from Baucau, joined Abundant Water in February 2023 as a Network Officer. Libania had previously worked as a phone sales representative at VIVO Company, having completed her studies in Business at IOB University in Dili. 

About her role she says: "I'm proud to help people by improving the quality of their drinking water, and helping vendors to earn an income from selling the filters".