MARK STEELE
When you show off your work to former presidents, you’ve done good. And 1990 UNO graduate Mark Steele continues to do good every day. Steele was doing plenty good for himself after graduating, building an impressive career establishing Asia- Pacific operations for ITT, a leader in water and wastewater products and services. He eventually was named president of ITT China before becoming chief operating officer at Tele Atlas Asia-Pacific, a digital mapping subsidiary of TomTom. The experience that had the biggest impact on him, though, was leading ITT’s emergency response effort in Sri Lanka following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, bringing water purification systems to the affected areas. During the response, he showed the company’s work to former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. “I saw how important simple necessities, such as water, are to people,” Steele says. “For me, that was a life-changing moment. I wanted to go back and do more of that.” He did that, and then some. Over the next few years, Steele would develop his Aqua Tower — which can produce about 264 gallons of clean water per hour, enough to support the daily drinking habits of about 1,000 people. It can be installed in one day, is eco-friendly, and the simple-to-maintain filters can last from five to seven years. He also founded the nonprofit Planet Water Foundation, which today supports clean water for nearly 1 million people in disadvantaged communities in 12 countries.