Our People Make the Difference
BORDA Directorate
Judith Ringlstetter
Executive Director BORDA
Joining BORDA in 2017, Judith brings an excellent background as a banking officer and also acts as HR Manager. She holds a Master of Law and Business and speaks four languages.
Pedro Kraemer
Regional Director Las Américas Mexico City, Mexico
Pedro coordinates BORDA’s regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean. With a team of 30 staff members and a strong partner network, he aims at fostering the development and dissemination of integrated, decentralised water and sanitation solutions. He has been with BORDA since 2001.
Stanzin Tsephel
Regional Director South Asia Bangalore, India
Stanzin is responsible for the implementation and administration of all BORDA South Asia operations. For over 10 years his work has focused on the environment and poverty, working with organisations such as Stockholm Environment Institute, International Water Management Institute, Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society in Bangalore, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG), and the Government of Uttaranchal, India. He has an M.B.A from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) and a Master degree in Environment Change and Management from University of Oxford, England. He joined BORDA in 2012.
Frank Fladerer
Regional Director Southeast Asia Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Frank coordinates the implementation of BORDA’s regional portfolio with country and partner offices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam as well as the AIT-BORDA Hub in Bangkok. A current focus of his work is the management of urban waters as a contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and realising the New Urban Agenda. He has been with BORDA since 2003.
Alexander Miller
Regional Director Africa Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Since 2020 Alex is Regional Director for Africa, responsible for the program activities and facilitates a constantly growing partner network within Africa. He and his Team in the BORDA-Offices in Tanzania, Zambia, Lesotho, Mali and South Africa are specialised in integrated decentralised sanitation solutions in the fields of wastewater, sludge and solid waste management. Before, he was Regional Director for WesCA. He has been with BORDA since 2009.
David Dietz
Country Director Indonesia Yogyakarta, Indonesia
David manages BORDA’s country programmes in Indonesia.
Localising the SDGs by piloting the Integrated Sanitation Approach is at the centre of his mission. Prior to this role, David was BORDA Country Director for Cambodia and Myanmar where the upscaling of School Based Sanitation Projects was one of his priorities.
Localising the SDGs by piloting the Integrated Sanitation Approach is at the centre of his mission. Prior to this role, David was BORDA Country Director for Cambodia and Myanmar where the upscaling of School Based Sanitation Projects was one of his priorities.
BORDA Staff
A small rotating sample featuring members of our 400+ global team
Torsten Schwentuchowski
Head of Administration, Support and Infrastructure Bremen, Germany
As one of BORDA’s longest serving employees, Torsten knows BORDA and its people very well. He ensures the good performance of the offices in Bremen and Berlin, and regional offices make use of his background as well. He has been with BORDA since 2002.
Ali Jelal
Senior Project Engineer Erbil, KRI
Ali is responsible for managing all DEWATS projects from initial feasibility studies, design and tendering through to the supervision of final construction works. He is also overseeing technical coordination and support between our KRI country office and the WesCA regional office in Amman. He has been with BORDA since February 2015.
Delia Pensulo
Head of Administrative and Finance Department Lusaka, Zambia
Delia is in charge of all administrative and finance-related tasks in the Zambia office as well as the supervision of administrative staff and the management of office logistics. Her smooth running of the BORDA Zambia office, ensures that the rest of the team is free to concentrate on project activities. She joined BORDA in September 2017.
Abdul Qayoum
Project Engineer Kabul, Afghanistan
Abdul is responsible for conducting feasibility studies, creating technical designs and supervising construction of decentralised wastewater treatment systems in Afghanistan. He also conducts trainings on DEWATS construction, operation and maintenance for various project stakeholders. He has been with BORDA since 2012.
Margaret Zulu
Social Coordinator Lusaka, Zambia
Margaret is in charge of all social interventions including stakeholder management, activity planning, and implementation. She has extensive knowledge of the water and sanitation sector and its key players from governmental institutions, national and international NGOs, and the private sector in Zambia—a perfect fit to represent BORDA in various stakeholder meetings. She joined BORDA in 2017.
Aubrey Simwambi
Senior Engineer and Head of Project Department Lusaka, Zambia
Aubrey is responsible for the content and quality of all technical works as well as the supervision of technical and social staff. Due to his knowledge and his kind personality, Aubrey is known and valued in the Zambian water and sanitation sector, and is the heart of the BORDA Zambia office. He joined BORDA in 2013.
Zeina Annab
Country Director Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Zeina Annab has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Carleton University, Canada. Ms. Annab is the Country Director of the Bremen Overseas Research Development Association (BORDA) Jordan Office. In her current position, Ms. Annab oversees important environmental and infrastructure programs such as Sanitation Solutions for Underserved Communities in Jordan which is among the most innovative in the country with its use to green infrastructure.
Tariq Sharefy
Admin & HR Manager Kabul, Afghanistan
Tariq is responsible for BORDA Afghanistan’s administrative and human resources management department. He supports our operations by supervising staff as well as planning, organizing and implementing administrative systems. He has been with BORDA since 2016.
Hendra Gupta
Project Manager Bangkok, Thailand
Hendra is responsible for managing the Regenerative Sanitation Hub project, a collaboration between BORDA and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. He aims to establish a testing centre for decentralised wastewater treatment products and to promote a decentralised approach to wastewater management in the region. He joined BORDA in 2017.
Jacob Woelki
Country Director BORDA Mali Bamako, Mali
Jacob has headed our office in Bamako, Mali since August 2019. The Mali team focuses on driving change in the sanitation sector by scaling up the combined expertise and issue ownership of local private, public and community stakeholders. BORDA Mali also implements innovative approaches to food security through a trusted partner network in Mali’s conflict-ridden central and northern zones. Jacob was previously a project manager for BORDA Tanzania and holds an MSc in International Land and Water Management from Wageningen UR.
Saman Khalil
Site Engineer Erbil, KRI
Saman is responsible for conducting DEWATS feasibility studies and compiling the collected data. He supervises construction, provides progress reports, oversees stakeholder coordination, engages in capacity building, and supports our regional office in Amman as a communication focal point. He has been with BORDA since May 2017.
Lloyd Govender
Candidate Civil Engineer Durban, South Africa
Lloyd is responsible for project management and technical design. He supports the conceptualization, design, and planning of decentralized wastewater treatment systems, and he specialises in partnership and relationship development. He has been with BORDA since 2017.
Alvin Anderson
Office Administrator Durban, South Africa
Alvin is responsible for coordinating financial administration, assisting with project steering and reporting, supporting knowledge and content management, and liaising with Bremen HQ. After a year in Bremen working for econtur gGmbh as part of the South-North weltwärts Bremen volunteer programme, he joined BORDA in 2018.
Farid Safi
Technical Director Kabul, Afghanistan
Farid manages BORDA Afghanistan’s technical engineering and urban planning departments. He also provides support in the conceptualization, planning and detailed designing of decentralised wastewater treatment systems and faecal sludge treatment plants. He has been with BORDA since 2015.
Angela Kapembwa
Civil Engineer Lusaka, Zambia
Angela is responsible for BORDA’s M&E and R&D related activities in Zambia. She also supports technical design tasks, provides technical support to Zambian regulatory authorities in the development of national by-laws, regulations and standards for sanitation, and she supports the development of training materials for capacity-building in Zambia. She joined BORDA in August 2017.
Farshid Saljuqy
Country Director Kabul, Afghanistan
Farshid is responsible for the leadership and management of BORDA Afghanistan following the strategic direction set by the organisation. He ensures that our operation meets the expectations of its clients and provides quality services for people in Afghanistan. He has been with BORDA since 2014.
Alex Wolf
Regional Coordinator South Asia, West- Central Asia Bremen, Germany
Alex is regional coordinator for South Asia as well as for West- and Central Asia (WESCA) at HQ. He is responsible for regional backstopping of the BMZ programs as well as for current projects with international organisations and donors such as Oxfam and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). Furthermore, As part of the HQ team, Alex supports the organisational development of internal processes.
Laura Biright-Davies
County Director BORDA Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Since January 2020, Laura has managed the BORDA office in Tanzania. Laura and her team are specialised in city-wide and inclusive urban environmental sanitation, particularly decentralised solutions for wastewater, solid waste and faecal sludge management in rapidly growing urban contexts. Laura holds two postgraduate Master degrees – in Architecture (MA) and Urban Management (MSc) – and previously worked at BORDA Tanzania as a project coordinator and city sanitation planning advisor. She joined BORDA in 2014.
Pham Thi Hai Yen
Country Director BORDA Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam
Hai Yen manages BORDA Vietnam’s cooperation programmes and project office operations. That includes controlling project funds and coordinating BORDA’s activities with local partners, donors, and government agencies. Her role is to inspire all relevant stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector towards the implementation of DEWATS and the Integrated Sanitation Approach. She joined BORDA in 2008.
Laura Roig Senge
BORDA Zambia Project Manager, BORDA Africa Regional Advisor Lusaka, Zambia
Laura has a dual role, working at both country and regional levels. In the Zambia office, Laura is in charge of annual work, budget and time planning and controlling, organisational development, stakeholder management, and quality control. As BORDA Africa Regional Advisor, she supports the BORDA Africa team with project planning, controlling and evaluation activities. She joined BORDA in 2015.
Jane Junkert
Project Finance & Project Controlling Bremen, Germany
In our Bremen HQ, Jane is responsible for keeping the knowledge, skills and motivation of our employees in line with BORDA's mission and in a good working environment. In compliance with legal requirements and funding guidelines, this includes contract management, support in personnel planning and HR development as well as internal and external communication. She joined BORDA in 1999.
Mohammed Noor
Country Director Erbil, KRI
Mohammad represents BORDA towards partner organisations and Iraqi government agencies in legal, administrative and financial terms. He is also responsible for conveying BORDA’s goals and interests to German and other international development organisations in Iraq/KRI.
Bounchan Khamphilayvong
Country Director Laos Vientiane, Laos
Bounchan coordinates the BORDA Laos project office, promoting the holistic management of urban waters through capacity development and the implementation and dissemination of integrated approaches for polycentric urban water management. This includes DEWATS service packages, decentralized solid waste management (DESWAM) and faecal sludge management (FSM). He joined BORDA in 2009.
Mang Opasith
Country Director Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Opasith manages BORDA’s country programmes in Cambodia. He manages the pilot Integrated Sanitation Approach in Kratie and promotes DEWATS in Cambodia. Opasith joined BORDA in 2014 and has been country director since January 2020.
Günther Klatte
Country Director Nicaragua Managua, Nicaragua
In February 2014, Gunther started working with BORDA with a Nicaraguan colleague by setting up a small office at the State University of Engineering (UNI) in Managua.BORDA de Nicaragua, in cooperation with the regional office in Mexico, primarily wants to develop comprehensive solutions and integrated concepts for water, wastewater and energy and also to implement integrated solutions in practice. The Borda office is also the base of the national water and wastewater network (RASNIC), in which Borda was also elected to the board in 2019 for two years.
| 2019 | FSM5 Conference |
| 2018 | World Urban Forum 9 |
| 2017 | 40 Years BORDA |
| IWA Development Conference | |
| Establishment of City Sanitation Alliance | |
| FSM4 Conference | |
| 2016 | New Urban Agenda |
| 2015 | UN Agenda 2030 and SDGs |
| Opening of BORDA Las Américas office in Mexico City | |
| 2012 | FSM1 - 1st Faecal Sludge Management Conference in Durban |
| 2011 | Opening of BORDA West & Central Asia office in Kabul (now in Amman) |
| IWA: Development Solutions Award Practice for BORDA | |
| 2006 | Opening of BORDA Africa office in Maseru (now in Dar es Salaam) |
| 2001 | Opening of BORDA South Asia office in Bangalore |
| 2000 | Millenium Development Goals |
| 1992 | Earth Summit - Agenda 21 in Rio de Janeiro |
| 1988 | Southeast Asia - BORDA’s first regional office in Indonesia |
| 1981 | 1st UN Water Decade |
| 1979 | 1st international biogas workshop |
| 1977 | Our founding 07.07.1977 |
