By Doug Smith

“I'm forever grateful for the guidance and confidence you gave me.”  

Danny Wright graduated with his Master’s degree in CSUMB’s Coastal and Watershed Science & Policy program (now called “Environmental Science”) in 2014.  His global impact since that time has been immense and personal. Danny founded “Gravity Water,” a non-profit with the singular goal of “…turning rainwater into safe drinking water for schools in need around the world.”

According to the World Health Organization hundreds of millions of people are without sufficient safe drinking water, leading to several 100,000 deaths each year. Danny’s life’s work is a vigorous response to this humanitarian crisis.  Under Danny’s leadership, Gravity Water has rapidly grown to thirty-one staff who coordinate rain water filtration projects in over 100 communities, serving over 35,000 school children and community members with safe, cheap, sustainable drinking water.  The process is simple and sustainable, needing virtually no external power sources (other than gravity!) to operate. Danny’s systems emulate the natural flow of water in the water cycle including gravity-driven filtration and storage, as occurs in natural groundwater systems.

A recent LinkedIn article, begins, “Last week, Executive Director Danny Wright found himself driving down a narrow dirt road on a windy mountain in Northern Vietnam.” The article describes his effort to bring safe drinking water to some rural kindergartens. Vietnam has a very wet climate, but the local drinking water supplies are often compromised by bacteria, parasites, agricultural chemicals, high mineral loads, and energy-hungry reverse osmosis systems that are commonly broken. The wet climate and high rainfall are all Danny needs to outfit communities and schools with his simple solution.  His water systems also eliminate the need for plastic water bottles and straws, which are a major source of water pollution around the world.

Danny reflects on his time at CSUMB, “You've each influenced me in such a huge way in regards to my path, giving me the skill sets I needed to pursue my life's work. I just wanted to express my gratitude and let you know your impact as a teacher travels very far in this world, and I'm forever grateful for the guidance and confidence you gave me.”  

Visit GravityWater.org to reach Danny or to see how you can support this groundbreaking effort.