Staff

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COFOUNDER: Justin Henriques holds a PhD and MS in systems engineering, a masters in Urban and Environmental Planning (MUEP), a BS in applied science, and a BA in philosophy. He was a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow from 2008-2011, and a fellow in the University of Virginia's Interdisciplinary Water Resources and Contaminant Hydrology Program from 2007-2008. Justin is the cofounding Executive Director of LOTI, a nonprofit development organization with work in east Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. His areas of specialization are distributed energy and water systems for developing communities.

Environmental Engineer (E.I.T.): Ben Foster graduated from the University of Virginia majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering and minoring in Engineering Business. Ben has previously worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and worked with student organization at UVa called the Nicaraguan Orphan Fund that partners with an NGO, OrphaNetwork, to support a handful of orphanages and low income communities in Nicaragua.

 

Current Professional Volunteers

Judy Jaeger has worked as a research assistant, an administrative assistant and as a database administrator over the years in Vermont, Florida and Virginia. In addition, she has been volunteering at various local non-profits: United Way, Women's Health Virginia, Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA; and for the city school system.

Will Schnorr currently works as an energy consultant for a Charlottesville engineering firm. His work involves the optimization of building energy systems and their impact on energy costs. Will is currently pursuing an M.E. in Sustainable Energy Engineering from the University of Maryland; As an undergraduate student at James Madison University Will worked with LOTI through the JMU affiliate program on his capstone project, which involved the research and demonstration of biogas digesters as a sustainable energy source for villages in Western Kenya. In the summer of 2009 Will traveled with LOTI to Namawanga, Kenya to provide technical support and training on the design, construction, and use of biogas for cooking applications.

David Clark currently works as structural Engineer-in-Training at Pinnacle Engineering in Charlottesville, VA. He has extensive experience in design of concrete and steel building superstructures. David has worked with LOTI for the redesign of the biogas digestor installed in Kenya.

Carissa Henriques is a Visiting Professor of art at Mary Baldwin University. She received her BA from James Madison University in Graphic Design and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Design: Visual Communication. Carissa designs all of LOTI's graphic media.

Past and Present Interns

INTERN ('10): Isaac Hulvey is a senior Integrated Science and Technology major at James Madison University. He is concentrating within this major in Environmental Science and Information/Knowledge Management and will graduate with an Environmental Information Systems minor. Isaac has worked in web design as a contractor for two years at Immerge Technologies, Inc. For his senior thesis, Isaac is researching a producer gas generation system for LOTI for applications in cooking and electricity generation.

INTERN ('09): Andrew Knopp is a senior Engineering Science and Mechanics major at Virginia Tech who is currently pursuing jobs in his field. He has chosen the solid mechanics option and will graduate with a mathematics minor. He has worked a number of summer internships and jobs including one with McQuay International, who produce industrial air-conditioning systems. In his senior design class, Andrew is also currently working on mobile vaccine refrigeration system for LOTI for a community on the northern coast of Kenya.

INTERN ('09-'10): Randy Smith is a MBA student at American University in Washington D.C.

About the Founders

LOTI was founded by Reed Barton and Justin Henriques in April 2005. Justin and Reed met on their first day as freshman at James Madison University in 2001. Their very first conversation was about the needs of the poor. Out of their passion about caring for the impoverished as a demonstration of Christ's love, the idea for LOTI was born. Their undergraduate education in an applied science degree originally equipped them with a necessary broad set of skills and knowledge pertaining to energy, water, and sanitation systems.