Nancy Thompson Mahler, Founder & President
Nancy Mahler founded Wananavu Kadavu~Water Project in 2009 in order to bring clean drinking water to rural villages of the Fiji Islands. The genesis of Wananavu Kadavu came while Nancy was visiting Kadavu Fiji in 2009. Through the friendships Nancy cultivated with villagers she learned that their greatest need is access to clean drinking water; and lack of access to safe drinking water is still a significant health concern.
With a life-long dedication to community service, Nancy has served as the President of the Utah Festival Opera Guild in Logan, Utah as well as volunteering with Summerfest, Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse (CAPSA), and the Salvation Army. Professionally, she brings the broad range of experience and skills needed to successfully manage and organize the day-to-day operations of Wananavu Kadavu including work in sales, administration, and customer service in retail, hospitality and banking industries as well as starting and managing her own business for over 13 years. In addition to spear heading the efforts of Wananavu Kadavu in Fiji, Nancy is a member of the Utah Holladay Rotary Club, Rotary where she stays involved in both local community and international service.
”In Fiji ‘wananavu’ means everything is good, Kadavu is the name of the island in Fiji where our water project became a reality,” explains Nancy. Wananavu Kadavu~Water Project is the perfect name for our water project, everything is good and we hope to help make it better.”
One village at a time, together we can…
Heinz J. Mahler, Co Founder
I was born in Heilbronn, Germany in 1953. My family immigrated to the United States in 1963. We came across the ocean from Bremerhafen to New York Harbor on a ship. Our family then drove from New York to Salt Lake City in a Ford Taunus that my father brought over from Germany. No one in the family spoke English.
I managed somehow to learn the English language and became a citizen in 1970. I graduated from Highland High School in Salt Lake City, Utah and then served an mission in Thailand for my church.
I attended the University of Utah, graduated with a degree in history and political science in 1979, and subsequently received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Utah in 1982.
I am married to Nancy Thompson Mahler. Between us, we have 9 children. I enjoy traveling with Nancy, taking photographs, and extensive reading on the beach. Nancy is president of Wananavu Kadavu, a non-profit corporation, whose goal is to bring fresh drinking water to small villages on the islands of the Fiji. I am a partner with the law firm of Kipp and Christian, P.C. My practice concentrates primarily on defending the trucking industry. I also handle cases dealing with construction defects and other defense litigation.
I am a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, the German American Society, the German American National Congress, and the Holladay Rotary Club.
http://www.kippandchristian.com/
Craig Jacobson, Vice President
Craig Jacobson has worked in the investment industry since 1994. Beginning as a broker dealer in Chicago, he moved to Denver and was hired at Janus Capital LLC in 1995. At Janus, he worked as an Investor Representative and Fixed Income Trader, and eventually as Analyst and Senior Analyst of the Money Market Division. He was promoted to Portfolio Manager in 2003, managing over the course of his career funds as large as $23 billion in assets. Craig left Janus in 2009 and now is a Portfolio Manager for Roads Capital LLC. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in Finance from the University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign. He also has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Kelly Wilson, Treasurer
Allred Jackson CPA’s
135 N 100 E
American Fork, UT 84003
Rebeca Bishop, Development Director
Rebeca Bishop has over ten years of experience as a project manager, strategist and consultant in the non-profit, financial services and publishing sectors in New York City. Among the organizations she has worked with are the International Fund for Animal Welfare, People for the American Way, Fortune, Standard & Poor’s, Royal Alliance, FSC, SagePoint Financial, MorganStanely and Seventh Generation. Passionate about environmental and sustainable development issues, she is a member of the Park Slope Food Coop as well local area environmental groups.
Kim Kohler, Secretary
Bio coming soon...
Serena Gene Martineau, Photographer & Special Project
I have always had a passionate love for art and photography. For the last 9 years I have been very fortunate to own my own businesses and do what I love. I have been very blessed and I strongly believe that because of my blessings, I have a large desire to “pay it forward.” I was able to travel to Fiji in spring 2010 and stay right in the village among the locals. It was a life changing experience and I was happy to be able to document the progress for Wananavu Kadavu. The water mission is a much needed cause to help insure a better and healthier life for the wonderful people of Fiji. I left Kadavu very humbled and grateful for the experience.
I currently live in St. George, Utah with my husband and 3 young sons. I continue to stay busy with my photography business and I hope to one day travel and use my skill to photograph and bring attention to the many people around the world who are needing the help of the outside world.
