Gemma Bulos

Global Women’s Water Initiative • United States

Gemma Bulos is a multi-award-winning serial social entrepreneur (SocEnt) having launched three organizations in three continents. As the Founding Director of the Global Women’s Water Initiative, she trains grassroots women in Sub-Saharan Africa to become water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technicians, trainers and social entrepreneurs. GWWI was shortlisted for the Humanitarian Water and Food Award, and Gemma was named one of the Top 10 Water Solutions Trailblazers in the world by Reuters Foundation. Prior to stepping in to lead GWWI, Gemma co-founded A Single Drop for Safe Water, developing income-generating community-led water service organizations in disaster prone regions of the Philippines. For this innovation, Gemma received international accolades including Echoing Green as one of the Best Emerging SocEnts in the World; Best SocEnt in the Philippines by Ernst Young; Most Influential Thought Leader and Innovative Filipina in the United States by Filipina Women’s Network; and Best SocEnt in Asia by the Schwab Foundation with special recognition at the World Economic Forum. Her programs also won accolades from Silicon Valley Tech Museum Tech Award, sponsored by Applied Materials, and Warriors of the UN Millennium Goals, sponsored by Kodak Philippines. She has taught social entrepreneurship at Stanford University and is currently the Director of Social Innovation and Impact at Claremont McKenna College.