Leon McLaughlin is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Clean Water Foundation. He is the founder and responsible for overall operations.
McLaughlin, a native of Cleveland, arrived in Seattle more than three decades ago. He worked on the staff adviser at the Paramount Theatre until the early-1990s, then landing at the Seattle Rep and investing a bit in real estate. By the mid-1990s, McLaughlin had another idea – selling coffee-making equipment in Canada. Soon, he was shuttling machines regularly from Seattle to Vancouver.
The coffee business, combined with trips to various locations around the globe, got McLaughlin interested in one of the key ingredients to coffee – safe, clean water. McLaughlin was struck by how much of the world didn’t have reliable supply of safe water, whether for drinking, cooking, or even brewing coffee.
McLaughlin saw a compelling global need for safe, clean water. He started researching the issue, finally signing up for online courses from Sacramento State University in California to get a degree in water management. From there, he created his own company, the LAM, LLC, (the name drawn from McLaughlin’s initials and the predecessor to the Clean Water Foundation) to deliver water to developing countries and areas hit by natural disasters such as floods or hurricanes.
McLaughlin came up with an approach elegant in its simplicity. Like a child’s Lego® set, McLaughlin envisioned a water purification system that could be snapped together like the plastic blocks, not dependent upon written instructions, that could be assembled and put into operations anywhere in the world. He identified US manufacturers of purification equipment, piping, water bags for storage, and individual containers so children could get fresh, clean water at a school or hospital and take it back to their families.
Leon McLaughlin is a man of many interests and many parts. He likes to travel, often to far-flung parts of the world. He loves the arts, especially music and theater. By day, he runs a shoeshine stand in a Seattle office tower. By night, he spends his time working on his passion – bringing clean water to the world.
Leon McLaughlin is a passionate, visionary leader, a man with a compelling story to tell. So Leon has been telling his story. The Seattle Times has written about him several times. His story has been carried by the wire services around the country. KING 5 News has broadcast stories about Leon’s efforts. And NBC Nightly News (January 9, 2009), featured Leon’s trip to Bolivia as part of its special series on people “Making a Difference”.
KOMO News “Heroes story” by Eric
http://komonews.com/news/erics-heroes/erics-heroes-leon-mclaughlin-the-shoe-shine-guy
My America on FOX News
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4665440410001/
NBC Making a difference