Janet has lived most of her life in the Washington DC area, and currently lives on a small farm on the outskirts of the city. She grew up in a Midwestern and Polish household, where she learned skills as varied as teaching, sewing and music, and gained powerful educational and religious values. Twenty years after graduating from college and teaching English and French, Janet pursued two Masters degrees, one in theology and one in pastoral counseling. She also obtained a certificate in spiritual direction.
Janet is a recently retired ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. She was one of the main organizers and founders of an Episcopal church in Darnestown, Maryland, which is still successful twenty years later. She has also served as the president of several civic associations and her PTA.
As Amman Imman’s first and most substantial contributor, Janet has been a dedicated member of the organization since its origins. It is thanks to Janet’s initial donation that Amman Imman: Water is Life began operating in the Azawak. Amman Imman’s first borehole built in the village of Tangarwashane is named the “Janet Cornelius Borehole” in honor of Janet.
As one that has responded and acted to help the people of the Azawak, Janet now considers herself a means of connecting those in need of water with people who can and do respond. She finds this work particularly fulfilling and is determined to continue helping to make these connections and bring water to the Azawak.
Janet’s motivation to help the Azawak and be a member of the Board of Directors is based on her deeply rooted humanitarian and spiritual values. Janet brings her clarity and empathy as a great spiritual leader to the Board. She also shares her expertise through her background in education and her many years as a pastor, chaplain, counselor, and community organizer. She hopes to reach as many people as possible, particularly children, with the message that all, no matter how old or young, can give life and create long lasting change for our brothers and sisters in the Azawak.

Debra Kahn founded Wells of Love, the service-learning component of Amman Imman, upon meeting Ariane Kirtley in October, 2006. Deeply moved by Ariane’s plea to save the lives of the people of the Azawak by bringing them water, Debbie’s own life took a new direction. She began uniting Montessori schools after Ariane presented Amman Imman at a Montessori conference where many schools made commitments to be part of the project. Writing blog posts that shared stories between the schools, conducting weekly conferences calls, organizing collaborative fundraising campaigns such as A Walk for Water, and using social networking tools such as YouTube and Facebook, Debbie led the growth of the school’s movement from 10 schools in 2006 to over 50 schools in the Spring of 2009. Debbie traveled to the Azawak with the Amman Imman team in February 2009, conducting a “Friendship Exchange” that connected over 200 children in America with their African brothers and sisters. It was then that Debbie made the decision to follow her passion to provide an opportunity for students to bring real change to the world as compassionate philanthropists. She left her position as associate director of a Montessori school and began working as Amman Imman Associate Director and Wells of Love Program Director full-time.
Debbie contributes 17 years of educational and administrative experience to Amman Imman: Water is Life and the Wells of Love program. A skilled educator and communicator through her former work as teacher and associate director, Debbie brings expertise in organizational management, systems thinking, leadership skills and employee supervision. Debbie is also a writer, poet and big picture thinker. Through the Wells of Love program, Debbie embraces possibility and implements practical action, providing a venue for students around the world to engage in grassroots activism that changes lives.

Debbie is no stranger to following her heart. She received her Montessori teaching certification in 1992, after working as a computer programmer in the biotech and banking industries for 14 years. At age 50, she went back to college, earning her B.A. in Education from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont in 2007.

Ariane's name mirrors her roots, planted firmly on three continents: Kirtley the American born, Ariane the daughter of a French mother and Alzhara, "desert flower" in Arabic, signaling that she blossomed in Africa, the continent she loves above all others.

Ariane crossed the Sahara Desert for the first time when she was six months old -- in a basket tied to the back seat of her family's Land-Cruiser. From those earliest months until she turned ten, her home was in Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Niger.

A 2001 graduate of Yale University, in 2004 she also earned her Masters in Public Health from Yale. In summer of 2003, she returned to Niger to intern for CARE International on a breastfeeding promotion initiative. Further investigation into health issues in Niger culminated in her Master's thesis on the subject for Yale.

In May of 2004 Ariane was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to return to Niger in order to research the special needs of women and minority ethnic populations in the Sahel with regard to hygiene and sanitation.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Ariane traveled to the pastoral region of the Azawak, Niger's most remote and abandoned region. In the Azawak, Ariane discovered the most vulnerable populations of her travels throughout West Africa. She had never before witnessed an area with so few resources and infrastructure, where individuals live on the brink of disaster on a daily basis due to circumstances beyond their control. Most importantly, what she found in the Azawak were people literally dying of thirst because they had no access to water. Ariane has devoted her life to improving the living conditions of this region by founding Amman Imman: Water is Life, whose mission is to build permanent water sources, thereby significantly improving the lives of 500,000 adults and children among one of the most vulnerable populations in the world.

Joyce grew up in Connecticut and has lived in the Connecticut shoreline area for over 25 years. Joyce has worked in the travel industry ever since she earned her degree at the Business Program Travel Institute in 1974. She has also extensive training in marketing and business.

A successful businesswoman and entrepreneur, Joyce opened her own travel business in 1981, naming it Preferred Travel. She still runs this business today, offering her clients specialty cruises across the globe, for which she serves as both designer and guide.

Joyce has held both a philanthropic and compassionate spirit for the world’s most vulnerable throughout her life and long business career. She was a foster mother to over 43 teenagers during the course of 8 years, as well as served on the Board of Child & Family Services. Upon traveling through Nepal and Tibet, she has “adopted” a family there and has sponsored 2 Tibetan sisters to relocate from Nepal to the US.

Joyce has been an active member and supporter of Amman Imman: Water is Life ever since program activities began in 2006. She has done everything from organizing fundraising events to offering her plane travel miles so that Amman Imman staff could travel for free. Joyce has continuously demonstrated her undying dedication and commitment to the children of the Azawak. As a member of the Amman Imman: Water is Life Board of Directors, she offers her marketing and business expertise, as well as her perseverance to help raise money and awareness for some of the most vulnerable populations on earth.