Creative Mornings with Shilpa Alva

Shilpa Alva is the Founder and Executive Director of Surge for Water, a Chicago based nonprofit organization that has provided safe water and sanitation solutions to 1 million people in 11 countries. The spark that led Shilpa to the founding of Surge, started when she was just 7 years old, while visiting extended family in India. However, after graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in Chemical Engineering, she joined the Corporate world. From here, she enjoyed rapid early career success, earned her MBA, and continued up the Corporate ladder. 

Eventually, Shilpa came to the hard realization that she was not living in true alignment with her purpose. This led to Surge’s eventual founding and to her leaving a successful career and secure lifestyle. This leap of faith has lead to great things, both through the joy she experiences in her daily purpose-driven life and through the communities who benefit from Surge’s work every single day. In addition to her passion for safe water and global development, Shilpa loves to travel to new countries, read, practice yoga, meditate, and dance offbeat.