David Sislen '91
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
 In the city of Maicao, a poor city of 120,000 people in northeast Colombia, David Sislen ’91 watches the residents of the community fight for their most basic need—water. The small water trucks rumble through the streets peddling their goods. But David asks himself, where do the trucks fill their tanks? Is the water clean? Why can’t people get water from a piped network? And, most importantly, what can be done by local officials to get clean, safe drinking water to the city’s residents, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in an affordable way?
These are the questions that fill David’s days at the World Bank. He spends close to 120 days in the field each year helping countries develop programs to deliver basic urban services like water and sanitation, drainage, and solid waste management. Although David has worked in over 18 countries in Europe, Latin America, and East Asia as a senior economist with the World Bank, his current work is almost exclusively in Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil.
One of the biggest problems these countries, and others worldwide, are facing is water. For example, David works with public officials in Colombia to create policies that will sustainably improve the provision of water supply and sanitation and provide universal coverage for its people. David comments, “It’s challenging to work with middle income countries like those in Latin America, because, in many places, the infrastructure is already in place, and the challenge is about making public services efficient and sustainable. For example, in many African cities, there are not even pipes leading to the homes. So you know where to start. In places like the Caribbean coast of Colombia, however, often the pipes are there, but the water is not…or the water that is there is unsanitary. Our goal is to assist these countries to achieve the sustainable delivery of a basic service: affordable and reliable water supply, sanitation, and wastewater treatment.”
David looks at how the World Bank can work with its client governments to add value to the systems that are already in place and address the needs of the country both through policy changes and financial support. The amount of people who do not have access to clean, safe, and reliable water in our world is staggering. David notes, “Since my days atMaret, I have felt motivated to help the plight of the poor…and such basic services like urban water are a requisite precursor to the opportunities and growth that will mean a better quality of life.”
David’s international interests evolved at Maret. He came to Maret in ninth grade from the public school system and he emphatically states, “Maret really changed my life. The renaissance, multidisciplinary education I received at Maret was eye-opening and life-changing. I was exposed to people from all countries and cultures who had a profound appreciation of the world and intellectual pursuits.”
This background led David to pursue his higher education at a liberal arts college. He received his B.A. from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota where he majored in geography and international affairs and pursued interests in economics and political science. David went on to earn his M.A. in international economics from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
David also notes that when he entered Maret he had taken only a year of basic Spanish. When he left Maret, he was nearly fluent. “I still have people ask me if I learned Spanish in Spain. They detect the accent that I learned from Señor Caudevilla. He was an incredible teacher who set me on the path of learning even more languages. In addition to Spanish, I now speak Italian, Portuguese, and some Greek and French.”
David remembers fondly his many teachers at Maret and he mentions the influence of Nick Markoff, Stick Sturtevant, and Jim Erwin. “I used to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to take the bus to Maret from Potomac to be at jazz band rehearsal with Mr. Erwin at 7:30. I still play the saxophone and have recently played at the 9:30 Club, Bohemian Caverns, and a host of other places. Mr. Erwin taught me that even old guys can stay funky, so I’m doing my best.”
With his busy schedule and world travels, David is also managing life as a new dad. He and his wife, Anna, welcomed their son Leonardo to the world this summer. “It’s definitely much harder to be away from home now. I have tried to arrange my schedule this summer so that I could be around more. Perhaps in the future, we’ll consider living abroad with hopes that I can work closer to my family.”
Despite the challenges, David is still committed to this area of development and helping the world’s poor by assisting countries in developing programs of sustainable growth. He advises young Maret alumni and current students to talk to as many people as possible when deciding on a career. “Ask them what they actually do every day when they get up. Where do they go? Do they like what they do? The Maret community is a tremendous resource with a wealth of knowledge.”
David is pursuing a career that he loves and he’s helping others while doing it. Clearly, he has found a pretty successful combination.
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