McGraw to pass the torch after building a national movement for clean water access; Board launching search for next CEO.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, January 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — DigDeep founder George McGraw today announced his decision to step down as the organization’s CEO in May 2026. McGraw’s decision follows nearly 15 years building the first national nonprofit aimed at expanding access to running water and basic sanitation in U.S. homes. DigDeep’s Board has initiated a search for the organization’s next CEO and hired On-Ramps to support the process.
McGraw founded DigDeep in 2012 after meeting American families living without running water or basic plumbing at home—a hidden crisis few knew existed. Under his transformational leadership, DigDeep demonstrated the size and scope of the challenge (encompassing more than two million people without taps or toilets at home), brought running water to more than 10,000 people across six states, and shaped a national coalition of lawmakers, funders, corporations, and community organizations actively collaborating to close the U.S. water access gap forever.
McGraw will remain CEO through May 2026 to support leadership continuity and the CEO transition.
“I started DigDeep because people were being told this problem was too complicated to solve,” McGraw said. “We proved something simple: if you treat communities with dignity and build alongside them, you can get water running to places that haven’t had access for generations. No American should have to live without the running water we all need to thrive.
Every founder’s dream is to build something that lasts beyond themselves, and DigDeep will only keep growing from here. Our team is 90 people strong and led by individuals who work relentlessly to deliver life-changing impact for our clients every day. I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished, and have enormous joy and confidence in what comes next.”
DigDeep’s work under McGraw’s leadership includes:
• Installing running water and basic sanitation for more than 10,000 of the hardest-to-reach people across the Navajo Nation, Appalachia, and the Texas-Mexico border region.
• Building from startup to a team of 90—more than half of whom are from communities DigDeep serves—earning five consecutive Great Place to Work® certifications.
• Publishing groundbreaking national research on household water access, including “Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States: A National Action Plan” (2019), which revealed for the first time that more than 2 million Americans lack basic plumbing at home, and “Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis” (2022), which estimates the crisis costs the U.S. economy $8.6 billion annually and yields a 5-to-1 return on investment;
• Catalyzing a national sector for domestic water and sanitation access, including co-founding Vessel: The U.S. WASH Collective;
• Partnering with leading brands, foundations, and government agencies to build sustainable funding for water access infrastructure; and
• Earning the U.S. Water Prize, Anthem Award, and the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation Award for its dignity-centered infrastructure programs.
“George has been a relentless and visionary force for water justice in this country,” said Steve McCormick, Board Chair. “George built an organization that will continue to thrive after its founder, and that’s no small feat. But beyond what he’s built, George’s curious, persistent and people-centered leadership means that he didn’t just identify a problem no one was talking about, he built the movement to solve it. His legacy will be measured in American families who now have running water and in a sector that didn’t exist before him. We’re deeply grateful for his leadership.”
McGraw plans to share details about his next steps later this year. The CEO search listing is available here.
For more information about DigDeep, please visit: https://digdeep.org.
###
ABOUT DIGDEEP: DigDeep is a human rights nonprofit working to ensure every person in the United States has access to clean running water and sanitation at home. The organization has served thousands of families across the country through its award-winning and community-led field projects: the Navajo Water Project (Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah), Appalachia Water Project (West Virginia and Kentucky), and Colonias Water Project (Texas). DigDeep is a leading force in U.S. water access research, workforce development, and policy advocacy, underscoring its commitment to addressing the sector’s lack of comprehensive data. For more information, please visit digdeep.org.
For media inquiries please contact press@digdeep.org.
Press Office
DigDeep Right to Water Project
press@digdeep.org
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
