Doc Hendley Keynote Speaker

President & Founder of Wine To Water
Global Humanitarian, Clean Water Crusader & Top 10 CNN Hero
Author, "Wine to Water: A Bartender’s Quest for Clean Water in the World"

Doc Hendley's Biography

Doc Hendley is the Founder and President of Wine To Water, a global non-profit preserving life and dignity through the power of clean water. Wine To Water is committed to building a holistic, community-based model by supporting the life and dignity of all through the power of clean water. Their teams around the globe integrate strategies for social, environmental, and economic impacts through access to clean water.

Doc did not dream of dedicating his life to humanitarian efforts in developing countries. Far from it, in fact. He graduated from North Carolina State University with a communications degree that he wasn’t sure how to use. While bartending to pay the bills, he noticed the men and women sitting on the stools seemed to want to be part of something bigger. The 30-year-old Hendley got inspired behind the bar and traveled to Darfur, Sudan, and with the money raised, began installing water systems for victims of government-supported genocide.

In 2004 Hendley launched Wine To Water (WTW) from an idea that started with wine tastings and a humble donation jar. WTW radically transformed the process of bringing clean water to people in need anywhere in the world. To date, Wine To Water has dug, repaired, and sanitized drinking wells for nearly 2 million people in 53 countries. While developing water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions (WASH) in direct partnership with local leaders, WTW creates impact beyond water. This impact includes environmental sustainability, improved education, women’s empowerment, better healthcare, and economic growth.

For his life-saving work, Doc Hendley was named one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes for 2009 chosen from over 9,000 applicants by a panel of judges, including General Colin Powell, Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Turner, and Sir Elton John.

Doc Hendley is the epitome of the individual who has made a difference. Because of Doc and his organization, hundreds of thousands of people around the world have access to clean drinking water. Hendley is proof that anyone, even a “tattooed keg-tapper,” can cure what ails the world.

Hell Or High Water: How One Man Turned Wine Into Water And Transformed Customers Into Crusaders

Doc Hendley was once a small-town bartender with a dream of changing the world through clean water. Through a series of simple wine-tasting events to raise funds for clean-water projects that he launched in North Carolina, he has created an international fundraising organization that provides clean water and sanitation to people in need around the world. In this speech, Hendley shares insights on how others can put simple ideas into action and use it to solve problems on the local, national, and international level.

Digging For Hope: Turning Wine To Water And Other Modern Day Miracles

In this inspirational keynote, Wine To Water founder Doc Hendley teaches audiences a simple but profound principle for improving the world: do what they can with what they have. As the founder of an international fundraising organization that had humble origins, Hendley illustrates the immense power of relationships to transcend perceived barriers, proving the power of one to transform the impossible into the inevitable.

Turning Passion Into Action: The Wine To Water Filter Build® Experience

Filter Builds engage participants as volunteers in a meaningful, impactful team-building experience that leads to the empowerment of communities around the globe through the power of clean water.

The WTW Filter Build® Experience offers a meaningful, hands-on approach to impacting communities worldwide with clean water. Whether your Filter Build® event is for a team of 25 or 14,000 co-workers and vendors meeting up at your global conference – this team-building, purpose-driven event is a great way to build relationships, purpose, and passion as you connect and give back.

He founded Wine To Water and transformed a grassroots fundraising idea into a global non-profit that has helped provide access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene solutions for millions of people across more than 50 countries.
He translates powerful lessons from humanitarian work into practical insights on leadership, purpose and creating meaningful impact in the face of complex global challenges.
He has led initiatives in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, demonstrating how determination, innovation and local partnerships can drive lasting social and economic change.
He brings a deeply personal perspective on turning conviction into action, showing audiences how individuals and organisations can create change far beyond what they initially believe possible.
His presentations inspire leaders and teams to think bigger, act with purpose and recognise the influence they can have on the lives of others and the communities they serve.