Jason Gonzales is the CEO of Aqua Vida (www.aquavida.org), an international nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to training entrepreneurs and bringing clean water to the developing world. But no one would have guessed it from his youth. The son of an illiterate Latino father and a working class Anglo mother, Jason's youth was marked by chaos and abuse, abandonment and disappointment. After a stint in jail, it looked as if Jason's life would amount to little more than a tragic statistic. But God had other ideas.
After jail, Jason found work as a waiter at a posh Italian restaurant in Detroit where he had a chance encounter that changed the direction of his life. At the same time Jason experienced a powerful conversion, he met Lee Iacocca, then president and CEO of the Chrysler Corporation. Iacocca mentored Jason and inspired him to use the moment as a turning point. He went back to the same high school that previously flunked him and managed to graduate with honors. From there he went to Michigan State and then Duke University. Jason graduated "cum laude "with degrees in history and economics.
A year after graduation he made more than half a million dollars. From there it was real estate, and at the age of 30, working with a notable Chicago developer, he helped structure a deal for the purchase and redevelopment of the iconic John Hancock Center in a transaction valued at nearly $500 million.
But it wasn't enough. God was still working in Jason's heart. After impactful international trips, Jason realized that he could take his professional ambitions and use them for social good. As a result, in 2010 Jason Gonzales founded Aqua Vida and developed a plan to bring clean water to the entire country of Ghana. Aqua Vida now has active centers in Ghana and India, with plans to expand into China and Mexico. Jason's powerful and inspiring memoir shows readers how the grace of God can turn personal misfortune into the fortune of countless others--for His glory.
