Menu
CEO of Athena Global, Founder and Managing Director of BIDUK, Indonesia
CEO of Athena Global, Founder and Managing Director of BIDUK, Indonesia
CEO of Athena Global, Founder and Managing Director of BIDUK, Indonesia
Kaylene is an international development finance specialist with over 25 years’ experience in both the private and public sectors in impact investing, access to finance, SME/Entrepreneurial financing, gender lens investing (GLI) and risk management. Over the course of her career, she has worked in grass roots level organizations in community development and microfinance, as well as on Wall Street in Mergers and Acquisitions for financial services companies in emerging markets, and for International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank Group.
She launched Athena Global to help bridge the gap for providing impact and blended finance capital to grow sustainable businesses in emerging markets, with a focus on SME, gender-lens and tech-enhanced financial services businesses. Kaylene is also the Founder and Managing Director of BIDUK, a lending platform that is revolutionizing financing for small and growing businesses in Indonesia, with a focus on those that are women- led and/or environmentally sustainable.
Kaylene believes passionately about using finance as a tool for social good. She is on the impact investing committees for two Design Funding Windows for Convergence Blended Finance (Natural Capital Asia and Global Gender + Climate), The Denver Foundation, Gary Community Foundation (Denver) and Indonesia Women’s Empowerment Fund (IWEF). She also mentors a variety of SME businesses globally. Kaylene finished her MBA from the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) and Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She is a returned US Peace Corps Volunteer, an avid reader, novice Vipassana meditation practitioner and textile aficionado.
Board Chairperson, Founder of Social Development Direct and Gender Tech Enterprises
Board Chairperson, Founder of Social Development Direct and Gender Tech Enterprises
Board Chairperson, Founder of Social Development Direct and Gender Tech Enterprises and Advisor to the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, USA
Sue Phillips is a passionate advocate of gender and social justice with an interest in always seeking out opportunities for strategic influence and impact. Her career has been largely focused on working with international development donors, specifically the UK DFID (now FCDO), the UN, regional development banks and a range of INGOs. Sue chose this particular space in recognition that donors have profound influence and impact on the drive for gender and social justice globally. To this end she founded and led Social Development Direct for 21 years (1999-2020), a UK based leading provider of gender and inclusion expertise in the research and consultancy sector. There she and the team grew the organisation into a significant influencer of donor and government policy and programming, particularly in the areas of gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment and inclusive public services.
Sue is currently focusing her energies on the climate emergency, seeing growing global action as an opportunity for achieving social justice alongside climate justice. She is particularly focused on voluntary carbon markets and is advising the Task Force of Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) and others on creating opportunities to harness the growing flows of carbon finance to maximise benefits for women and local communities in the Global South.
Sue is British and lives in London, UK
Partner, DLA Piper LLP, USA
Partner, DLA Piper LLP, USA
Partner, DLA Piper LLP, USA
Brad Rock is a Partner at the DLA Piper LLP and Co-chair of DLA Piper’s Opinion Committee. Brad Rock focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, venture and angel investing, public offerings, and public company reporting and governance. Brad serves as counsel to corporations in a number of industries, including clean tech, software and information technology companies, and retail. He is also counsel to a number of family offices and venture and angel funds. Brad has a J.D. Degree from UC Berkeley School of Law.
Chief Development Officer of Green Star Royalties, Canada
Chief Development Officer of Green Star Royalties, Canada
Chief Development Officer of Green Star Royalties, Canada
Tanushree Bagh Mukherjee is a passionate young woman working in the field of carbon markets for close to two decades. She believes in creating and monitoring impacts on the ground and therefore shares the passion to create meaningful impacts for women around the world; she has been associated with W+ standards since its launch and is working to enable the W+ Standard as a market instrument to drive finance to projects that quantify the impacts and benefits for women. She firmly thinks that blended finance has been a bottleneck for projects that have social and environmental impacts and the W+ Standard can bridge that gap and drive finance to impactful projects.
Tanushree calls herself a veteran in carbon markets, having started her career in the early days of the Clean Development Mechanism. Over the years, she developed a robust understanding of quantification methodologies and project development on the ground. She also served as the Director of Verified Carbon Standard Program Management at Verra, where she led a large team of carbon specialists overseeing the project review process, as well as provided guidance and support to project developers and other stakeholders using Verra programs, standards, and frameworks to achieve their climate and sustainable development goals. Prior to Verra, Tanushree worked in progressively senior roles with several international carbon organizations including South Pole, Evolution Markets, and EcoSecurities, managing global project identification and business development, methodology and project development, as well as standards, regulatory services, and co-benefits mapping support. She has also developed the first-ever SD tool with UNDP. She is currently the Chief Development Officer of Green Star Royalties, a company that provides capital to nature-based solutions projects in North America. She has a master's Degree in Natural Resource Management, with a majors in Climate Change from TERI University, India. She is from India but now calls Canada her home. She loves to paint, as her stress buster and enjoys playing chess with her son.
Science Advisor at World Bank, Finland
Science Advisor at World Bank, Finland
Science Advisor at World Bank, Finland
Eija joined the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank in 2000 as an Advisor on Science, Technology and Innovation. She led the Department’s program on sustainable agriculture with special focus on agricultural research and innovation including biotechnology and biosafety. She was also the leader of the Gender in Agriculture Program of the World Bank. Prior to joining the World Bank, Dr. Pehu was a Professor of Agronomy and Head of the Department of Plant Production at the University of Helsinki and the founder and science director of two start up companies in the Helsinki Science Park.
Co-Founder of EcoAnalytics LLC and Co-Founder
Co-Founder of EcoAnalytics LLC and Co-Founder
Co-Founder of EcoAnalytics LLC and Co-Founder and Chairman of San Francisco Carbon Collaborative, USA
Lee West brings almost 30 years of financial services and investing background to the WOCAN Board. Lee’s goal is to introduce financial incentives that encourage institutional sponsors to invest directly into agricultural development and gender mainstreaming programs in developed and developing countries that directly impact women. He feels strongly that these programs should repatriate a disproportionate of those credits and incentives directly back into the local communities and NGO’s. Lee has gained substantial perspective working together with WOCAN and environmental stakeholders on gender issues prior to his board appointment. Lee works in Los Angeles and San Francisco and attended the University of California at Irvine (UCI) and Los Angeles (UCLA) studying both Economics and Business.
Advisor, Director of Global Partnerships at ASU Wrigley Global Futures
Advisor, Director of Global Partnerships at ASU Wrigley Global Futures
Advisor, Director of Global Partnerships at ASU Wrigley Global Futures, Professor of Practice at Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA
Amanda Ellis is the Executive Director, Hawaii & Asia-Pacific and Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the EWC where, from 2016-2018, she served as Special Advisor for International Programs and Partnerships in the Office of the President on secondment from the New Zealand Foreign Ministry. Until March 2016 Ms. Ellis served as New Zealand’s Head of Mission and Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Francophone Africa. From 2010 she was Deputy Secretary International Development and the first woman to head the New Zealand Aid Programme, managing an annual budget of over $0.6 billion. Prior to this, Ms. Ellis was Lead Specialist in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Group at the World Bank Group in Washington D.C., where she managed the World Bank President’s Global Private Sector CEO Leaders Forum and led the Doing Business gender research project which created “Women, Business and the Law.” While at the World Bank, she worked with the Economist Intelligence Unit to create the EIU Women’s Economic Opportunity Index. Ms. Ellis also founded the International Finance Corporation’s gender program, where she developed the first lines of credit for women entrepreneurs in Africa delivered through local banks. In the late 1990s she served in senior executive roles at Westpac Banking Corporation in Australia, including as Head of Women’s Markets and National Manager Women in Business.
Ms. Ellis is the author of two best-selling Random House books, Women’s Business, Women’sWealth and Woman 2 Woman and lead author of five research titles in the World Bank Directions in Development series on gender and growth in Africa, the Middle East, East Asia and the Pacific. A founding member of the Global Banking Alliance for Women, Ms. Ellis is the recipient of the TIAW Lifetime Achievement Award for services to women’s economic empowerment and the East-West Center Distinguished Alumni Award.
Ms Ellis serves on the advisory boards of FINCA International, the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, Friends of the East West Center, Hawaii Green Growth, the World Economic Forum Future Agenda Councils and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Advisory Committee on economic inclusion. She is a member of NZ Global Women and an honorary member of BPW International and Rotary International. Pacific Business News named Ms. Ellis one of ten ‘women to watch’ in Hawaii in 2017.
Marketing & Communication Expert
Marketing & Communication Expert
W+ Marketing & Communication
Denise is a communications leader dedicated to transforming the world one brand story at a time. Her passion lies in storytelling, addressing crucial topics that affect integrated communications, brand and marketing in the corporate landscape. A seasoned professional, she brings a wealth of expertise from various industry sectors from Energy, IT and Telecommunications.
In her previous role as Associate Director of Marketing and Community at Climate Impact X, she developed a strong focus on carbon markets, climate impact, ESG principals, along with a passion for sustainability, making her a driving force for change.
Executive Board Member of the of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) of the African Development Bank, Rwanda, Canada
Executive Board Member of the of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) of the African Development Bank, Rwanda, Canada
Executive Board Member of the of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) of the African Development Bank, Rwanda, Canada
Ms. Evelyne Batamuliza is an Executive Board Member of the of the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) initiative that was established by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2019. ABM is an innovative mechanism for mobilizing finance from both public and private sectors to catalyze climate resilient, sustainable development across Africa and beyond.
Until recently, Ms. Batamuliza served as a UNDP’s Advisor in Asia Pacific Region on Strengthening Governance of Climate Change in Asia Pacific and was tasked to ensure that gender equality and social inclusion aspects are integrated into UNDP’s work on climate change and that key stakeholders are supported to reduce inequalities and exclusion.
Ms. Batamuliza has a 20+ year career in post-conflict reconstruction, the promotion of human welfare and advancement of social reforms and sustainable economic development. Having served in various positions with the UN agencies, African Union (AU), AfDB in Africa, Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific regions.
Ms. Batamuliza has served on a number of global and regional initiatives for peace and reconciliation, authored publications on Women, Peace and Security and is the recipient of several public awards, including the Royal Roads University Founders’ Award in recognition of leadership and personal development. As an expert on Human Security issues Ms. Batamuliza gets invited from time to time to provide lectures at the Rwanda Peace Academy (RPA) and International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) Kenya on subject matters including: Protection of Civilians; Conflict Prevention; Transition Justice; and Gender, Leadership and Peacebuilding.
Ms. Batamuliza has an MA in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Bioenergy Research Scientist at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya
Bioenergy Research Scientist at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya
Bioenergy Research Scientist at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kenya
Mary Njenga is a Bioenergy Research Scientist at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) based in Nairobi, Kenya and a Visiting Lecturer at Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi. Njenga undertook a Post Doctorate in Bioenergy at ICRAF and holds a PhD in Management of Agroecosystems and Environment, MSc in Biology of Conservation and a BSC in Natural Resource Management (NRM). She has received prestigious fellowships from the Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (LEAP), African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) and Ecopolis Graduate Fellowship by IDRC. Her research interest is on sustainable and efficient biomass energy production and use systems and their connections to environment including climate change, livelihoods and rural-urban linkages. She is also greatly interested in adaptive technology development and transfer including gender integration and co-learning through transdisciplinary approaches. Before joining ICRAF Njenga was a research officer and deputised for SSA regional coordinator for Urban Harvest, a systemwide initiative of the CGIAR on urban agriculture convened by International Potato Centre (CIP) and CIPs gender focal point for SSA. She also worked on community based natural resource management (CBNRM) in drylands in Laikipia with Semi -Arid Rural Development Programme of SNV and Natural Resource Monitoring, Modelling and Management, (NRM3) of Laikipia Research Programme (LRP) currently CENTRAD. She also consulted for International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRASAT) on rural livelihoods in South Nyanza and Bomet, Kenya. She has published over 110 articles in peer reviewed journals, books, training manuals, technical magazines, working papers, policy and technical briefs and sits in several editorial boards.
Executive Director of Meridian Prime Ltd & EDGE Certificate Foundation
Executive Director of Meridian Prime Ltd & EDGE Certificate Foundation
Executive Director of Meridian Prime Ltd & EDGE Certificate Foundation
Gender Equality and Inclusion Specialist, Nepal
Gender Equality and Inclusion Specialist, Nepal
Gender Equality and Inclusion Specialist, Nepal
Kanchan Lama is a Gender Specialist with expertise in gender assessment/mainstreaming, gender analysis, design of training manuals and delivery of participatory training/workshop, policy advice/advocacy, review and evaluation of poverty alleviation projects/programs, mainstreaming gender and social inclusion into climate change adaptation and REDD+ initiatives in national contexts. Kanchan is one of the founders of WOCAN. She has more than 24 years of experience in senior management positions with multiple roles in INGOs, e.g., Action Aid, Lutheran World Federation; bilateral agencies, e.g., Canadian Cooperation Office (CCO), Finnish International Development Agency (Finnida), The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) ; and in multilateral agencies, e.g., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the United Nation Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). She has worked in Nepal and Timor Leste, and held short term assignments in India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Kanchan is a Nepali citizen.
CPA, Senior Director of Operations, Public Health Institute
CPA, Senior Director of Operations, Public Health Institute
CPA, Senior Director of Operations, Public Health Institute
Karen Frost has over 25 years of experience in the finance and grants management field as well as having attained the CPA. She is currently the Senior Director of Operations at the Public Health Institute. In this role, she translates the vision and goals of the organization into effective operational strategies and objectives. She coordinates the development of PHI’s strategic financial planning, budgeting, risk management and other organizational trend analysis, as well as supporting the institute’s efforts in international programs with research and start-up operations in foreign countries. She has taught several courses for InsideNGO and other organizations. She has been in all positions on an audit team, from being an auditor with Touche Ross to leading the audit as a Director of Finance to leading compliance as Senior Director of Operations. She has experience all levels of organizational operations such as starting up foreign offices, implementing internal controls, writing policies, building disaster recovery and incident response plans, interpreting rules and regulations from a wide variety of funders. She does this all with her sense of humor intact and a bit of her clowning techniques.
Senior Director, Food Security and Nutrition, Heifer International
Senior Director, Food Security and Nutrition, Heifer International
Senior Director, Food Security and Nutrition, Heifer International
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2012.
Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Gender Program Advisory, Coffee Quality Institute
Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Gender Program Advisory, Coffee Quality Institute
Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Gender Program Advisory, Coffee Quality Institute
Kimberly Ann Easson is the Vice President of Strategic Partnership and Gender Program Advisory of the Coffee Quality Institute. She has been working in the coffee industry for more than twenty years with a focus on sustainability and social responsibility in the sector. She was the Board President of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance for five years and Board member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Kimberly was the Director of Producer Services and relations at Fairtrade International, where she was responsible for capacity building services offered to more than 1 million agricultural producers in 63 countries. She is also the co-founder of JavaJog for Cause, which recently raised $35,000 for coffee women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is a member of the founding leadership team of TrainsFair USA, that is launching the Fair Trade Certified label throughout the US, and working in prestigious coffee brands and social responsible companies. She has a Master Degree in International Business Studies (MIBS) from the University of South Carolina.
Gender Advisor, IUCN
Gender Advisor, IUCN
Gender Advisor, IUCN
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2008.
Strategic Communications Consultant, African Development Bank
Strategic Communications Consultant, African Development Bank
Strategic Communications Consultant, African Development Bank
Clare Fleming is a strategic communications consultant specializing in high impact communications at the nexus of communications and development. She had a 25-year career in communications at the World Bank, beginning in the early days of the Global Environment Facility and the inception of the Bank’s environmental work, and moving to a position as head of communications for the Vice Presidency for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development. She spent seven years representing the World Bank at the United Nations in New York, during which she helped spearhead a transformation of the Bank-UN relationship, helping the Bank’s senior management advance its work with the UN on the intergovernmental and interagency levels and participating as a delegation member for the major environmental and social global summits, including negotiations on the Millennium Development Goals, Microcredit Summit, Financing for Development, the Convention on Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Desertification Convention. Since 2005 Clare has provided several years of communications support to the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Administrative Unit housed at the World Bank and now works for the African Development Bank on CIF-related communications. With a Master’s degree from Lesley College, she also has professional certifications in international development from the UN and social media from New York University.
Director, WEDO
Director, WEDO
Director, WEDO
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2008
Principal and Owner of Manzanita Consulting, USA
Principal and Owner of Manzanita Consulting, USA
Principal and Owner of Manzanita Consulting, USA
Margaret Bruce, Principal and Owner of Manzanita Consulting, has more than 25 years of professional experience in environmental, sustainability and climate policy and program management. In 2001, Margaret co-founded Sustainable Silicon Valley, fostering Silicon Valley’s early leadership on climate action. As Environmental Program Manager at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Margaret engaged Silicon Valley’s leading companies in a range of policy issues, including California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, green chemistry and product stewardship initiatives. As program director for the Center for Climate Action at the Climate Action Registry, she was engaged in California’s early carbon market and coordinated the State’s delegation to the COP 15 in Copenhagen. Margaret now leads the Local Government Commission’s Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition where her work advances local government action on climate, energy and equity issues. Through her consulting business, Margaret’s work has included policy advocacy, administration of environmental management systems for California State agencies, and marketing and development for the start-up supply chain sustainability company SupplyShift. As the first W+ Coordinator, Margaret played a large role in the development of WOCAN’s W+ standard, co-listing W+ units with VCS (now Verra), aligning W+ Standard program documents and processes with the rigorous ISEAL requirements, and supporting the W+ program overall.
Sub-Regional Representative for the Caribean, FAO
Sub-Regional Representative for the Caribean, FAO
Sub-Regional Representative for the Caribean, FAO
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2008
Partner of Firelake Capital Management
Partner of Firelake Capital Management
Partner of Firelake Capital Management
Candice Eggerss is a partner in a venture capital firm, Firelake Capital Management, which invests largely in startup companies in the cleantech industry. She is a member of the Board of EOS Climate and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Berkeley Startup Cluster where she leads the WEB (Women Entrepreneurs in Berkeley) initiative. Candice has 30 years of experience in investing in publicly traded securities and startup ventures. She also has an extensive network with companies, investment banks, academic institutions, venture capital firms, and a growing number of women led startups. She believes that women led businesses and institutions are important and can make a difference in addressing the looming environmental and economic challenges the world faces as a result of climate change. Candice would bring to WOCAN her network, her investment expertise, her knowledge of carbon markets, and her passion to support women entrepreneurs. She has an MBA in finance and accounting from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and BA in biology from Stanford University.
Gender Advisor, IRRI, CGIAR
Gender Advisor, IRRI, CGIAR
Gender Advisor, IRRI, CGIAR
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005- 2008
Regional Director, Eastern Africa, IUCN
Regional Director, Eastern Africa, IUCN
Regional Director, Eastern Africa, IUCN
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2006.
Director of Donor Relations at PANGEA, Pan Euro-African Bio Energy Group, Brussels
Director of Donor Relations at PANGEA, Pan Euro-African Bio Energy Group, Brussels
Director of Donor Relations at PANGEA, Pan Euro-African Bio Energy Group, Brussels
Vera P. Weill Hallé began her career in 1977 working with a non-Governmental Organization, Population Reference Bureau in Washington, then later joined the United Nations and subsequently, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). She was instrumental in establishing the first IFAD office outside Headquarters; the IFAD North American Liaison Office in Washington, D.C., 1987 and New York, 1994 (at the UN Secretariat) – and became the Director of both offices. In 2004, she was appointed the Director of IFAD’s Resource Mobilization Division in Rome, successfully enabling IFAD to secure one of the largest replenishments in the organizational history. She is currently a Senior Advisor for Innovative Financing and in this role has developed a strategy for private-sector and foundations outreach, successfully securing funding for IFAD from the United Nations Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Copernic Foundation, among others. She has served on numerous Boards, including AWID, Women in Environment and Development and the Congressional Hunger Centre amongst others. Vera holds an MBA from the Executive MBA Program through the London School of Economics, HES School of Business and the New York University Stern Business School and an M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University.
Deputy Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. FAO
Deputy Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. FAO
Deputy Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. FAO
Managing Director, Asia Division, Chemonics International
Managing Director, Asia Division, Chemonics International
Managing Director, Asia Division, Chemonics International
Dr. Sarah Tisch is a gender specialist with 22 years of experience in project leadership, management and governance on USAID and other donor funded projects. A three-time USAID Chief of Party and program leader for the African Women’s Leaders in Agriculture and the Environment and the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative, as well as the program manager for the World Bank InfoDev E-Government Knowledge Map and Toolkit, she is experienced with integrating gender into project activities in many sectors. Dr. Tisch recently served as the home office director for the MCC and USAID Indonesia Control of Corruption Project and currently is the Director for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task Order for USAID/EGAT/Office of Women in Development. She is also the Gender Practice Director for Chemonics International, helping staff respond to the USAID requirements for integration of gender in projects and proposals. Dr. Tisch has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, has lived in Russia, Nepal, and the Philippines and has worked in 23 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2010-2012.
Gender and Development Consultant
Gender and Development Consultant
Gender and Development Consultant
Mark Blackden has been working on gender issues in development for nearly 20 years, primarily in the World Bank’s Africa Region. He led the Africa Region’s gender and development program for more than 10 years. During this time, he helped to make the business case for attention to gender issues in the Africa Region’s operational work. Given the importance of agriculture in Africa, much of this work has focused on improving the understanding of women’s role in agricultural development, and addressing the many obstacles to improving productivity. Mr. Blackden contributes a wide range of operational experience in addressing gender issues in development to the WOCAN Board. In the last three years, he has gained substantial perspective through work on gender issues with various organizations including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), The Gates Foundation, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Mark graduated with his Masters Degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Senior Advisor, Gender and Poverty Targeting, IFAD
Senior Advisor, Gender and Poverty Targeting, IFAD
Senior Advisor, Gender and Poverty Targeting, IFAD
Director, Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems, International Relief and Development
Director, Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems, International Relief and Development
Director, Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems, International Relief and Development
Dr. Isatou Jack has over 25 years of experience working with smallholder farmers, particularly women, to develop market-oriented agriculture systems and increase organizational capacity through farmer organizations. Isatou’s tenure in the agricultural development field has included working at the government, NGO, and private sector levels. This background has influenced her continuous interest in creating partnerships among diverse stakeholders as a mechanism to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. Dr. Jack currently serves as the Director of International Relief and Development’s (IRD) Sustainable Food and Agriculture Systems sector, where she oversees programs on three continents. Isatou received her Masters and Doctoral degrees in International Agriculture and Adult Education, respectively, from Cornell University and her Bachelors degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Florida. Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2010-2012.
Senior Advisor in Gender, CIAT CGIAR
Senior Advisor in Gender, CIAT CGIAR
Senior Advisor in Gender, CIAT CGIAR
Dr. Ashby is a development sociologist, researcher, teacher and senior manager with international development experience in social change, technology development and poverty reduction in agricultural and food systems. She is currently employed at the International Potato Research Center (CIP) as a part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Previously, Dr. Ashby worked as a consultant to the World Bank on the Gender and Agriculture Sourcebook. She is also responsible for launching, conducting fundraising for and coordinating the Participatory Research and Gender Analysis (PGRA) Program through CGIAR. Dr. Ashby provided leadership in the development of recommendations to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture’s (CIAT) Gender Analysis Working Group and has lectured widely on gender integration in agricultural institutions. Her experience in formulating program strategy for donor relations, partnership, and mainstreaming novel approaches into core research areas of the CGIAR system will help her contribute invaluable perspective to the WOCAN Board. Dr. Ashby received her PhD from Cornell University. Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2010-2012.
Gender Advisor, CIDA
Gender Advisor, CIDA
Gender Advisor, CIDA
Senior Officer, FAO
Senior Officer, FAO
Senior Officer, FAO
Served as a member of Board of Directors from 2005-2006.
Co-Founder Isis International
Country Director, Heifer International
Senior Consulant, FAO
