MFTransparency has team members based around the world. Our head office is a group based in the US that supports our team members working in the countries where we currently have projects underway. We are proud of the diversity of our team in terms of background and experience. We hope you enjoy taking a moment to get to know us.
Team
Board of Directors
Team
Senior Management
Chuck Waterfield
CEO
Pennsylvania, USA
Chuck Waterfield has 25 years experience in microfinance, with a mixture of practical field experience (six years starting MFIs in both Haiti and Bolivia) and experience leading network strategy development (serving as microenterprise director for both MEDA and for CARE International). He developed Microfin, the most popular financial planning software in the microfinance industry and teaches business planning courses around the world, with more than 3,000 microfinance professionals having been trained in his courses. His current work as an independent consultant includes clients across the industry.
Currently on faculty of Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, he was formerly on the faculty of the Boulder Microfinance Training Program for ten years and Southern New Hampshire University’s Microenterprise Development Institute for eight years. In addition to Microfin, he has a broad range of products and publications including the SEEP FRAME Tool, the CARE Credit and Savings Sourcebook, and CGAP Handbook on Management Information Systems. In 2008, he founded MicroFinance Transparency and works as the CEO.
Alexandra Fiorillo
COO, Global Programs
New York, USA
As Vice President of MicroFinance Transparency, Alexandra oversees international operations and global data collection on product pricing. She comes to MFTransparency with over eight years of experience in the microfinance industry and with experience in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Most recently, she worked at ACCION International on the Marketing and Product Development and Global Investments teams.
Prior to ACCION, Alexandra worked as a microfinance consultant to numerous organizations including Microfund for Women in Jordan, DFID’s Financial Sector Deepening Project of Uganda, Agora Partnerships in Nicaragua, and Development Alternatives, Inc./USAID. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Ecuador and conducted research on rural and indigenous microfinance in the Amazon jungle. Alexandra holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Latin American Studies from Connecticut College where she wrote her Honors Thesis on Banco Solidario in Ecuador.
Ann Duval
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer (CFAO)
Pennsylvania, USA
Ann’s involvement in microfinance has spanned 30 years. Her primary focus has been on building capacity in microfinance institutions, with significant time also spent on conducting evaluations of microfinance programs. Her microfinance career began in Haiti in 1981, where she was the Deputy Director of the Fonds de Développement Industriel and a founding member and Treasurer of a local NGO and Women’s World Banking affiliate, the Fonds Haitien d’Aide á la Femme. From there, she moved to New York to become the Vice President of Women’s World Banking, working with affiliates around the world. After WWB, Ann spent several years consulting independently, primarily in Africa, and then joined the microfinance unit at CARE International. Ann then returned to consulting, shifting her work to the CEE/NIS region, notably with her tenure as Principal Technical Advisor for the World Bank-financed Local Initiative Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In recent years, Ann has pursued interests other than microfinance while occasionally undertaking consulting assignments for select clients.
Finance & Administration
Randall Weaver
Manager, Finance and Administration
Pennsylvania, USA
After graduating from high school, Randall spent several years in the Philippines and China. Those experiences piqued his interest in worldwide poverty alleviation methods. Randall graduated from Millersville University with a B.S. in Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. After graduating, Randall earned his CPA while working four years in public accounting. Public accounting exposed Randall to a variety of areas including auditing, tax, consulting, and non-profits. In his spare time Randall enjoys volunteer work, running marathons, and reading.
Communications
Jordan Filko
Development & Communications Associate
New Jersey, USA
As MFTransparency’s Development & Communications Associate, Jordan manages the creation and dissemination of marketing and communications materials, relationships with partner organizations and the development and maintenance of website content. Jordan also contributes to MFTransparency’s global data collection efforts, in particular the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Kenya.
Jordan holds a BA in Economics and Sustainable Development from Columbia University. She has worked for the International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI) building website content, contributing to industry research, coordinating events and managing member relationships. At Columbia, Jordan was an active participant in the Microfinance Working Group and contributed to the founding of Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development. She spent a semester studying Business and African Studies at Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana. Jordan also has experience in foreign currency exchange, having worked for Forex Capital Markets in both San Francisco and New York.
Website
Adrian Dorsman
Lead Developer
Uruguay
Adrian supervises project management, system architecture, and development activities for MFTransparency‘s website and data collection and analysis platform. Prior to MFTransparency, Adrian was Vice President of Technology for Boulevards New Media, the leading provider of geodomain websites on the Internet, and CTO of SF Station, San Francisco’s premier city guide, which was purchased by Boulevards in 2005. With 14+ years of professional experience in media and technology companies, Adrian has also held hands on engineering positions at a number of startups and companies including CNET, CBS SportsLine, NBC Internet, Grand Central Communications, and more.
enabling APR & EIR Program
Jessica Haeussler
Technical Specialist, Global Programs
Technical Manager, enabling APR & EIR Program
Accra, Ghana
As Technical Specialist of Global Programs, Jessica manages the technical components of key country projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, supervises the research teams in the areas of data collection and dissemination, and trains Global Programs staff in data collection, verification, analysis and other programmatic areas. Based in Accra, Jessica also co-manages the Africa regional office as the Technical Manager of the enabling APR & EIR Program. She further supports the development of educational materials and advocacy work to promote pricing transparency and consumer protection principles in the global microfinance industry.
Jessica holds a double-degree in International Business Management from Dublin City University in Ireland and ESB Business School at Reutlingen University in Germany. She completed two practical semesters in Singapore and Mexico, and wrote her final thesis on pricing transparency in the microfinance industry, conducting field research in different regions across Mexico. Jessica has a passion for social entrepreneurship and gender equity.
Milyeri Hopkins Mathee
Project Manager
Accra, Ghana
Milyeri first learned about microfinance in college and spent two summers interning at non-profits developing social enterprises. After graduation, she worked for another non-profit, The Amy Biehl Foundation Trust, to develop its microfinance program in Cape Town, South Africa. This was the most rewarding professional experience she had had to that point.
After working in South Africa, she returned home to Washington DC and attended law school at Georgetown University Law Center. Since graduating from Georgetown in 2007, she has worked as a corporate attorney representing commercial banks and as a management consultant working with small business owners in New York City. Now, through working at MFTransparency, Milyeri is able to fulfill a career goal ten years in the making – coupling her legal and management skills with her passion for microfinance.
Milyeri is married, loves to cook and try new restaurants, travel, read, and do kickboxing.
Jessica Massie
Financial Education Program Manager
Kigali, Rwanda
Jessica Massie is the Financial Education Consultant for the enabling APR & EIR Program. She began her career as a teacher trainer and curriculum developer while serving as Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa, and later trained teachers, mentored student research projects, and wrote curricula at the National University of Rwanda. Previously, Ms. Massie has held positions at Microfinance Opportunities and the Microcredit Summit Campaign in Washington DC, and Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity in Las Cruces New Mexico.
Joseph Kiirya
Research Associate
Accra, Ghana
Joseph has over five years of experience in banking and microfinance operations with all market segments in a credit institution, typical microfinance institution (MDI), an apex microfinance institution and a fully fledged regional commercial microfinance bank. He has specialized in the areas of credit risk and delinquency management, savings mobilization, marketing, institutional management and strategic planning. Joseph has undertaken numerous market research studies about the general microfinance industry, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Joseph holds a Master of Science in Microfinance from the State University of Bergamo in Italy, Specialized Certificates in SME and Micro Corporate Credit Lending; Agriculture lending and Micro leasing. He also holds a Bsc. (Economics, Statistics) from Makerere University, Kampala.
Rhoda Mahamah
Research Analyst
Accra, Ghana
As a Research Analyst for MicroFinance Transparency’s enabling Africa to Price Responsibly & Educate on Interest Rates (enabling APR & EIR) Program, Rhoda conducts country market research and works with MFIs in data collection, analysis and dissemination of educational materials. Prior to joining MFTransparency, she was a member of The Third Chamber 2015 (Netherlands) and worked with Right to Play and Northern Empowerment Association (NEA) both in Ghana. She has experience in conducting research in education and women’s empowerment and loves working in a team. Rhoda graduated from Wageningen University, the Netherlands with an MSc in International Development Studies in 2010.
Babcy Opoku
Administrative Assistant
Accra, Ghana
Babcy Opoku joins MFTransparency as an Administrative Assistant, to assist with the general administrative management of the Office. Prior to this, she undertook vacation jobs with Ecobank Ghana Limited while in school. Her interest for development work heightened during a one-year internship with the UNDP. Babcy graduated from the University of Ghana, Legon with a B.A. in Sociology. She is passionate about working in a development and policy-oriented organization such as MFTransparency and looks forward to sharing her experiences with her team. Her love for reading keeps her moving forward.
Transparent Pricing Initiative in Latin America
Alex Perez
Latin America Associate
Madrid, Spain
Alex has recently joined MFTransparency in order to pursue his professional interest in the field of economic development, having spent over a year working in Government and Regulatory Affairs for a US consulting firm in Brussels. He holds Bachelors degrees in International Relations and Law from the London School of Economics and Oxford, also obtaining a scholarship to complete an LLM in Business Law at Université de Nanterre Paris-X (France). Previous experience includes working for management consulting and international law firms. He has lived in a number of countries and is fluent in English, Spanish and French in addition to having a good command of dialectical Arabic.
Alex supports MFTransparency by carrying out research, stakeholder-outreach and data entry and analysis, as well as drafting reports and proposals for the Transparent Pricing Initiative in Latin America and monitoring the progress of the MFTransparency projects in Argentina and Colombia.
Transparent Pricing Initiative in the Philippines
Laila Q. Deles
Research Associate
Marikina, Philippines
Laila’s professional experience involves roles in both the public and private sectors in the Philippines, having worked in government, corporate and non-profit organizations and institutions. Her exposure to the microfinance industry started when she worked with PinoyME (Pinoy MicroEnterprise) Foundation, a social investment banker for microfinance institutions that aims to mobilize various sectors (academia, business, social development) to further strengthen and scale up the local microenterprise industry. She also served as consultant to the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc, the national network of MFIs in the Philippines, and RIMANSI Organization for Asia and the Pacific, Inc., a network of mutual benefit associations providing micro-insurance services. Laila graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, with a degree in Management Information Systems.
Darrel Flores
Research Associate
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
Darrel holds an MA in International Development from the International University of Japan and obtained his degree as an Asian Development Bank scholar. He also holds a BS in Agribusiness Management degree from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining MFTransparency, Darrel comes with more than 5 years of experience and a skill set in project development and management of programs in microenterprise development and business development services. He has worked on projects funded by USAID, EU, CIDA, ADB and the Swiss Government, among others, particularly in the largely agricultural, rural and conflict-affected regions in the Philippines. Most recently, he has worked as a Program Analyst for the Agribusiness Linkages Program of IFC Advisory Services in the Philippines. He has also worked as a consultant in the fields of market research, value chain analysis, and poverty and inequality assessment.
Transparent Pricing Initiative in West Africa
Bachir Amadou
Research Associate
Dakar, Senegal
Bachir is a national of the republic of Niger. Prior to working for MFT, Bachir was an independent consultant in microfinance and finance, helping his clients to acquire financing from banks. Bachir also worked as a manager of a microfinance institution in Niger. He graduated from the African University for Cooperative Development in Benin with a Master’s degree in Microfinance, and also has an MBA in Management from the International Institute of Management of Niger. He defended a thesis on bank financing of microfinance institutions in Niger by working with MFI’s and different partners of the sector including the National Microfinance Fund of Benin and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).
In addition Bachir has a BA in Economics from the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and an Associate degree in Economics from the University Abdou Moumouni of Niamey. He earned an English studies diploma from the American cultural center of Niamey, where he was the editor of the student newspaper and a member of the English club.
Mélina Djre
Research Associate
Dakar, Senegal
Mélina holds a Master degree in Microfinance from Nancy University. She also graduated from the 3A (Africa, Asia, Latin America) International School of Business and Development in Lyon. Prior to joining MFTransparency, Mélina worked as a technical assistant in training and technical support during an internship at PlaNet Finance. She worked as a technical assistant for Ecidec in Senegal as well, where she developed and implemented an information system for rural savings and credit unions based in the rural region of Matam. She also has two years experience as a financial controller on a public-private partnership project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Interns
Louisa Dennison
enabling APR & EIR Program Intern
Accra, Ghana
Louisa’s professional experience spans the corporate, non-profit and governmental sectors. She has a Masters degree in Leadership for Sustainable Development from UK think-tank Forum for the Future as well as a professional Masters in Investment Management. She has four years investment banking experience in the field of socially responsible investments, which is where her interest in microfinance developed. Louisa recently became one of the first Chartered Members of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments. In addition to her role at MFTransparency, Louisa runs her own ethical filmmaking production house and acts as strategy consultant to various community-based NGOs.
Geraude Kounde
enabling APR & EIR Program Intern
Accra, Ghana
Geraude is a native Beninois currently living in Ghana after graduating from the Methodist University in Ghana with a MBA in Finance. He is very interested in issues of public policy and social development including the poverty reduction process. He worked with the Support Unit to Literacy Activities Ltd in Benin where he was in charge of training activities. He earned his Bachelors degree in Public Administration and Local Development from the National School of Law and Public Management (ENAM) in Benin. Geraude joins MFTransparency’s enabling Africa to Price Responsibly & Educate on Interest Rates (enabling APR & EIR) Program in Ghana as an intern and is excited to be part of the work MFTransparency is doing.
Medha Ravi
Global Programs Research Associate
Bangalore, India
Medha recently joined MicroFinanceTransparency as a Research Associate where she aims to build on her existing knowledge of the microfinance industry. Medha has completed a role as Research Associate with MicroCapital where she was part of a team that published and disseminated information on microfinance to the industry. Prior to that, Medha completed an internship with Acumen Fund, Pakistan where she provided management assistance to one of Acumen Fund’s investees and also created a health care sector mapping for Pakistan. Medha also spent three months in Uganda with the Foundation for Sustainable Development where she implemented a sustainable project for a local microfinance organization. Before making a transition into development, she spent more than three years working at KPMG, London in the Assurance & Advisory division. Medha holds a degree in Econometrics & Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics.
Marie Ryan
Global Programs Intern
Colorado, USA
Marie has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a Bachelor of Administration in International Business from Villanova University and an International Masters of Business Administration (IMBA) from the University of Denver. Marie believes that microfinance, coupled with education, is an optimal way to help bring sustainable economic development and opportunity to the world’s poor. She has traveled to Peru to learn about these concepts and spent 2007 living in Tanzania teaching about HIV/AIDS in a rural village. She hopes to spread awareness about this innovative approach to poverty alleviation, which is why she has joined MFTransparency.
Marie also works as the Associate State Director of the Colorado Small Business Development Network (CSBDC) in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) where she manages a federal grant program that provides counseling and training for small business entrepreneurs throughout the state.
Gbeton Somasse
Data Analyst
Massachusetts, USA
Gbeton holds a BA in Statistics from Abomey-Calavi University and a Masters in Economic Statistics from ENSEA-Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. He has served as Economist Expert for UNDP projects in Benin, working on poverty alleviation strategies, including microfinance. After joining the Central Bank of West African States, as a Financial and economic data analysis, he became part of the Banking and Microfinance Department where he was involved in MFI supervision. Gbeton is currently a graduate student in economics at Clark University. He was an active member of a feasibility study in Haiti for the Center of Sustainable Development at Notre Dame University of Les Cayes, which includes a microlending section. At MFTransparency, he serves as Research Intern in the Global Programs department. In his spare time, Gbeton enjoys writing, walking, reading, and good food.
Victor Ignacio Valido Vilela
Global Programs Intern
Paris, France
Victor is a native Spanish-Brazilian currently living in France where he obtained a Bachelors degree in Political Science and a Masters degree in International Economic Policy from Sciences Po University. He is interested in social and economic development issues, in particular relating to food security and the agricultural sector. Before joining MFTransparency, Victor worked at the Delegation of the European Union in Lebanon in the program management section, dealing chiefly with project proposals and framework contracts. Previously, he interned at the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and at the Hanns-Seidel Foundation. He speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and basic Arabic. Victor is excited to work with MFTransparency and hopes this experience will contribute to a future career in economic development.
Board of Directors
Tony Sheldon
New York, USA
President
Tony Sheldon is Executive Director of the Program on Social Enterprise and Lecturer in Economic Development at the Yale School of Management. Tony also works as an independent consultant; since 1990 he has worked with microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, primarily in the areas of financial management and business planning. He has also worked with several networks and funders, including the SEEP Network, the Ford Foundation, the World Bank, CGAP, ShoreBank International, and Women’s World Banking. He was on the faculty of the Boulder Microfinance Training Program from 1997 to 2006 and of Southern New Hampshire University’s Microenterprise Development Institute from 1999 to 2004. He is the author of several publications, including the CGAP “Handbook on Business Planning and Financial Modeling for MFIs” (with Chuck Waterfield), WWB’s “Principles and Practices of Financial Management,” and SEEP’s “Financial Ratio Analysis of MFIs” (with the SEEP Financial Services Working Group).
María Sara Jijón C.
Quito, Ecuador
Secretary
Maria Sara is the President of the Ecuador Chapter of Women Advancing Microfinance, a network of professional women that work on gender, microfinance, and economic empowerment. She is founding member of Red Mujeres por el Ecuador, a network of professional and businesswomen, which mission is to advance the opportunities of women in Ecuador. She is the Director of the School of Government, at IDE (Ecuador). She holds an LLB ’93 from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), and an ITP/LLM ‘95 from Harvard University (HLS). With more than ten years experience in the design, development and execution of rule of law and good governance programs and projects, her areas of interest are banking and finance, economic development and social entrepreneurship, with a special focus on financial sector regulation; project finance/PPPs; alternative finance & microfinance; and consumer protection within the financial industry. Maria Sara worked as Legal Counsel and Program Manager (1999-2004) for the International Development Law Organization –IDLO, Rome-Italy; as In-House Counsel (1996-1999) of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Ecuador Branch; as Legal Advisor (1995) to the Vice-minister of Finance of Ecuador, within a World Bank Program for the Modernization of the State (MOSTA); and as Tax and Legal Consultant (1990-1994) for Price Waterhouse & Co., in Quito. Her native language is Spanish. She is fluent in English & Italian. French conversational.
Howard Brady
Washington, USA
Treasurer
Howard, a CPA and auditor, is President and CEO of MFI Resources, a microfinance investment fund. He became involved with microfinance in 1994 after six years in public accounting, in which he focused on helping organizations become more efficient and effective. Howard has transferred this experience to his work in the microfinance sector where he’s an expert in identifying efficiencies in MFIs, including benchmarking performance, internal audit and financial projections. He has worked for Global Partnerships and for Unitus, including work on their due diligence team.
Murray Gardiner
Toronto, Canada / Cape Town, South Africa
Murray Gardiner is the Manager of Microfinance and Community Banking at Temenos. Temenos is a multi-national banking technology company with 700 commercial and 140 commercial microfinance bank clients in over 100 countries that are using the Temenos core banking software. Murray holds a Masters Degree from York University (Toronto Canada) in Cooperative Studies and Business. He has more than 25 years of experience with microfinance and community banking technology services as an entrepreneur, senior executive and manager. He also has direct operational and management experience in microfinance and community banking both advanced and emerging financial markets. Murray is a business and core banking technology expert in microfinance and community banking in emerging markets. He has recent business experience in more than 55 countries in Europe, North America and the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Nejira Nalić
Tuzla, Bosnia
Nejira Nalić is the Director of MI-BOSPO Tuzla, an independent microfinance organization in Bosnia. Under Nejira’s leadership of twelve years, MI-BOSPO’s all-female client base rose from 2,831 to 31,000. Prior to joining MI-BOSPO, Nejira worked for the Danish organization Save the Children – Red Barnet and then managed Humanitarian Organization Bosnian Relief Alliance, BOSPO Tuzla. At Humanitarian Organization Bosnian Relief Alliance, she was promoted from Project Manager to the position of Director. At this organization, Nejira’s primary achievements included creating and developing the micro-credit program for low-income entrepreneur women (a project supported by the World Bank) and also the center of informative legal assistance (a project supported by USAID OTI and UNHCR). This project eventually transformed into the NGO “Your Rights”. Nejira has participated in many relevant courses and trainings offered by Women’s World Banking, USAID, World Bank, DRC, UNHCR, ILO, the Micro-finance Center, and other organizations. In addition, she received formal education from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Tuzla.
Narasimhan Srinivasan
Maharashtra, India
Narasimhan Srinivasan has a Masters degree in Economics, professional certification in banking, and a certificate in training and development. He is deeply interested in development economics and development finance, especially rural finance, microfinance and livelihoods. Mr. Srinivasan has more than 30 years of involvement in financial sector in India, of which five years with the Central Bank (RBI) and 24 years with the Apex rural development bank (NABARD). He left NABARD from a senior position to take up consulting, which he did over the last two years in India and Vietnam providing services to World Bank, CGAP, IFAD, UNDP, UNOPS, ADB, GTZ, Microsave, Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Government of India. Mr. Srinivasan is involved in many significant initiatives in rural finance, institution development and strengthening, product development, training and capacity building, design, implementation and supervision of rural development projects of a wide variety and financing of rural infrastructure. He authored the State of the Sector Report on Microfinance in India (2008 and 2009) sponsored by Access Development Services and published by Sage and is currently engaged in authoring the report for 2010. In addition, Mr. Srinivasan has contributed chapters to edited volumes for three other books on microfinance and authored articles on rural development and rural finance for journals, newspapers and magazines. He presently serves on the governing boards of three development organisations, a company and advisory boards of two knowledge organisations.