Profiles

Dr. Debrework Zewdie is a committed, dynamic and inspiring leader who has dedicated the past 40 years to international development work, with a particular focus on mitigating the cross-sectoral impact of the HIV epidemic on development. She has achieved groundbreaking results in her capacities as scientist, strategist, manager and policymaker.  Highly regarded for her ability […]

Susan Yashar served as Deloitte Global’s deputy chief executive officer and general counsel, leading Deloitte professionals across the globe in risk, legal and ethics matters. Among other things, she oversaw major risk, legal, brand, regulatory and governance matters affecting Deloitte worldwide. She was named global general counsel in 2014 and global deputy chief executive officer in 2020; […]

Scott Wu has spent more than three decades combining his finance and innovation skills with a passion for global humanitarian endeavors. As the former chief executive officer of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), he led a public finance institution committed to improving quality of life for all Californians — prioritizing jobs, disadvantaged […]

Geremie Sawadogo has driven progress in international education, global development and human resource management for over 30 years.  He spent nearly 20 years at the World Bank Group, in various roles across human resources and program management. Between 1997 and 2002, Sawadogo served as country director for the Peace Corps in Benin. During this time, […]

Sheila Leatherman’s professional experience stretches across the breadth of health care management, public health and health policy. She has expertise in quality of care, performance improvement in the health sector, health systems reforms and humanitarian health. She has worked with over 50 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America, and she spent nearly […]

Anne Lynam Goddard has been a passionate voice for the world’s most vulnerable individuals and families for the past 40 years.   Goddard began her career in the Peace Corps, living in a mud house in Kenya and traveling among remote villages by motorbike. After earning a master’s degree in public health from the University of […]

Sarah Burch has over a decade of experience in financing and scaling emerging market startups. She is a former managing director at Rippleworks, a foundation that helps social enterprises scale by offering access to operating expertise and capital. As part of the executive team, Burch led operations for Rippleworks.  Burch joined Rippleworks in 2015 as […]

Penny Abeywardena is the founder and chief executive officer of Soft Power Strategies, a fellow-in-residence at New York University’s McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, and a leadership strategies contributor at Forbes. She is a senior advisor to multiple global institutions, and she has held leadership roles in philanthropic, nonprofit, governmental and multilateral institutions for […]

Greg Gunn is a leader in using technology, innovation and venture capital investing to promote educational and economic opportunity. As co-founder of Lingo Ventures, he makes early-stage investments in education and workforce technologies. Greg co-founded Wireless Generation (now called Amplify Education), a leading educational software company serving millions of K-12 students with groundbreaking instructional products. […]

Carlos Torres has more than 40 years of experience in the international development sector — primarily in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. His areas of expertise include international business development, trade and investment promotion, and microbanking.  He began his career as a consultant at Arthur D. Little Inc., […]