Senior Staff

Elizabeth leads the effort on catalyzing affordable communications in rural areas through Village Phone as well as Mobile Money for the Grameen Foundation Technology Center. Prior to Grameen, she worked in various roles in corporate finance, strategic planning, negotiations and consulting in the U.S., China and France. She holds a Master’s in International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management and a B.A in marketing from USC. She is a member of the advisory council for Youth Assets, a non-profit empowering disadvantaged youth with information through technology in Swaziland and is a founding member and serves as the co-chair for Women Advancing Microfinance-Pacific Northwest Chapter.

Eric is an experienced entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial leader who has spent the last fifteen years on the cutting edge of technology and development. He now blends those disciplines to lead Grameen Foundation’s Application Laboratory and Community Knowledge Worker initiatives in Uganda.

Before joining Grameen Foundation, he was with Acumen Fund where he worked on technology issues both internally and with a number of investees. Prior to that, he established, managed and advised startup Internet and technology companies; worked with non-governmental organizations in developing countries; and managed complex projects. In the mid-1990s, he started an Internet Service Provider in the Washington, DC area called Internet Interstate, which was acquired by Verio, Inc., and he later held a variety of positions in management and marketing for both large and small Internet companies.

Eric has a BA in International Relations from Emory University and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University, for which he completed a number of projects including troubleshooting the operations of a microfinance organization in Honduras.

George Conard leads the Technology for Microfinance group at Grameen Foundation, combining twenty years of technology industry experience with a deep passion for the mission of microfinance. George joined Grameen Foundation in 2005 to lead the pilot of Grameen Foundation’s Village Phone program in Rwanda and then launched Village Phone Rwanda SARL. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, George drove international marketing and product development efforts, focused on education, at Microsoft Corporation and has volunteered and consulted on technology for development issues for a wide range of organizations, including Digital Partners, Microsoft and the Asia Foundation.
 

Kate Druschel Griffin is a microfinance professional with regional experience in Asia.  She currently leads GF’s initiative to reach the world’s poorest people with access to reliable business opportunities and financial management tools.  She has also overseen programs in the Philippines, East Timor, and Indonesia, and led GF’s strategic expansion into China.  She is currently an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and is a board member of Women Advancing Microfinance International.  Previously, Kate focused on microfinance policy and poverty measurement tools at the IRIS Center at the University of Maryland.  A Mandarin Chinese speaker, Kate holds an MA in International Development from American University and a BA from Kenyon College.

A generalist for over 20 years, Barb specializes in applying human resources and operational best practices in rapidly growing organizations.  After 18 years in the healthcare profession, Barb spent two years at Freedom from Hunger, where she gained experience in global human resources.  Barb joined Grameen in April 2009 and is focused on our expansion in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  She also manages senior-level recruitments both domestically and internationally.  Barb is passionate about strengthening the local community and volunteers her time with several nonprofit organizations focused on community development.

With more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit management and volunteer mobilization, Shannon Maynard joined Grameen Foundation in February 2009 as Director of Bankers without Borders®.  She previously was the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation and managed strategic initiatives for the federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Her work has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Nonprofit Quarterly and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. A former AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, Shannon received an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in journalism and political science from the University of Richmond.

Chandni Ohri is a development professional with a keen interest in poverty alleviation. She is the Director for Asia programs at Grameen Foundation an international non-profit using the power of microfinance and technology to enable the poor, especially the poorest, to create a world without poverty. She has been advancing Grameen Foundation’s mission in India and Pakistan over the last six years and has provided a mix of financial and technical support to over ten microfinance institutions over that time. Chandni completed her MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and a Masters in International Development from University of Washington, Seattle. She is a native of India and fluent in English, Hindi and Punjabi.

Emily has over seven years experience in the technology sector, most recently at Amazon.com where she oversaw product development, marketing and strategic planning for the used product ("marketplace") business which achieved $81M of sales in the first year of operations. Prior to that, she worked at Wired Digital (on-line division of Wired Magazine) where she was the Senior Producer of Wired News. Emily has had a long love for India. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University with a degree in Comparative Religion and South Asian traditions and spent her junior year of college studying at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India.

Seena Aras creates and implements online and direct mail fundraising campaigns for current and prospective donors, and leads efforts to increase visibility through online advertising, search marketing, social networking and e-mail.  Seena brings a decade of experience in traditional and new media marketing and sales, primarily focusing on new business and partnership development.   Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, Seena worked in digital advertising for Microsoft where she led account relationships with top direct response advertisers, global brands, and digital agency buying groups in the U.S. , South Africa and Europe.   A graduate of Boston College with a degree in Economics, Seena is fluent in Spanish and has worked in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Singapore.