Acumen Fund Fellows
Each year, the Acumen Fund Fellows Program provides extraordinary young professionals with a unique opportunity to use their skills to effect real social change with our portfolio organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India and Pakistan.
2008 Fellows Class
Jawad Aslam
Jawad is spending the year working to help scale the activities of Saiban, Acumen Fund's investment in housing near Lahore, Pakistan. Previously, Jawad worked as a project manager for Saiban in Pakistan and for a land development company in Maryland. He has experience in both the public and private sectors in Pakistan and the U.S. He earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore.
Catherine Casey
Catherine is working with Acumen Fund investee, SHEF, which provides micro-franchise healthcare and drug distribution in Nairobi, Kenya. Catherine was named a Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship, and she is the former director of CAMBA's Refugee Professional Training Program. She earned a MPP from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Tricia Morente
Tricia is supporting Lifespring, a chain of hospitals focused on maternal health in India. Tricia is a former consultant at Katzenbach Partners and Braun Consulting and worked with Womens World Banking. She earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and an MIA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia.
Wangari Muchoki
Wangari is spending the year in Pakistan, working with microfinance organization Kashf. Wangari was formerly the Assistant Human Resources Manager for Equity Bank, Kenya’s largest microfinance bank. She earned an MBA from the University of Nairobi.
John Tucker
John is working to develop the vision entrepreneur channel for Scojo, Acumen Fund's investment in low-cost reading glasses in India. John worked as the Project Lead for IDEO's Transformation Practice and as a consultant at Sapient Corporation. He has a BA from Bates College.
Chris Walker
Chris is supporting the work of Acumen Fund investee 1298, the Mumbai-based provider of emergency medical services with an ethos of service for all. Chris was the Associate Director of International Relations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and a former international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department. He earned an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University.
Jon Yates
Jon is spending the year in Nairobi, Kenya, working with Acumen investee Jamii Bora, Kenya's largest microfinance organization, which is working to build innovative housing solutions for former slum dwellers. Jon was the Organization and Culture Review Leader for Tearfund, the UK's sixth largest development charity, and is a former consultant at McKinsey & Co. He earned a BA at Oxford University.
2007 Fellows Class
Ayeleen Ajanee (Kashf - Pakistan)
Ayeleen worked for Kashf Foundation, helping to develop a branding strategy, create learning modules for their loan officers, and redesign the foundation's website. Ayeleen worked to streamline and strengthen recruiting, training, mentoring and staff retention programs. Ayeleen collaborated with designers to improve and standardize the look of branch offices, which, along with standardizing logos, signage, and colors, created a stronger marketing message and a more inspirational environment for Kashf's customers and staff.
The first Pakistani to attend the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, Ayeleen holds an MBA, specializing in Strategic Marketing. After high school in Karachi, Pakistan, she graduated from the Southern Methodist University of Texas with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Returning to Karachi in 2003, Ayeleen joined Unilever Pakistan as an Area Engineer, the first woman ever to hold such a position. An active member of her local mosque school, Ayeleen helped devise the curriculum and establish a library.
Eric Berkowitz (BroadReach and Scojo - China)
Eric worked with two different organizations during his fellowship. At BroadReach, Eric spearheaded a feasibility study and financial valuation for launching retail health clinics in China. He also helped BroadReach gain overall expertise and credibility in the Chinese healthcare sector and strengthened relationships with its local partner. Working with Scojo, Eric helped to streamline their supply chain to source and ship reading glasses more cost-effectively to Scojo's programs around the world. Eric also evaluated the potential launch of a Scojo China program by collecting market data and identifying partners with a presence and understanding of the rural healthcare market.Prior to becoming an Acumen Fellow, Eric ran his own consulting business, EBS Partners, focusing on projects in India, China and the U.S. in the areas of microfinance, financial services and business development. Previously, he was a consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and served as Director of the China office at Tractus-Asia, where he assisted foreign companies in making investment decisions and setting up operations in Asia. Eric holds a BS in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School. Eric is currently working (along with former Fellow Keely Stevenson) to build Blue Orchard's social investing arm in Geneva, Switzerland.
Adrien Couton (IDE India, GEWP)
Adrien worked with IDE India, a designer and supplier of low-cost drip irrigation for rural farmers. He conducted market research and supported the development of IDE exports for markets in Africa and Pakistan. Adrien assisted in preparing business plans and spearheaded operational improvements, including the implementation of a test pilot for the automation of IDE's order processing systems in order to increase its supply chain efficiency. In addition to technical support, Adrien helped to strengthen IDE India's relationships with project investors and build ties with potential future partners. He contributed to external communications and business development strategy by producing case studies, various proposals and reports.With experience studying and working in eight different countries, Adrien's professional background includes private equity, an internet start-up, the World Bank (for water and sanitation consulting) and four years with McKinsey & Company, working primarily in the energy and transportation sectors. He holds a Masters in Management from HEC Paris, a Masters in Political Sciences from Université de la Sorbonne, and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Adrien has joined Acumen Fund's staff in New York as the Water Portfolio Manager.
David Lehr (Drishtee - India)
David worked with Drishtee, a franchise of internet kiosks, to improve distribution models, integrate new products, restructure marketing activities, develop management tools and strengthen internal communications. David developed a new option for kiosk operation, enabling the use of mobile devices, regular phones, or paper-based orders as alternatives to total reliance upon a computer. This lowers the cost of entry for potential Drishtee franchisees, increases their businesses' mobility, and reduces Drishtee's maintenance costs. David also guided the implementation and modification of Drishtee's first health care delivery service offering, and he completed the first rollout of its core offering, the Mobile Medical Service (MMS). MMS visits target communities every week offering doctor consultations as well as emergency transportation services.David Lehr has over fifteen years of experience in international business development focused on software, telecommunications and other technologies. Before becoming an Acumen Fellow, David was a principal in an early-stage venture that delivers customized market data via mobile phones to farmers in the developing world. Previously, he held management positions with key Silicon Valley companies, including a role in launching Adobe Systems in China. He has lived and worked in several countries in Asia and speaks Mandarin Chinese. David holds a Masters of Pacific International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, and a BA in economics from the State University of New York at Albany.
David is currently consulting for several non-profits, including Acumen Fund, on issues related to technology and poverty alleviation.
Keely Stevenson (A to Z - Tanzania)
Keely worked in Tanzania with A to Z Textile Mills, the largest manufacturer of long-lasting insecticide-treated anti-malaria bed nets in Africa. Keely conducted analysis on eight new distribution channels that A to Z has developed into test pilots. These channels ranged from selling bednets from rural wholesaler delivery trucks to arranging paycheck deduction plans for interested employees of larger corporations. She simultaneously explored effective methods for gathering information on customer preference and actual use of the nets. While living in Tanzania, Keely also assisted the Acumen Team in designing and implementing the due diligence process for other potential investments in the East Africa region.Before becoming an Acumen Fellow, Keely served as the Interim Executive Director of Social Impact, a start-up professional development program for social entrepreneurs in India. She has worked for the Skoll Foundation, Triodos Bank UK, the Royal Bafokeng Nation of South Africa, ProPeru and the California Legislature, and was a United Nations Fellow. While at Skoll, she created Social Edge (www.socialedge.com), the world's first online community for social entrepreneurs. As a consultant in South Africa, Keely provided strategic recommendations for the Kingdom's economic development program; working for Triodos Bank, she assessed the viability of a social enterprise risk capital fund. Keely received a BA in Political Science from Berkley, where she was an Honors Alumni Scholar, and she earned her MBA from Oxford University. Her online journal is fromtribecatotanzania.blogspot.com. Keely is working (along with former Fellow Eric Berkowitz) to build Blue Orchard's social investing arm in Geneva, Switzerland.
Nadaa Taiyab (Medicine Shoppe - India)
Nadaa worked for Medicine Shoppe, an internationally recognized pharmacy chain that has recently launched a new store format called SEHAT Clinics targeting low-income people. Nadaa was the project lead for the first low-income store rollout, and she assisted in the opening of eight new clinics aimed at serving the urban poor. She focused her work on making adjustments to the business model, changing site selection strategy, developing new pricing models, creating a new community outreach marketing program, redesigning doctor recruitment, and creating standardized operating procedures and metrics for the clinics. She also was a key leader in identifying a need to change the look and feel of the clinics and shops in order to make them more comfortable and appealing to their target customers.Before joining the Acumen Fellows, Nadaa worked as a financial analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Goldmans Sachs in New York. She also worked for the World Bank in Indonesia, piloting a project for private sector development in post-conflict areas. Nadaa was born in Sri Lanka, she grew up in Indonesia and Canada. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in International Relations, and holds a Masters from the Fletcher School at Tufts in International Business and International Environmental Policy, with a focus on climate change, carbon markets and sustainable development. Nadaa is consulting for Environmental Defense, scouting the energy market in India, and then returning to Vancouver to start a business of her own.
Jocelyn Wyatt (ABE - Kenya)
Jocelyn worked for Advanced Bio-Extracts (ABE), a leading manufacturer and cultivator of artemisinin. Jocelyn supported ABE's second round of Acumen Fund financing by constructing and revising ABE's financial models, which made it easier to attract additional investors and to make plans and predictions for the future of the business. Jocelyn produced reports and projections for the management team, developed standardized operating procedures, and liaised with potential investors on finance-related issues. In addition to her analytical work, Jocelyn took on the project of developing an HR system for ABE, designing and putting into place centralized personnel systems for the company to organize and track its hiring, salary increase, and staff evaluation processes.
Jocelyn completed her MBA at Thunderbird in August 2006, where she organized the Net Impact Global Citizenship Challenge and the International Development Association Microfinance Conference. Previously, Jocelyn served as Country Director for Scojo Foundation in India and was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the program including finance, accounting, marketing, distribution, inventory management and training. She also worked for five years for Chemonics International, a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, DC. Her blog is jocelynwyatt.com/blog.
Jocelyn has joined design firm IDEO to lead its bottom-of-the-pyramid design efforts.