Acumen Fund Fellows - Class of 2008
Jawad Aslam, Saiban, Pakistan
Jawad is currently working with AMC, which provides low incoming housing in Lahore, Pakistan. As a Fellow, Jawad worked to scale the activities of Saiban, an Acumen investee near Lahore, Pakistan. He helped build brand awareness and a marketing strategy by reaching out to local media and building trust among target customers. Previously, he worked as a project manager for Saiban and for a land development company in Maryland. He has experience in both the public and private sectors in Pakistan and the U.S., where he earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore. Over the past year, Jawad has launched a new company—AMC, a for profit spin-off of Saiban, which has received investments from Acumen Fund and Bamboo Finance and will focus on scaling low-income housing in Pakistan.
Hear about Jawad's experiences as a Fellow in this short video
Watch this amazing video about Saiban produced by Jawad
Read Jawad's story about Saiban
Catherine Casey, Sustainable Healthcare Foundation (SHF), Kenya
Catherine is currently Innovation Manager at Acumen Fund. During her Fellowship year, Catherine worked with Acumen Fund investee, SHF, which provides micro- franchise healthcare and drug distribution in Nairobi, Kenya. Her efforts were focused on helping SHF franchises reach profitability and to improve their systems for data collection and management. Catherine is the former director of CAMBA’s Refugee Professional Training Program. She earned an MPP from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she was a Reynolds Foundation Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship. Catherine is now the Innovation Manager at Acumen Fund New York.
Watch Catherine's video about Senye, a community health clinic in Kibera
Tricia Morente, LifeSpring Hospitals, India
Tricia is currenlty the Marketing Director for Acumen Investee LifeSpring Hospitals. As a Fellow Tricia also worked with LifeSpring , which provides quality health care to lower- income women and children in India. She worked to create and implement LifeSpring’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy, including community outreach. Tricia is a former consultant at Katzenbach Partners and Braun Consulting. She has also worked with Women’s World Banking, the International Finance Corporation, and Grameen Foundation. She has an MBA from Columbia Business School, an MA in International Affairs from SIPA (Columbia University), and a BA from Harvard University. Tricia will continue her work at LifeSpring as a permanent member of the Marketing and CRM team.
Hear about Tricia's experiences as a Fellow in this short video
Watch Tricia's video about LifeSpring
See Tricia's photos
Wangari Muchoki, Kashf Foundation, Pakistan
Wangari is currently working for Equity Bank, a micro-finance bank based in Nairobi, Kenya. Wangari spent her Acumen year in Pakistan, working with the microfinance organization Kashf. She monitored and evaluated the Health Insurance Pilot and the Home Improvement Loan Pilot, devising strategies for further outreach. She also conducted a poverty study to assess the vulnerabilities of Pakistanis not accessing Kashf’s financial services. 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. Wangari is actively seeking opportunities in the social sector back at home in Kenya.
Hear about Wangarai's experiences as a Fellow in this short video
Read Wangari's story about Kashf
John Tucker, VisionSpring, India
Currently, John works for IDEO, a design consulting firm based in New York. During his Fellowship year, John worked at Scojo, Acumen Fund’s investment in low-cost reading glasses in India, where he supported the development of the vision entrepreneur channel, while also designing marketing tools and incentives for micro-franchises. John previously worked as a Project Lead for IDEO’s Transformation Practice and as a consultant at Sapient Corporation. He has a BA from Bates College. John will be returning to IDEO in its New York office working on a mix of social impact and traditional projects.
Hear about John's experiences as a Fellow in this short video
Read John's story about VisionSpring
Chris Walker, Dial 1298 for Ambulance, India
Chris currently works for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, based in Geneva, Switzerland. As a Fellow, Chris supported the work of Acumen Fund investee Dial 1298 for Ambulance, the Mumbai-based provider of emergency medical services with an ethos of service for all. He worked to develop and implement a marketing strategy to raise awareness about the ambulance service as well as providing assistance on business development. He was previously the Associate Director of International Relations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department. He earned an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University. Chris is considering options in the international development sector.
Hear about Chris' experiences as a Fellow in this short video
Watch this fascinating video about 1298 produced by Chris
Read Chris' story about 1298
Jon Yates, Advanced Bio-Extracts, Kenya
Jon currently works for The Challenge, a UK charity that trains youth to be involved in civil enagement. Jon spent the Fellowship year in Nairobi, Kenya, working with Acumen investee, ABE, where identifying the most effective method for agricultural production while assessing potential new botanical products as well as supporting our work in the Acumen Fund East Africa office. Jon was previously 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. Jon is returning to the UK to help design a community service program for young people.
Hear about Jon's experiences as a Fellow in this short video