Acumen Fund Fellows - Class of 2008
Jawad Aslam, Saiban, Pakistan
Read Jawad's story about Saiban
Catherine Casey, Sustainable Healthcare Foundation (SHF), Kenya
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 supported LifeSpring Hospitals, 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.
Watch Tricia's video about LifeSpring
See Tricia's photos
Wangari Muchoki, Kashf Foundation, Pakistan
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.
Read Wangari's story about Kashf
John Tucker, VisionSpring, India
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.
Read John's story about VisionSpring
Chris Walker, Dial 1298 for Ambulance, India
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.Jon Yates, Advanced Bio-Extracts, Kenya
Jon spent the 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.