Staff
Alyse Nelson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Voices Global Partnership. A co-founder of Vital Voices, Alyse has worked for the organization for twelve years, serving as vice president and senior director of programs before assuming her current role. She has worked with women leaders to develop training programs and international forums in over 120 countries and has interviewed more than 200 international leaders.
Prior to her work with VVGP, Alyse served as deputy director of the Vital Voices Global Democracy Initiative at the U.S. Department of State. Her position aided former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s commitment to promote the advancement of women as a U.S. foreign policy objective. Alyse helped design, coordinate, and implement Vital Voices conferences, projects and initiatives throughout the world. Alyse worked with the President’s Interagency Council on Women at the White House and U.S. Department of State from July 1996 to July 2000. She attended to UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995 and has served as an advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
She completed her graduate degree work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and she is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves as a board member of Running Start, which helps young women and girls in the United States get involved in politics and their communities. She is also a present member, of the Advisory Committee on the Secretary of State's Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society. In 2006, she was named one of “Ten Women to Watch” by the Washingtonian Magazine and in 2007, she was honored by Emerson College with the Distinguished Leader Award.
Alyson Wise is Vital Voices’ Global Network Officer. In this positon, Alyson will support and cultivate the organization’s most signature women leaders to advance the organization’s mission and vision. Alyson joined Vital Voices in 2006, and has played a key role in the development and implementation of cross regional leadership and mentoring programs, including the FORTUNE/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. She has supported Vital Voices regional summits in Africa, Eurasia and Latin America. Alyson holds a BA in Africana Studies and French from Sarah Lawrence College. She speaks French proficiently and has studied in France and Senegal, where she conducted field research on human rights education programs targeting the eradication of female genital mutilation in rural West Africa.
Ann Hoffman joined Vital Voices in March 2009 as Web Content and Communications Manager for the Middle East and North Africa Businesswomen’s Network (MENA BWN), then moved on to the role of Director of Online Communications in 2010. In this capacity she is responsible for the overall growth and strategic direction of Vital Voices' online presence, including managing a multi-phased website redesign effort beginning in the spring of 2010. She began her nonprofit career at the Middle East Research and Information Project and continued at the New Israel Fund, where she managed public education programs on democracy, social justice and civil and human rights. At the Prevent Cancer Foundation she managed online communications, fundraising and multi-channel marketing programs. Ann holds a BA in Political Science from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
Annie Hurwitz is the Executive Assistant to the President at Vital Voices Global Partnership. She supports the President on programmatic, administrative and logistical activities both locally and internationally. Before joining Vital Voices, she worked at Taurus Education, an education consulting firm, in Shanghai, China. Annie graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Asian Studies. During college, she worked at Women’s World Banking in New York and spent her junior year abroad in China.
As a democracy and governance practitioner who specializes in women’s political participation, Carey has been leading Vital Voices’ political and public leadership programs since 2011. She graduated from The London School of Economics and Political Science with a Masters of Science in Gender, Development, and Globalization in 2008. Carey’s dissertation research on women’s political representation in post-conflict Rwanda won the 2008 FWSA Essay Competition and was published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of International Women’s Studies. Carey has also contributed research for Plan International’s Because I Am A Girl Report 2009, and has written for a variety of publications, including the Virginia Quarterly Review and Suite 101 magazine.
Carey first joined Vital Voices as a research consultant in July 2009, when she conducted research on women’s leadership and the UN Fourth World Conference in Beijing. In December of 2009, she became the Events and Outreach Coordinator for Vital Voices, utilizing her experience in international event coordination and management of missions in 12 countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia for Operation Smile International.
Celena Green is Program Officer-Africa at Vital Voices Global Partnership, and manages political participation, economic empowerment and human rights programs serving women leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has a BA in Africana Studies from Brooklyn College-CUNY, and over 14 years of experience in international and community-based organizations serving women and youth. Prior to joining Vital Voices, she was a program director at the International YMCA of Greater New York managing international exchange and training programs. Celena also spent two years conducting program development and resource mobilization trainings with YMCAs throughout Southern Africa a capacity-building volunteer with the Zimbabwe National Council of YMCAs. She began her career as a program associate and later, Director of Development for Global Kids, Inc., a New York-based youth development and education organization. Celena remains committed to expanding opportunities for leadership and global service to women and youth.
Chris Carr Joined Vital Voices as its Chief Operating Officer in July of 2011. He is a CPA who has spent the majority of his professional career working in non-profit advocacy organizations. He spent the last 21 years with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, serving as its Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since 2000. Prior to joining the Brady Campaign, Chris was the Vice President of Finance and Development at Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group. He served as Acting President of both of these organizations. Chris began his work career in public accounting after graduating from the University of Maryland.
Chris is a native of the DC area and currently lives in Kensington, Maryland with his wife and three children.
Christie Edwards has worked as a gender consultant on women’s international human rights for several DC organizations and has been with the Middle East and North Africa team since January 2010. She received her J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, specializing in international human rights law. In addition to her private practice of asylum representation for political refugees, she became an Adjunct Professor and Pro Bono Fellow at TJSL in 2007, teaching an international human rights course and coaching students to compete in an international moot court competition. Christie also completed her LL.M. degree at AU’s Washington College of Law, specializing in human rights and gender. In 2010, she received a Helton Fellowship from the American Society of International Law, which allowed her to work in Casablanca, Morocco with local NGOs working on an advocacy campaign for greater legal rights for single mothers. She has published law review articles on the cultural context of sex trafficking in China, the use of gender budget analysis to achieve educational parity for women and girls, and legal advocacy strategies for women's rights in Morocco.
Christine German is a Regional Program Manager for the Middle East and North Africa team, where she leads the implementation of regional programs building the capacity of local advocates and assisting the creation of advocacy campaigns throughout the MENA region. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Christine worked as a Program Officer for CHF International, a large international development NGO. She managed, provided technical assistance to, and developed programs in the Middle East and Caucasus, including establishing an IDP assistance program in Iraq and supporting an economic development and public-private partnerships program in Lebanon. Christine has also held positions at the Brookings Institution, the Abraham Path Initiative, and Seeking Common Ground. In addition to her 5 years of experience in international relations, she also worked on several political campaigns in the US at local and national levels, as well as having served as legislative aide to a Senator. She brings more than ten years of personal and professional experience in the Middle East and holds a MA in international human rights from the University of Denver.
Prior to joining Vital Voices in 2008, Cindy Dyer served as the Director of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. Cindy was nominated to this position by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate. As Director, she served as the liaison between the Department of Justice and Federal, State and International governments on crimes involving violence against women.
Cindy has spoken at numerous conferences and professional training sessions before national and international audiences. She was a specialized domestic and sexual violence prosecutor for 13 years and has received numerous awards and recognition for her service to victims. Cindy served for 10 years as a member of the Public Policy Committee of the Texas Council on Family Violence and she was a weekly hotline volunteer for 9 years at a shelter for battered women and their children.
Dania Gharaibeh has more than 10 years of experience working in Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Previously, she coordinated donor relations and funding for programs in South and Central Asia for Relief International, and helped establish an Egypt office during the revolution to support youth civic engagement. Dania also assisted in Horn of Africa famine response. Prior to that, Dania worked with Development and Training Services and Care International to develop USAID/Pakistan’s Gender Integration Strategy and established a gender-intelligent M&E system for their Economic Growth Portfolio. She also worked with the International Finance Corporation in Egypt on developing a first ever network of businesswomen's associations, and assisted Eve Ensler’s V-Day in creating a regional network of gender equality activists across the Middle East and North Africa. In Jordan, Dania led the gender component at a USAID-funded initiative aiming to improve women’s access to finance and markets, and worked with Freedom House on improving women’s access to justice in the Arabian Gulf.
Dania is a graduate of Political Science from Washington City University in Cairo and speaks Arabic, English, and Turkish, as well as conversational French and German.
Dereje Belay joined Vital Voices as Staff Accountant in May of 2011. In this capacity, he manages financial reporting, payroll, reviews of program budgets and daily accounting operations. Prior to joining Vital Voices, he was a Finance manager at Relief International, a Staff Accountant at EnterpriseWorks/VITA, and International Banking Officer at Wegagen Bank. He has a B.A. in Accounting from Unity University College and received an M.B.A. with Accounting Specialization from Maharishi University of Management in Iowa.
Dinah Jean joined Vital Voices in the fall of 2009 as an intern for the Human Rights Program. Following her internship, she was a Consultant supporting Vital Voices’ work on The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women, a public-private partnership between the Avon Foundation, Vital Voices and the U.S. State Department. Dinah graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in Political Science and Community Health. Prior to her work at Vital Voices, Dinah worked as a Research Assistant at Physicians for Human Rights where she focused on issues facing asylum seekers in the United States. In addition, Dinah studied International Health at University College London and interned for Malcolm Wicks, MP in the House of Commons of the British Parliament.
Emma Hersh joined Vital Voices in August of 2011 as Global Leadership Network Program Officer. Her prior work experience includes consulting for a non-profit economic development corporation; serving two members of the San Antonio City Council as council aide, field office manager, and, ultimately chief of staff; and field organizing for a number of local, state, and national campaigns. In 2011, Emma graduated from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service with a Master of Public Administration and specialization in public policy analysis. While at Wagner, she worked as teaching and research assistant for Senior Fellow Robert Shrum. Emma obtained her BA from Trinity University (TX) and holds a Certification in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Eniola Mafe joined Vital Voices in October 2010 as an Africa Program Coordinator. Eniola provides programmatic development and logistics support for Vital Voices programs in the U.S. and abroad. During graduate school she worked with Vital Voices, first as a Graduate Intern and later as a consultant for the Africa Program, where she supported efforts to design, implement and evaluate the capacity-building efforts of six businesswomen’s associations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Eniola worked with Women’s World Banking Ghana (WWBG), a microfinance institution. She also interned with the Corporate Responsibility group at APCO worldwide. She began her career as an Equity Financing Analyst at Merrill Lynch, where she managed hedge fund client relationships. Eniola earned an MA from Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service, specializing in International Business and Development and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in International Studies from Spelman College.
Eugenia manages the Latin American and Caribbean program to support women’s progress and strengthen their leadership capacity. Additionally, she supports the regional network of Vital Voices Chapters. Eugenia has extensive international experience and a demonstrated commitment to public service. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Eugenia worked in tourism development in Latin America advising on sustainable tourism projects. Previously, she provided legal assistance to incarcerated persons in Wisconsin and also managed public policy and literacy programs for the Hispanic/Latino community with the United Way. Her background in education stems from her experience as an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Edgewood College. Eugenia attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a BA in Spanish Literature and Hispanic Studies, and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies, an MA in Latin American Studies (focus on sustainable development) and a Juris Doctorate. She has also studied International Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima.
Gillian Robinson is the Middle East and North Africa Regional Program manager responsible for several country portfolios, including Israel, Morocco and Palestine, and contributing to multi-country programs. In this capacity, she supports the development of a regional businesswomen’s network, facilitates the creation of a network of women building peace, supports regional policy advocates, and fosters public-private partnerships and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Prior to this position, Gillian served as the MENA Program Associate and Program Assistant. She first joined Vital Voices in 2007 as the MENA Program Intern where she supported projects focusing on public-private partnerships and best practices to combat domestic violence. Gillian holds a B.A. from The George Washington University in International Affairs, with a concentration in the Middle East. She has researched peacebuilding and the inclusion of women in Jordan and has studied international affairs in Jordan and international development and public health in Switzerland.
Helah Robinson joined Vital Voices in October 2009. Working closely with the Africa Program Officers, Helah provides programmatic, logistic and development support for Vital Voices programs in the U.S. and abroad. Before joining staff at Vital Voices, Helah interned for the Senate Immigration Subcommittee in the Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, with the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and for Vital Voices’ Global Grants Department. She served as Facilitator for the Middle East Partnership Initiative’s Youth Summer Leadership Initiative, volunteered with a community-based human rights organization in Dakar, Senegal, and was an Advocacy Project Peace Fellow in Cameroon where she provided communication and capacity-building support for local women’s rights organizations. Helah graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a BS in Foreign Service, concentrating in international politics, institutions, and law, and she completed a Certificate of International Development.
Jennifer Morris is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Vital Voices Global Partnership. In this capacity, Jennifer works closely with the Development and Engagement team, creating opportunities for women leaders and volunteers in the Vital Voices network to become actively involved in carrying out our mission of promoting women’s leadership worldwide.
Prior to joining Vital Voices, Jennifer worked as a consultant to global companies, focused on global economic development and capacity building, international trade and corporate social responsibility matters.
Jennifer holds a B.A. in English Non-Fiction Writing & Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and an M.A. in International Relations and International Communication from Boston University.
Kathleen Hendrix is Senior Advisor to Vital Voices for Programs. Kathy has served as a Senior Advisor to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation's Humanitarian Prize, evaluating NGO finalists for the Prize around the world. She has also consulted with several U.S.-based NGOs and government contractors on international development and humanitarian projects, especially focusing on gender-related issues. During the 1990s Kathy worked at the U.S. Department of State and was involved with policy preparations, participation in, and follow up to the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Later at the White House and at State, she was Associate Director of the President's Interagency Council on Women. A former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, where she wrote about domestic and international social and political issues, Kathy served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Kathrine Nasteva joined Vital Voices in February 2011 as the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Program Assistant. Kathrine assists the Senior Director and Program Officer in the overall support and management of the economic development portfolio, including strategic integration and planning; coordinating operational functions of businesswomen’s networks in four regions, and executing one of Vital Voices’ signature programs, the FORTUNE/ U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. Previously, Kathrine worked as an intern and consultant with the Entrepreneurs in Handcrafts program, monitoring and evaluating the progress of women entrepreneurs completing Vital Voices training workshops in Kenya and Uganda.
Kathrine’s prior experience includes work with the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), where she designed and implemented the initial stages of SEWA’s scale-up project for solar lantern distribution in rural areas of Gujarat, India. She also completed an internship at the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she focused on competitive enterprise and export development programs in the Balkans. Kathrine holds an M.A. in Global Finance, Trade and Economic Integration from the University of Denver, and a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from Marquette University.
Katie Stanton joined Vital Voices in April 2011 as Online Communications Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for supporting the organization's overall message creation, delivery and analysis through the website and other online initiatives. Previously, Katie was the Internet Projects Manager at Turner Strategies, Inc., a progressive policy and communications firm in Washington, D.C. Her work focused on developing online strategy and executing communications campaigns for national nonprofits, with an emphasis on crisis communications. She also traveled nationally to train Environmental Protection Agency employees in social media and public speaking. Katie is the co-founder of Feminism2.0, a project aiming to connect women to the feminist movement online. She graduated from George Mason University in 2008 with a BA in English and Cultural Studies with honors.
Kianoosh Tahbaz-Salehi is the Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Economic Development and is responsible for assisting in the facilitation of training programs in Africa and the Middle East and North Africa regions. In the past year and a half she has implemented 3 training workshops that trained a total of 51 businesswomen in the handcraft sector. Since early 2010, Kianoosh has volunteered as an Intern Coordinator. Prior to joining Vital Voices’ staff, Kianoosh was an intern in 2005 as the Women Leaders of Iran Program Intern and in 2007 as the Leadership and Legislative Skills Intern, to support women leadership initiatives in Istanbul, Turkey. Kianoosh also developed her fundraising skills as an intern with the 2008 Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. She holds a BA in Government and International Politics with a minor in International Comparative Studies from George Mason University.
Lauren returned to Vital Voices in August of 2011 as the Program Officer for Leadership and Mentoring. In this role, she manages Vital Voices’ signature leadership and mentoring programs and is responsible for developing and implementing accompanying curriculum. Lauren previously worked at Vital Voices from 2006 to 2008 as the Global Programs Coordinator. Prior to returning to Vital Voices, she was the Research Analyst for Governmental and Legal Affairs in the University Counsel Office at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Lauren received her Master’s Degree in Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Temple University.
Malini Patel joined Vital Voices Global Partnership as Director for Middle East and North Africa in July 2010. Prior to her current position, she served as the Deputy Director of Middle East, Europe and Caucasus for CHF International and was responsible for vision and leadership; day-to-day management; program integrity; new business development; and internal and external relations. With over 10 years of experience in international development, Ms. Patel has overseen technical programs related to community development; democracy and governance; advocacy; competitiveness; local and regional economic development; micro-finance; organizational development; HIV/AIDS; and maternal and child health. Ms. Patel has worked for non-profit, for-profit, educational, and government entities implementing and managing development programs in Europe, the Caucasus, Africa, Middle East, Inter-America and the Pacific. Ms. Patel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Margaux Bergen is a global strategic communications and marketing specialist who has worked for 15 years in the worlds of international development and philanthropy in leading development and charitable institutions such as the World Bank, United Way WorldWide and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Her communications emphasis had been on business strategy, global branding, marketing and leveraging social media for global advocacy and increased programmatic and grassroots support. Some specific communications ventures include magazine and book publishing, branding campaigns, "super" events management for former world leaders, hosting editorial roundtables and acting as corporate spokesperson.
Margaux has led teams globally with a specific emphasis on communciatons and fundraising development on the following issues in the U.S., Africa, Latin America, China and Russia: gender, global health, sustainable urban development and faith and health.
Born in Paris and raised in London, she received her Master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh in History. She is a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her three children.
Maria Peña joined Vital Voices in 2010 as the Senior Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. In that role, Maria leads Vital Voices’ economic empowerment work globally, focusing on the growth of women-led small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the development of networks of businesswomen’s organizations in the Middle East & North Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Maria previously served as the Americas Leader of Entrepreneurship within the corporate responsibility function at Ernst & Young, one of the world’s largest professional services organizations, where she was responsible for developing strategies and directing initiatives to support entrepreneurship across the Americas. Prior to that role, Maria was responsible for designing and managing the firm’s signature corporate responsibility programs, with a special focus on emerging market entrepreneurship.
Maria began her career as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting and IBM Business Consulting Services, specializing in large-scale technology transformations of major multinational corporations. She also served as a risk advisor to Fortune 500 companies while at Ernst & Young, managing a specialty group focused on enterprise resource planning investments. She has contributed to multiple thought leadership pieces, including the Groundbreakers series of reports on women’s economic empowerment, and is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer on the topic of women’s entrepreneurship. Maria holds a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Mary MacPherson is Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Businesswomen’s Network for Vital Voices. She is an industry executive with background in corporate and nonprofit organizations, expertise in the role of entrepreneurship in economic development and experience in nonprofit organizations and governance. Mary has worked in senior management roles at Apple Computer, MCI Telecommunications Corp. and Blackboard, Inc. and served as Executive Director of Netpreneur.org, an initiative of the Morino Institute.
Mary’s non-profit service includes Board Chair of Mary’s Center for Child and Maternal Care, Honorary Board Member of College Summit of the National Capital Region; member of the Organizing Board of MindShare; Vice Chair of the Slovak American Foundation, and board member of the Path Forward Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
In 2003, Mary was recognized by Women in Technology and the March of Dimes as a Heroine of Technology. In 2001, Washingtonian Magazine named her one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington. She holds a BA in American Studies from Mary Washington College.
Mayra Buvinic, a Chilean citizen and internationally recognized expert on gender and development and social development, recently retired from her position as Director for Gender and Development at the World Bank. Before joining the Bank in 2005, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) where she headed the Social Development Division and advised the IDB on violence prevention (1996-2005). Prior to that, she was founding member and President of the International Center for Research on Women in Washington, D.C. (1978-1996). She has written extensively on gender and development and gender and poverty issues; violence reduction and violence prevention; and social development and social inclusion, the latter with a particular focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. She has a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Working closely with the Senior Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, Melissa provides programmatic and administrative support for LAC initiatives and chapter development and communication strategies. She also develops content for the online blog and newsletter. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Melissa interned with Semillas, A.C., Latin America’s first women’s fund based in Mexico City, Mexico, and for the National Hispana Leadership Institute, a Latina professional development non-profit. While at Stanford University, Melissa studied abroad in Santiago, Chile and Paris, France. She also served as an Undergraduate Senator and Co-President of the campus MEChA chapter, and helped organize a Living Wage campaign for low-wage campus workers. Melissa graduated from Stanford University in 2009 with a B.A. in International Relations and a Minor in Latin American Studies.
Melysa Sperber is Director of Human Rights at Vital Voices Global Partnership. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Melysa was a Staff Attorney at the Tahirih Justice Center, a non-profit legal services agency that provides services to women fleeing gender-based persecution. Melysa handled a caseload of over eighty immigration matters involving domestic violence survivors, human trafficking victims, asylum seekers, and victims of violent crime. During law school, Ms. Sperber received two Equal Justice Fellowships for her work with the UNHCHR and for her work with Public Citizen Litigation Group. Melysa worked as a law clerk for the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights. Melysa also spent time working under former UN Special Representative on Internal Displacement Dr. Francis M. Deng at the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement. Melysa is an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School where she teaches Refugee & Asylum Law.
Mekdes Woldemariam is Staff Accountant at Vital Voices. In this capacity, she manages financial reporting, payroll, and daily accounting operations. Mekdes joined Vital Voices in November 2009, and works closely with the Vice President of Finance and Senior Staff Accountant. Prior to working with Vital Voices, she was a Financial Service Representative at SunTrust Bank, a Sales and Service Representative at Bank of America, and an Accountant with the Jesuit Refugee Service. In 2008, Mekdes earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland University College.
Nicole Hauspurg joined the Vital Voices team in 2009 after graduating Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where she studied International Affairs with a focus on international development and conflict resolution. Before joining the Human Rights team, she served as Global Programs Assistant on the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development team at Vital Voices. Prior to working at Vital Voices, she interned for Senator Barbara Mikulski and the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative. In summer 2008, Nicole conducted research on conflict resolution in Egypt, Israel, and the West Bank. She volunteered with the One World Youth Project in summer 2007 to help coordinate and implement a summit in Ghana for youth across the region to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals and implement a community-based project in the Liberian refugee camp of Budumburam. At Georgetown, she co-founded the Women in Politics organization, which brings together students and professionals for purposes of networking, mentorship and collaboration.
Working closely with the Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rebecca provides support for the LAC Businesswomen’s Network. In 2008 she received a Fulbright grant to Vietnam, where she taught American culture and English, researched sustainable tourism and worked as a consultant at the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Institute of International Education. As an undergraduate, she contributed to a University publication on quality of life indicators in Baja California at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, in La Paz, Mexico. Rebecca also spent time in Costa Rica researching the success and limits of the anti-domestic violence movement, which she presented in her senior thesis. Previously, she served as Border/Environmental Research Assistant at the Institute of the Regional Studies of the Californias at San Diego State University. Rebecca holds a B.A. from Knox College in Integrated International Studies and Spanish and studied at the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain and the Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Sandra Taylor is senior director of the La Pietra Coalition. She was previously president and CEO of Sustainable Business International LLC, a consulting business to assist global companies with CSR strategy, supply chain sustainability and strategic philanthropy.
From 2003 to 2008 Sandra was senior vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, Washington where she led all CSR programs including community affairs, the Starbucks Foundation, support for disaster relief and reducing the company’s environmental impact. She worked to establish price equity standards for coffee farmers in Central America and East Africa and led public/private partnerships for education, health, income generation for women in agriculture, skills training and access to water in Central America, India, and Africa.
From 1996 until 2003, Sandra served as vice president of public affairs for Eastman Kodak Company. Additionally, she was vice president, public affairs of British-owned ICI Americas Inc., and a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.
Taylor received her Bachelor of Arts in French from Colorado Women’s College and her Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. Taylor enjoys gardening, reading and photography and is a collector of fine wines.
Sara Vandepeute joined Vital Voices in 2004 as the Office Administrator. Since 2005, she has served as Office Manager, Associate Director of Finance and Administration and Director of Finance and Administration. Since joining Vital Voices, Sara has played an integral role in the finance, human resources and administrative functions. Since 2007, she has provided fiscal oversight for federal and private agreements and has overseen the organization's rapid growth. Prior to joining Vital Voices in August 2004, Sara worked at the American Field Service (AFS), an international exchange program for high school students. Sara also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia, where she taught Physical Science and Math. Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Willamette University.
Sarah Ewing joined Vital Voices in October 2010 as the Africa Program Assistant. Working closely with the Africa Program Officers, Sarah implements training and capacity-building programs both in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining Vital Voices’ staff, Sarah was a fellow at Polaris Project in Washington, D.C., where she worked on the National Human Trafficking Hotline to provide resources and aid to victims of human trafficking in the U.S. She volunteered as a physician’s assistant in Ayacucho, Peru, where she focused on maternal health and vaccination practices in rural communities throughout Peru. Sarah graduated from Colgate University with a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies and Latin American Studies, concentrating on human security and human trafficking.
Shelby Merkel joined the Vital Voices team in February 2011 as the La Pietra Coalition Program Assistant. In this position, she provides programmatic, administrative and logistical support for the development, execution and follow-up of La Pietra Coalition’s mission and objectives in Washington, D.C. and internationally. Shelby first worked with Vital Voices as an intern for the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Program. Following her internship, she was a consultant supporting Vital Voices’ work on the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Program, Rising Voices and the Global Women’s Mentoring Walk. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Shelby interned with the Social Development Program at the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, coordinating grants as well as researching potential early childhood education programs for the government of Abu Dhabi. Shelby holds a BA from Boston University, where she focused her studies on International Relations and Latin American Studies.
Sophia Aziz is Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator at Vital Voices Global Partnership. In this capacity, she focuses on the MENA economic development portfolio, supporting member services, organizational development, strategic growth, and sustainability of a regional network of businesswomen’s associations. Sophia first joined the Vital Voices team in August 2010 as the Middle East and North Africa Program Assistant, providing programmatic, logistical and communications support for all cross-cutting regional programs. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Sophia served as an AmeriCorps member and also worked with the British Council, Catalist, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, and the Washington Peace Center. Sophia holds a Masters of Science in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, where she focused her studies on effective implementation and localized advocacy models for women’s rights in Islamic states. She also studied Middle East Politics at the American University of Cairo and holds a BA in Political Science from The George Washington University.
Vicki Cate joined Vital Voices in July, 2010 bringing 20 years of accounting, finance and human resource experience. Vicki has worked in a variety of industries including banking, pharmaceuticals, insurance, government contracting and non-profits. Prior to joining Vital Voices, Vicki served as Assistant Controller of 5 years for a local area dental insurance company. Vicki currently holds a Bachelors degree in Accounting from Western Governors University and is currently continuing her education towards a Masters degree in Organizational and Strategic Management.
Vikki Loles is Manager of Communications and Media Relations at Vital Voices. In this capacity, she researches, writes and edits content for use in broad communications. Vikki manages media engagement and reporting, and works in close collaboration with senior leadership, communications and programmatic teams to develop strategic communications aimed at various audiences. She is Editor of the Vital Voices newsletter. Vikki first joined Vital Voices as an Online Communications and Writing Associate in June 2009. A graduate of the University of St. Andrews, she holds a Master of Arts with Honors in International Relations.
Yaba Haffar is the Development and Engagement Coordinator at Vital Voices. In this capacity, she supports the Development and Engagement Team in implementing fundraising strategies, organizing events, and managing the production of the play, SEVEN. She initially joined Vital Voices in August 2010 as Office Administrator and was responsible for managing all the organization’s administrative functions. Yaba graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in International Relations and created a special minor in Theater Arts and Film Studies. Prior to working at Vital Voices, she was in Accra, Ghana, as an associate with GATE Institute, an organization that provides teacher development in-services to both rural and urban schools in the country.
In 2009, Zoë Dean-Smith joined Vital Voices Global Partnership as the Senior Director of the Entrepreneurs Leadership & Business Development Program in the Handcraft Sector. She also works with TechnoServe on handcraft development in Swaziland. Her recent activities include working with IFC’s Grassroots Business Initiatives in Africa and SE Asia on handcraft development. For eight years, Zoe held a management position at Gone Rural, a successful handcraft export social business, working with over 700 Swazi women. In 2007, she launched Gone Rural’s nonprofit sister organization Gone Rural BoMake specifically to facilitate social development programs for Gone Rural’s women artisans. In March 2010, Zoe launched the Vital Voices Swaziland Young Women’s Mentorship Program for girls in their final year of high school. Zoe is a member of Vital Voices’ Africa Advisory Board and Global Advisory Board of Women Leaders. She is also a Jury member of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards.
