Steering Committee

Monique Cohen, Ph.D. (MFO)
Founder-President of Microfinance Opportunities, is a leading proponent of the market-led agenda for microfinance. A recognized expert on financial services for the poor and client assessment in microfinance, Dr. Cohen designed and led the AIMS (Assessing the Impact of Microfinance Services) project at USAID, where she served as Senior Technical Advisor in the Office of Microenterprise Development. She developed the Listening To Clients Series (interactive DVD series to train people in market research for financial services) with MicroSave.

Kathleen Stack (FFH)
Vice President, Program Development, joined Freedom from Hunger in 1984 and has thirty years of experience in international development, with particular emphases in program design, strategic business planning, microfinance, design of business and financial education curricula and training. She is a recognized leader in integration of microfinance and education services for financial institutions. Ms. Stack was a founding member of the Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network and served on the SEEP Board of Directors.

Jennefer Sebstad
Serves as Senior Technical Advisor for the Global Financial Education Project. Formerly of the Ford Foundation, Ms. Sebstad is a well-recognized exponent of impact assessment and client assessment in microfinance. Ms. Sebstad served as a key member of the AIMS team from 1994-2002.

Training Specialists

Danielle Hopkins (MFO)
Manager of Financial Education at Microfinance Opportunities. She is a training specialist with seven years of experience in international development, financial education, BDS, and project management. Ms. Hopkins has designed and implemented financial literacy courses for Hispanic microentrepreneurs with a CDFI and with Guarani communities as a Micro-Enterprise Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia.

Julie Lee (MFO)
Training Officer for Financial Education at Microfinance Opportunities. Prior to joining Microfinance Opportunities, she was an academic director at a private language center in the U.S. for international students. There she designed courses, developed curricula, trained teachers and counseled students from diverse cultural backgrounds. She has led training seminars and workshops on teaching, classroom management, cultural sensitivity, microcredit lending, and human trafficking. She has worked in China, Italy and Nigeria, and she taught for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zimbabwe.

Jessica Massie (MFO)
Training Officer for Financial Education at Microfinance Opportunities. She began her career as a teacher trainer and curriculum developer while serving as Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa. She later trained teachers, mentored student research projects, and wrote curricula at the National University of Rwanda. Previously, Ms. Massie has held positions at the Microcredit Summit Campaign in Washington DC, and Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity in Las Cruces New Mexico.

Rossana M. Ramírez (FFH)
Technical Advisor in Financial Education, joined Freedom from Hunger in 2005. She is a training specialist with eight years of experience in community development, financial literacy and needs assessments. Ms. Ramírez, a native of Mexico, has worked on the design and development of the curriculum for the Global Financial Education Program and is currently responsible for conducting training-of-trainers workshops in different regions of the world.

Maria Elvira Perdomo (FFH)
Technical Advisor with Freedom from Hunger, is a training specialist with five years of experience in financial education and microfinance, in Latin America, Africa and the United States. Ms. Perdomo, a native of Colombia, is responsible for conducting training of trainers for the Global Financial Education Program, training partners in Freedom From Hunger’s education modules (business topics) and Credit With Education products.

Lillian Díaz Villeda
Trainer and Learning Facilitator, joined the Global Financial Education Program in April 2006. She has eight years experience in microfinance, business development services and value chain development. Ms. Diaz resides in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia and is currently the Relationship Manager for the Asia region under the Global Financial Education Program.

Candace Nelson
Curriculum Advisor for the Global Financial Education Program, has 25 years of experience in microenterprise promotion, grants management and non-formal education, both in the United States and internationally. She is an accomplished trainer, curriculum designer, grants manager, writer and researcher.

Support Staff

Kate Larson (MFO)