Search

Peter Saling has 14 years of experience designing, leading, and managing programs to increase incomes through agriculture-based livelihoods. His expertise spans from expanding climate resilient livelihoods for marginalized and disadvantaged populations to increasing affordable access to financing for catalyzing enterprise growth. Saling has designed climate smart agriculture, economic development, and financial sector strengthening programs in more than a dozen countries across sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and the Middle East. He has worked with governments, the private sector, cooperatives and associations, and civil society to link agricultural producers and small businesses to markets, while also designing innovations to engage young people in agriculture and increase earning opportunities for smallholder farmers.

Debra Cammer Hines brings nearly three decades of executive experience to her role as chief solutions officer. She has had leadership roles at major consulting firms such as Ernst & Young and PwC and at IBM. She also has U.S. federal government experience from her stint at the Office of Management and Budget early in her career.  Debra has provided consulting services across the public sector – federal, state and local governments, healthcare organizations, and all levels of education (pre-k-12 and higher education). Her work has ranged from global technology services, finance, and housing to cybersecurity transformations, mentoring minority leaders, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assessments.

Dr. Jenna Jadin is an ecologist with 15 years of experience in climate change adaptation, mitigation, and land rehabilitation in the agriculture and forestry sectors. She has worked with both national and local governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and United Nations (UN) system organizations in the U.S., Indonesia, Afghanistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Montenegro, Djibouti, Azerbaijan, and most recently Ukraine. With these institutions, she has provided technical advice, capacity building, curriculum development, and hands-on implementation support. She has also led and supported project management and design for the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) , the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF) and bilateral donors and has led fundraising and strategic science-focused communications for NGOs and the UN.

Bennett LaFond is an agroecologist with eight years of experience working to strengthen U.S. and international agriculture and food systems. His work has centered around developing market-led approaches to improving livelihoods and creating resilience for farmers and their committees. He has worked with agribusinesses; a broad range of U.S. state and federal agencies; international donors and non-profits; and tribal, state, and national governments to design and implement programs to help farmers and their communities increase resilience, earnings, and production.

Melissa Schweisguth is an inclusive market systems development and economic growth expert with more than sixteen years of experience in the international development and food and agriculture private sectors. She has focused extensively on designing programs, providing technical expertise for implementation, developing market systems approaches and guidance, and developing and delivering staff training.

Dr. Heinrich Hock is an economist with 19 years of experience conducting research on labor, education, disability, and social insurance. His work focuses on producing results that help policymakers and program staff understand program outcomes for priority populations and research-based options for improving outcomes. He develops rigorous and feasible plans for research designs, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings.