Founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America is dedicated to helping women who live in poverty build small businesses to create better lives for their families.

Finance

Grameen America

Joan Calzado

Jennifer R. Jackson currently serves as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Development and Innovation at Walmart. In this role, Jennifer is responsible for the development of the company’s enterprise strategy, its M&A efforts and Store Nº8, Walmart’s incubation arm. Prior to joining Walmart, Jennifer had a nine-year career at Capital One where she held a variety of leadership positions, most recently as President of Capital One Canada responsible for the company’s overall strategic direction and operations in the country. With nearly two decades of strategy and operations experience, Jennifer has also held leadership positions at Xerox and McKinsey & Company, where she gained extensive experience in both domestic and international markets leading turnarounds and growth strategies. Jennifer is a graduate of Yale University and earned a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.

Jennifer R. Jackson

Lori Dickerson Fouché is currently a director of The Kraft Heinz Company, Hippo Enterprises Inc., Gusto, Inc., and the Princeton University Board of Trustees. Lori has spent most of her career working in financial services. Most recently Lori served as Chief Executive Officer of TIAA Financial Solutions. At TIAA she was responsible for retirement, banking, insurance, and wealth management, as well as enterprise marketing.  Lori joined TIAA after a series of leadership roles at Prudential Financial. As Group Head, Individual Solutions for Prudential she was responsible for leading all retail businesses and products, including individual annuities, life insurance, and wealth management. Lori was also President, Prudential Annuities, and Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Group Insurance. Before Prudential Financial, Lori was President and Chief Executive Officer of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, a top 20 property & casualty insurer focused on personal, commercial, and specialty insurance businesses. She also served as President, Commercial Insurance and as Senior Vice President, Specialty Insurance. Lori also held senior positions in strategy, marketing, and global product management for management and professional liability insurance products at Chubb. She was also a Principal and management consultant at The Parthenon Group.

Lori earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB in History with a certificate in American Studies from Princeton University. She has received many awards and recognition in her career, including inclusion on “Black Enterprise” magazine’s list of the Top 300 Most Powerful Black Executives and “Fortune” magazine’s Most Powerful Women.

Lori Dickerson Fouché

Carrie Caroselli

Kate Walpole

Patricia joined Grameen America in March 2022 to manage the technology function which includes the infrastructure and tools that run day to day operations as well as building and delivering strategic technology initiatives including the new Member mobile application.  Prior to Grameen, Patricia spent the majority of her career at a global digital agency where she partnered with world renowned clients to build technology capabilities to push business objectives and innovative, scalable solutions forward.  Most recently, Patricia worked for a health and fitness start up where she built out a strategic and shared technical architecture that powers a connected portfolio of global brands across studio-based, at-home and event-based fitness offerings.

Patricia Choi

Avis Chan

Mr. Shteir oversees the accounting and reporting at Grameen America. Mr. Shteir is a Non-Profit accounting and finances professional with over 12 years of experience in the Non-Profit industry. He began his career with 5 years in public accounting, performing audit and tax services for Non-Profit, government, and healthcare entities. He then proceeded to join the American Civil Liberties Union finance team, where he worked for over 7 years on complex treasury, accounting, reporting and compliance, and financial systems implementation projects. Mr. Shteir is a certified public accountant licensed in New York and holds a B.S. from Yeshiva University.

Joel Shteir

Lucas Ramirez is the CFO of Grameen America, responsible for leading FP&A, treasury, accounting, and shared services. Prior to Grameen, he held investment banking and finance leadership positions at US and Latin American financial institutions. Lucas brings in-depth experience in corporate and strategic finance, having executed over $5.0 bn in M&A and capital raising transactions (including IPOs and debt offerings), and having built and grown finance functions at leading firms. After working in equity research at Merrill Lynch in New York, Lucas moved back to Latin America and held investment banking and corporate finance roles at Bancolombia and Grupo Sura, two of the leading financial groups in the region. He then pivoted his career to financial management at start-up companies, including being the CFO in Colombia for Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Latin America, where he also led the legal and public policy teams. Lucas has a bachelor’s degree from Universidad EAFIT in his native Colombia and holds an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern and an MSc in Management from MIT.

Lucas Ramirez

Barbara Soto

Mr. Jorgensen was the principal proponent and organizer of Grameen America and Grameen PrimaCare and currently serves as the President of Grameen Research. He is also the majority owner of three industry-based conference and research companies, which in turn own and manage over 200 conferences and several membership-based research groups. Mr. Jorgensen’s companies include Cambridge Healthtech Institute, Corporate Research Group, and The World Health Care Congress which was launched in conjunction with The Wall Street Journal and CNBC. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Whole Planet Foundation. Mr. Jorgensen holds a B.A. in Political Science from Harvard University.

Vidar Jorgensen

Mr. Granoff is the founder and CEO of Pomona Capital. He previously served on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations and the 1992 Department of Treasury Presidential Transition Team. He is Chairman of the Boards of the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund, and Albanian American Development Foundation, and received the Order of Mother Teresa Medal from the Albanian President. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and World Economic Forum and has lectured at Harvard Business School and Wharton School of Business. He received his JD from Georgetown University and BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael D. Granoff

Alethia Mendez is the Division President for Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america). Ms. Mendez oversees strategic growth and operations for [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america)'s national microfinance program. She serves as the chief liaison for branch coordination on national programs and capacity building, spearheading operations in the field from [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america)’s Head Office in New York City. 

Prior to her current role, Ms. Mendez rose through the ranks at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america), holding several senior positions at the organization. In 2008, Ms. Mendez joined [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) as the organization’s first employee, serving as the inaugural Center Manager for [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america)’s Jackson Heights branch. Over her tenure, [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) has reached significant milestones including disbursing $1.8 billion in microloans to entrepreneurial women, expanding to 23 branches in 15 cities in the United States, adopting cashless loan disbursements and pivoting to virtual operations amid COVID-19. 

As a founding team member, over the preceding years, Ms. Mendez has established herself as a leader at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) with a wealth of knowledge of the challenges faced by minority businesswomen when accessing loan capital. Ms. Mendez is a proud advocate for financial inclusion and women in business, championing opportunities for [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) members to build their financial identities and digital financial literacy. She is passionate about the power of local networks to leverage growth for underserved businesswomen and believes in expanding [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america)’s program to communities where financial inclusion is needed the most.

Alethia Mendez

Abdul Hai Khan, a practitioner of microfinance and social business, joined Grameen Trust (GT) as the Managing Director on January 1, 2017. He had been working in Grameen Trust as the General Manager since October 2005.

Before joining GT, Mr. Khan worked as the Deputy General Manager of Grameen Bank and served as the Head of the Training and Special Program Department. He had the opportunity to work with Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in Grameen Bank for more than 25 years.

Abdul Hai Khan

Bob Annibale is a Senior Fellow at the University of London, SOAS, focusing on social and inclusive finance, social entrepreneurship, and financial and racial justice. He worked in senior business and corporate positions at Citi in Athens, Bahrain, London, Nairobi, and New York. 

He is widely recognized as the founder and Global Director of Citi Inclusive Finance (2005-2020) and his additional leadership of Citi Community Development, which is focused on financial inclusion, immigrant integration, affordable housing, and racial justice in the US. Since its inception, Inclusive Finance has mobilized over $3.8bn in financing across 36 countries, developing new products with partner institutions and clients that are focused on serving the financial needs of underserved and low-income communities, particularly women, working across Citi's businesses and geographies.

Bob Annibale

Mr. Mamdani is a Vice Chairman in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division. He led the Emerging Market Private Investments initiative and the Global Emerging Markets Private Equity Fund. He has over 23 years of experience across a range of transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, privatizations, and hostile defenses. Mr. Mamdani is on Morgan Stanley’s Microfinance Advisory Board, is a Board member of Arab Bankers Associations of North America, and a participant in the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University with a BA in Economics and MBA from Stanford University.

Mahmoud Mamdani

Professor Yunus, the “father of microfinance,” founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh on the premise that the poor are creditworthy. In 2006, Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” Professor Yunus is only one of six people in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Congressional Gold Medal. Professor Yunus published his work on microfinance and social business in his books, Banker, to the Poor, Creating a World Without Poverty, and Building Social Business. Professor Yunus serves on the Board of Grameen Research, which provides research, training, and support in the field of microfinance, as well as Sing for Hope, an organization dedicated to transforming underserved communities through arts outreach programs.

Muhammad Yunus

Marcus Berkowitz is the Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Grameen America. Mr. Berkowitz joined the organization in 2012 to oversee its nimble technology function, supporting the microfinance program to innovate and operate at scale. Since then, he has led Grameen America’s technology transformation and data strategy, converting the organization to cashless and paperless operations, integrating the national branch network to the cloud-based platform, Mambu, and leading its pivot to virtual branch operations amid COVID-19. Mr. Berkowitz has a background in Latin American Economic Policy, with an emphasis on cross-cultural collaboration. Mr. Berkowitz speaks Spanish and Portuguese and holds a B.A. from Pitzer College.

Marcus Berkowitz

Karlescia Brookins is the Launch Manager at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america). Karlescia has also worked as a Neighborhood Leadership Training Coordinator, a Programming & Events Director, and a Sr. Agency Relationship Associate.

Brookins has experience in developing, coordinating, and organizing grant workshops, neighborhood information meetings, and grant training opportunities. Karlescia has also assisted in the creation of new neighborhood and community groups for the purpose of applying for funding and community ownership. Brookins has collaborated with government officials to update grant materials and produce relevant information and updates to constituents.

Karlescia Brookins reports to Habibur Chowdhury, VP, National Branch Operations. They are on a team with Ramiro Saavedra - Branch Manager, Miami, FL, Carlos Fernandez - Branch Manager, Bronx, NY, and Priscilla Rivera - Branch Manager.

Karlescia Brookins

Mr. Chowdhury oversees all national [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) branches. Mr. Chowdhury began his career with Grameen Bank in 1985 as Trainee Officer and progressed through numerous position of increased responsibility, including leading Grameen’s microfinance program in Kosovo from 2000 to 2006. His last position at Grameen Bank was Senior Principal Officer from 2006 to 2009. He joined [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) in 2009 and founded the first branch in Omaha, NE.

Habibur Chowdhury

Shawn Coutu is the current Director of Accounting at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america). Prior to this, Shawn was the Founder of Karma Score, a digital platform company prototype that pairs eco ratings of products with individual and company consumption data to provide customers with real-time, personalized impact scores. Shawn has also held the position of Controller at San Francisco Zen Center and Head of Accounting & Finance at Doughnut Plant. Shawn's experience and expertise in the accounting field has made him a valuable asset to [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america).

Shawn Coutu has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business in Sustainable Innovation, a Master of Science (M.S.) from [Baruch College](/org/baruch) in Accountancy, and a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) from [The Ohio State University](/org/the-ohio-state-university) in Finance. Shawn is also certified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from the American Institute of CPAs.

Shawn Coutu works with and Joel Shteir - Director, Accounting. Shawn Coutu reports to David Gough, SVP & Chief Financial Officer.

Shawn Coutu

Mr. Dalio is the founder, CEO, and CIO of Bridgewater Associates and has over 35 years of experience in the financial field. Mr. Dalio was Director of Commodities at Dominick & Dominick, a Wall Street brokerage house, in 1973. In 1974, he joined Shearson, Haydon Stone where he was in charge of the Institutional Futures department. In 1975, Mr. Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates and grew the company to manage over $75 billion in assets. He received a BA from C.W. Post College University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Ray Dalio

Ms. Pritzker is President of the Seedlings Foundation, which supports programs that nourish the physical and mental health of children and families, as well as institutions that foster an educated and engaged citizenship. She serves on the board of Grameen PrimaCare, a non-profit organization that provides affordable primary care and a health promotion program to immigrant women. Ms. Pritzker is a Principal of the Pritzker/Vlock Family Office.

Karen Pritzker

Ben Farkas is a partner with Hellman & Friedman, a private equity firm with offices in New York, San Francisco, and London. With a focus on technology and tech-enabled services, Ben is currently the Lead Director of Ultimate Software, was formerly a Director of OpenLink Financial, Getty Images, and Sheridan Healthcare, and was active in the firm’s investment in SnapAV. Prior to H&F, Ben was employed by Bain Capital primarily in London, and Bain & Company in Boston. Ben received a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Economics, from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Ben Farkas

Nandita Bakhshi is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West and co-Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas USA Inc. Nandita also serves on the Board of Directors of Bank of the West, and BNP Paribas USA, and is a member of Bank of the West’s Executive Management Committee. 

Nandita joined Bank of the West in June 2016 and oversees a team of more than 10,000 employees across the bank’s five business lines: Corporate and Commercial Banking, Personal Finance, Retail Banking, Small and Medium Enterprise Banking, and Wealth Management.

Nandita Bakhshi

John Megrue is the Co‐Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, an investment management firm. Prior to joining Bridgewater Associates, John was Chairman and CEO of Apax Partners U.S., an independent global private equity advisory firm managing over $46 billion in private equity funds. From 1992 to 2005, he was a Partner at Saunders, Karp, and Megrue, a mid‐market buyout private equity firm.

John currently serves on the Board of Global Citizens and is a Board member of Grameen America, the largest microfinance non‐profit in the U.S. that provides loans, savings programs, credit establishment, and other financial services to women entrepreneurs living below the poverty line in the United States. John is also Vice Chairman of the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy's Office for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals. In addition, John is on the Board of Bridges Ventures, a U.S. social impact investment fund. He previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Cornell University.

John F. Megrue Jr.

Emma Klock

Priscilla Rivera

Andrea Cabrera

Muffakharul Islam

Jessica Nieto

Erick Quizhpe

Michael Dias

Mayra Cardona

Maria Antonetti

Emily Prust

Elizabeth Castillo is currently the Senior Manager of Human Resources at [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america). Prior to this, they served as a Contract Recruiter for the organization from October 2019 to March 2020. Elizabeth has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, having served as an HR Business Partner at Avon from November 2007 to April 2019, and as an HR Director at Allied Urological Services, LLC from August 1999 to May 2005. Elizabeth began their career in HR as a Coordinator at DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems from October 2005 to May 2007. Throughout their career, Elizabeth has gained expertise in employee relations, performance management, employee engagement, compensation management, talent management, succession planning, and organizational design. Her experience with managing full cycle recruiting processes for professional and management levels across 14 US cities makes their a valuable asset to [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america).

Elizabeth Castillo has a Bachelor of Science in Management from the [University of Phoenix](/org/university-of-phoenix-inc) and is certified by [SHRM](/org/shrm) in [SHRM](/org/shrm) - Certified Professional (SHRM-CP).

A direct report to Elizabeth Castillo is and Lana Musman - Associate, Human Resources. Elizabeth Castillo reports to Diana Sacchi, Chief Human Resources Officer.

Elizabeth Castillo

With over twenty years of experience working with non-profits, government and public officials Jeff’s experience includes serving as the Chief Development Officer for the JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly; Director of Development for Jewish Family Service of Bergen and North Hudson, where he created an award-winning campaign focused on hunger in the community; as well as the international Zamir Choral Foundation; Independent Curators International; and WNYC, [New York Public Radio](/org/new-york-public-radio-inc).

Among his public service, Jeff served as the Deputy Director of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs for the NYC Comptroller’s Office, directed the David Rockefeller Fellows Program for the New York City Partnership, and was the chief speechwriter for Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend as she ran for Governor of Maryland.  He also served on the Board of Education in Haworth, New Jersey.

Jeffrey Nadler

Ms. Benitez joins [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america) with close to 20 years of experience with human resources management in the nonprofit field. She has held the position of Vice President, Human Resources for the [Wildlife Conservation Society](/org/wildlife-conservation-society) and most recently [United Way of New York City](/org/united-way-of-new-york-city). Prior to her work in human resources, Miriam practiced law in government and the for profit and nonprofit sectors. She holds a B.A. from [Pace University](/org/pace-university-new-york) and a J.D. from [Columbia University](/org/columbia-university).

Miriam Benitez

Kevin Gonzalez

Joe Mastrosanti

Carlos Fernandez

Ramiro Saavedra

Md Asaduzzaman

Lana Musman

Diana rejoined Grameen America in November 2020, as Chief Human Resources Officer. 

Most recently, served as the EVP & CHRO at Welbilt, a global food services equipment manufacturer and prior to Welbilt, she was the VP HR for North America at LG Electronics USA.  She was also our CHRO at Grameen from June 2014 to January 2016, where she built the foundation of the HR function. Diana brings more than 25+ years of globa Human Resources expertise in addition to HR advisory and consulting experience and leadership coaching.  Her career also includes roles of progressive HR leadership at Avon Products, Bristol Myers Squibb and the United Nations Development Program. 

Diana holds a B.A. in Psychology from Texas Woman’s University and M.Ed. & MA in Psychological Counseling & Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. 

Diana Sacchi

Shah Newaz

Andrea Jung is the President and CEO of [Grameen America](/org/grameen-america). She is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products, Inc., where she served as CEO from 1999 through April 2012, and as Chairman from 2001 through 2012. 

Ms. Jung is a graduate of [Princeton University](/org/princeton). She is a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc., [Unilever](/org/unilever), [Rockefeller Capital Management](/org/rockefeller-capital-management), Wayfair Inc., and JUST Capital. She previously served on the boards of [General Electric](/org/general-electric) and Daimler AG.

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