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Board, Management, & Staff |
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Grameen America has assembled a top management team, including Professor Muhammad Yunus, to lead the organization’s efforts to help break the cycle of poverty through microfinance in disadvantaged U.S. communities.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Professor Muhammad Yunus
Member of the Board of Directors of Grameen America, Inc.
Professor Yunus is famous worldwide for his successful application of the concept of microcredit, the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Professor Yunus founded the Grameen Bank. In 2006, he and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” Professor Yunus himself has received several other international honors, including the ITU World Information Society Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award and the World Food Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize. Professor Yunus holds a Ph.D in Economics from Vanderbilt University and M.A. and B.A. from Dhaka University in Bangladesh. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and Creating a World Without Poverty.
Professor H.I. Latifee
Member of the Board of Directors of Grameen America, Inc.
Professor Latifee is an economist and Managing Director of Grameen Trust, the international outreach affiliate of Grameen Bank. Professor Latifee has been with the Grameen organization since its founding by Professor Yunus in 1973. Before joining Grameen Trust in 1994, Latifee was a Professor of Economics at the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh. As a result of his experience with Grameen Bank, Grameen Trust and Grameen partners worldwide, Professor Latifee is a highly regarded microfinance expert. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Dhaka University in Bangladesh as well as a M.A. from Boston University. He is a winner of Business Week's Stars of Asia Award, 2001, for his leadership in the field of microcredit and poverty alleviation.
Vidar Jorgensen
President of Grameen America, Inc.
Member of the Board of Directors of Grameen America, Inc.
Mr. Jorgensen is the principal proponent and organizer of Grameen America. In addition to Grameen America, Mr. Jorgensen is a supporter of Grameen projects worldwide. He is the majority owner of six industry based conference and research companies, which in turn own and manage over 300 conferences and several membership-based research groups focused on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, health care, insurance, financial services, entertainment, and infrastructure development. Mr. Jorgensen’s companies include WRG Research, Inc., Cambridge Healthtech Institute, Cambridge Healthtech Associates and The World Health Care Congress, which was launched in conjunction with The Wall Street Journal and CNBC. Mr. Jorgensen holds a B.A (Honors) in Political Science from Harvard University.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Stephen A. Vogel
Chief Executive Officer
In addition to his current role with Grameen America, Mr. Vogel is a general partner in Vogel Partners, LLP, a private equity investment fund which he founded. Mr. Vogel previously served as a Venture Partner with Entrench Capital Partners, and as President and Chief Executive Officer of Synergy Gas Corp. During his tenure at Synergy (1971-1995), Mr. Vogel grew the business from its first customer to a company with over 250,000 customers, 2,700 employees and more than $300 million in annual revenue. In 1995, Mr. Vogel co-founded a private equity firm called EntreCapital Partners. He is currently on the Board of Trustees at Montefiore Medical Center and Children's Hospital and on the Board of Directors of Lighthouse International. Mr. Vogel is a past Trustee of the Horace Mann School and a former Director of National Propane Gas Association.
Leslie Kane
Executive Vice President
Ms. Kane joins our team from Morgan Stanley, where she has worked in New York, Mumbai, and Hong Kong since 2001. Most recently, Ms. Kane was Vice President and Operations Officer of Morgan Stanley's Real Estate Funds in Hong Kong, where she helped manage a team of 100 employees across six countries in Asia. Prior to this, she worked in Morgan Stanley's Investment Banking Division in New York and Mumbai, where she had responsibilities to role out the Firm's global strategy with the bank's senior management team. Ms. Kane holds a BA in History from Yale University.
Daniel Brodhead
Director, Communications and Strategic Relations
Mr. Brodhead joined Grameen America as Director of Communication and Strategic Relations. His professional background has been in marketing and development. Before joining the Grameen America team, Mr. Brodhead served as Marketing Coordinator for the independent publisher W. W. Norton & Company, and worked in development at Yale University and Columbia University. Mr. Brodhead is proficient in Spanish and holds a BA in History from Yale University.
Katherine Brodsky
Director, Advocacy & Associate General Counsel
Ms. Brodsky is an attorney whose professional background has been in international human rights and criminal defense in a public interest setting. Most recently, Ms. Brodsky worked at Legal Aid Society as a staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Division. Prior to this, she worked for the International Center for Transitional Justice in Cape Town and New York, researching options for transitional justice in sub-Saharan Africa. Ms. Brodsky speaks Spanish and French, and holds a BA in History from Harvard University and a JD from New York Uuniversity School of Law.
Paula Torres Carbonell
Director, Marketing & Online Media
Ms. Carbonell has a background in corporate and nonprofit marketing. During her tenure at Carrefour and Procter & Gamble in Argentina, she specialized in marketing initiatives and in-store management for consumer goods products. Most recently, Ms. Carbonell was In-Store Marketing Manager for the Beauty Portfolio. Together with her family, she pioneered the creation of Fundacion Ruta 40, a nonprofit organization in Argentina. Ms. Torres Carbonell, who speaks Spanish, French and English, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Universidad Torcuato Ditella in Argentina and a Certificate in Fundraising from NYU.
Seema Gohil
Director, Finance and Development
Ms. Gohil joined Grameen America as Director of Finance and Development. Her professional background has been in corporate finance. Prior to joining Grameen America, Ms. Gohil worked in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley. Ms. Gohil holds a BA in Finance from the University of Miami.
Rakhi Patel
Director, Development
Ms. Patel joined Grameen America as Director of Development from the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP where she will be an associate in the Los Angeles office in October 2010. Her professional background has been in supply-side operational management, law, and publishing. Most recently, Ms. Patel was Editor-in-Chief of the UCLA Law Review, where she managed a staff of 88 editors and published six issues of the Review. Ms. Patel speaks English, Mandarin Chinese, Gujarati, and Korean. She holds a BA in Economics and Chinese Studies from Grinnell College, a MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford University, and a JD from UCLA School of Law.
Katherine Rosenberg
Director, Evaluation and Education
Ms. Rosenberg joined Grameen America as Director of Evaluation and Education. Most recently, Ms. Rosenberg was a research coordinator at New York Presbyterian Hospital where she was responsible for project management, patient recruitment and evaluation activities for multiple projects. Prior to this, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal where she designed and implemented numerous health education efforts, disease prevention programs and community development initiatives; the latter included the establishment of a village-operated cooperative pharmacy. Ms. Rosenberg holds a BA degree from Union College in American Studies and an MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
Bruce Patrick
Certified Public Accountant
Mr. Patrick joined Grameen America from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a Director in International Tax in San Francisco and New York. His professional background is in corporate finance, tax and accounting. He also has had an extensive career with ExxonMobil Corporation as Senior Tax Counsel, where he participated in negotiating exploration and production contracts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Niger, Algeria, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Bolivia, Brazil, Portugal, and France. He was also Far East Tax Counsel for Chemical Bank (now JPMorgan Chase) and International Tax Counsel for Revlon, Inc.
Tanzila Salahuddin
Project Manager, Development
Ms. Salahuddin joined Grameen America as a Project Manager of Development after graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration from Elmira College in New York. During her college years, she has done several internships in the fields of management and marketing. Ms. Salahuddin also worked at Chakri.com in Bangladesh where she assisted the Managing Director in building the marketing campaign for the initial launch of the website, which is now the second largest career site in Bangladesh. Ms. Salahuddin is fluent in Bengali and English.
Preetika Singh
Project Manager, Finance
Ms. Singh joined Grameen America as a Project Manager focused on credit scoring and accounting. Her professional background is in finance and marketing. Prior to joining Grameen America, Ms. Singh was as a corporate relationship manager at Indiabull Securites Ltd. Prior to that, she was a customer relationship manager at Mahindra & Mahindra, an automobile and tractor manufacturer. She holds a post graduate degree in Business Management with a concentration in marketing and finance from IIMS in India.
LENDING & BRANCH OPERATIONS
Shah Newaz
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Mr. Newaz has over 25 years experience with Grameen as a manager with global experience in establishing Grameen businesses in Bangladesh and the Dominican Republic. Mr. Newaz has moved his family from Bangladesh to Queens, New York and has a long-term commitment to the success of Grameen America. Mr. Newaz started his career in August 1982 as a field manager in the Grameen Bank Project and has since worked in various capacities within the Grameen network. Prior to joining Grameen America he was Deputy General Manager & Head of the Training and Special Programs Department of the Grameen Bank. Mr. Newaz completed his B.S. and M.S. at Chittagong University in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Habibur Rahman Chowdhury
Branch Manager, Omaha
Mr. Chowdhury has over 23 years of experience with Grameen, working to improve socio-economic conditions in Bangladesh through various poverty alleviation programs focusing on rural women. He has worked directly with Professor Yunus in strengthening and growing operations in Bangladesh, and is now working for Grameen America to launch operations in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Chowdhury completed his B.A. and M.A. at Chittagong University in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
T. M. Abdus Salam
Branch Manager, Brooklyn
Mr. T. M. Abdus Salam has joined Grameen America as a General Manager, responsible for spearheading our operations in Brooklyn. He has over 24 years of experience working for Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, where he most recently served as Zonal Manager in Rangpur. During his post as Zonal Manager he oversaw operations of 58 branches and 6 are offices. He previously served as Zonal Audit Officer for Grameen Bank in Tangail, and has worked at Grameen Bank in various capacities throughout his career. Mr. Salam holds a B. A. and M. A. in History from the Rajshahi University in Bangladesh.
Alethia Mendez
Center Manager
Ms. Mendez joined Grameen America as a Center Manager and has been critical to the organization's initial growth. Working under the guidance of Mr. Newaz, she is responsible for recruiting, training, motivating and maintaining relationships with Grameen America's borrowers. She has previously worked in customer service for Sherpa’s Pet Trading Company. Ms. Mendez, who speaks fluent English and Spanish, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and French Languages & Literature from Stony Brook University.
Emily Medina
Center Manager
Ms. Medina joined Grameen America as a Center Manager in summer 2008. Working under the guidance of Mr. Newaz, she is responsible for recruiting, training, motivating and maintaining relationships with Grameen America's borrowers. Ms. Medina previously worked as a Project Manager for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygine and has held various positions at the US Marketing & Promotions, NYC Department for the Aging and Montefiore Medical Center. She holds a BA in Statistics and Public Health from University of Rochester.
Johanna Avila
Center Manager
Ms. Avila joined Grameen America as a Center Manager in summer 2008. Working under the guidance of Mr. Newaz, she is responsible for recruiting, training, motivating and maintaining relationships with Grameen America's borrowers. She previously held various positions at PLS Checking, Rite Aid and Burger King. Ms. Avila, who is a native Spanish speaker, has an educational background in Computer Programming and Systems Operations and holds a degree in Digital Art Design from Queens Borough Community College.
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