LDM Staff

Cheryl Francisconi, Program Director

Cheryl Francisconi was the Program Director of the LDM program from February 2006 to June 2011. Cheryl is based in the IIE Ethiopia office and provided oversight and direction to all five LDM program countries. For over six years, she served as the Program Operations Manager for the Packard Foundation’s Population Program, overseeing the reproductive health program operations in Africa, Asia, Mexico and the U.S. She has also been engaged in organizational capacity development, serving as a consultant to various institutions engaged in this work. She holds Masters Degrees from the University of California, Berkeley in Social Welfare and in Public Health with a focus on international maternal and child health.

Julia Hendrickson, Senior Program Officer

Julia was a Program Officer with the LDM program for six years, 2002-2004 and 2007- 2011.While working on the LDM program she also worked on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness project, which she presently continues to work on at the Institute of International Education. Prior to joining IIE, Julia worked on the Women’s Political Participation programs at The Asia Foundation where she was involved in regional projects to prevent violence against women. Julia has an M.P.H. in International Health from Emory University.

Taylor Snyder, Finance and Program Officer

Taylor joined the Institute of International Education in the winter of 2007, and worked as the Program Activities and the Financial Manager of LDM through June 2011. Her background includes marketing and outreach work for several organizations promoting women’s health including; Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and a local AIDS Project. Taylor graduated from Colorado College with a BA in International Political Economy, and a double minor in African Studies and Studio Art.

MADELEINE KATZ, PROGRAM ASSOCIATE

Madeleine served as the Program Associate for the LDM program from January 2010 through June 2011. She holds a BA from Denison University where she earned honors in Women’s Studies and Communication, and completed a thesis on liminal theories of campus sexual harassment. With a background in leadership, Madeleine is an active member of several San Francisco based organizations that work towards women’s empowerment including NARAL Pro-Choice California, The Younger Women’s Task Force, and GirlVentures.

Elisa Manheim, Finance ASSOCIATE

Elisa joined the LDM team in the summer of 2010 as a Finance Associate and is currently working as the Finance and Administrative Associate at the Institute of International Education, West Coast Center (IIE, WCC). Prior to joining the LDM team she worked as an intern for the International Scholarship and Training Programs at IIE, WCC.  During her undergraduate career she studied abroad in Siena, Italy through the Education Abroad Program.  Elisa holds a BA in Global Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Haddis Mulugeta, Ethiopia Country Manager

Haddis Mulugeta launched and implemented the Institute of International Education, Reproductive Health Leadership Program in both Ethiopia and the Sudan in 2001, and managed the Ethiopia program from its inception to June 2011. Haddis has over thirty years of experience in formulating policies and strategies for regional development, including consultancy services for the UNDP, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), and Orgut Consulting of Sweden. He has extensive experience in coordinating regional development projects, evaluating plans of action, and organizing workshops on participatory planning. Additionally, Haddis has served at the National Office of Population as a Regional Coordinator employed by UNFPA, acting as a resource person in training workshops, and appraising proposed regional programs. He holds an MA in Regional Development Planning, from the Institute of Social Sciences in the Netherlands.

Ethiopia Tilahun, Ethiopia Program Officer

Ethiopia Tilahun coordinated the programming for both the LDM and the Ethiopian Women Leadership Program (EWLP). Prior to her work at IIE, she was a branch manager at Save Your Generation Ethiopia, a pioneer youth organization that works on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS issues. Ethiopia earned a diploma in Accounting, a BA in management, and is currently studying for her Masters of Art in Sociology. She is also a regional trainer with Zambia HIV/AIDS alliance, a fellow with Adolescent girls Advocacy and Leadership Initiative, and is a chairperson of the Pop/RH leadership network.

Miriam Girma, Ethiopia Program Assistant

Miriam served as the office Logistics Manager and facilitated a variety of activities including visitor travel arrangements, financial statements and budgets, outreach, and meeting documentation and reporting. She previously held a position with DHL World Wide Express Ethiopia PLC as a Customer Service Advisor for two years. She holds a B.A Degree in Business Administration and Information Systems and is certified in Young Professionals Development Programs such as business plan writing and writing skills, interpersonal effectiveness, personal effectiveness, and career development.

Nebiha Ali, Ethiopia Finance and Administration Officer

Nebiha was responsible for the overall financial activities for the IIE Ethiopia office and was the Ethiopian finance officer for the LDM program.  With eight years of prior experience with other organizations, Nebiha has held various positions within the finance department at the supervisory and managerial levels. She holds a BA Degree in Accounting from Unity University and is currently the chair person for her district parliamentarian finance committee.

 

Namrata Jha, India Country Manager

Namrata joined the Institute of International Education’s LDM program from May of 2009 to June 2011. She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from Delhi School of Social Work, Delhi University. She has 12 years of experience in the development sector. In the last 9 years her work has mainly focused on Reproductive Health. Prior to joining the Institute of International Education, she worked with the India office of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation managing the leadership and adolescent reproductive health portfolios. Namrata also managed a program on gender-based violence during her previous association with UNICEF, Patna. She previously worked with national and international NGOs as well as with the Government of Himachal Pradesh and Bihar in India. Namrata was awarded LDM fellowship in 2003 and is a CEDPA alumna (2009). Her areas of expertise include training, program management, strategic communication and she is interested in gender issues.

John Amit Bodra, India Program Associate

John Bodra joined the IIE India office in July 2009. With a PG Diploma in Rural Development from Xavier Institution of Social Service, Ranchi, his expertise includes project management and implementation, community mobilization, and monitoring and evaluation. John worked as a Project Officer for the Foundation for Ecological Security in the district of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh early in his career. There, he led a team responsible for mobilizing the community to organize village committees and take up soil and moisture conservation activities. Prior to joining the LDM team, he worked as District Program Manager of Vistaar Project for providing technical assistance to frontline workers and to improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women in the district of Godda.

Judith-Ann Walker, Nigeria Country Manager

Judith-Ann Walker served as the Country Manager of the Institute of International Education's Reproductive Health Leadership program in Nigeria since its inception in March 2002 to June 2011. She holds Masters and PhD Degrees in Development Studies with specialization in women's education and development, from the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague. Dr. Walker was born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, but has lived and worked in Nigeria since 1991. In 1994, Dr. Walker co-founded the development Research and Projects Center (dRPC) together with Dr. Yahaya Hashim and other colleagues working in the reproductive health and development community. Dr. Walker is a fellow of the Ashoka Innovators program, building monitoring and evaluation capacity within civil society in Nigeria.

Christopher Mbasua Ali, Nigeria Executive Assistant/Knowledge Managment Officer

Christopher is a graduate of Business Management from the University of Maiduguri. He started as an intern at ENHANSE/USAID Project, Abuja, before joining the dRPC team as Program Assistant in 2008, and in 2009 as Executive Assistant/Knowledge Management Officer. Christopher supported the LDM country manager in implementing all LDM activities and attended several workshops and trainings in the areas of Reproductive Health, Gender, HIV/AIDS, and Monitoring and Evaluation.  Mr. Mbasua grew up in the Ngoshe Village of Borno State, Nigeria, and is happily married to Sister Dassa, a local nurse.

Ishola Muhammad Mudathir, Nigeria Accounts Officer

 Ishola is a Certified National Accountant (CAN), a member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and a graduate of the Nigerian College of Accountancy, Jos-Nigeria. He holds Post Graduate Diploma in Banking and Finance (PGDBF) from Bayero University, Kano, and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accountancy from the Federal Polytechnic, Bida-Niger State.  He will continue his work at the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), Kano-Nigeria after June 2011. His interests include tour traveling and watching football matches.

Kamyla Marvi Tapal, Pakistan Country Manager

Kamyla Marvi managed the Institute of International Education’s Reproductive Health Leadership program from 2006 to 2011.  She has more than 15 years of experience in the reproductive health, gender, and development sector. Prior to 2006, Kamyla also served on the Fellows selection committee for LDM. She is one of the founding members of Aahung, an NGO working for sexual health and rights, and continues to be a part of its governance structure. Kamyla has worked with the Aga Khan University, Department of Community Health Sciences in several rural and community based health programs in Pakistan.

Sabiha Nazil, Pakistan Program Associate

Sabiha was responsible for network activity follow up and for maintaining a close linkage with the LDM leadership fellows. She had the opportunity to be involved with several leadership trainings which improved her leadership, communication skills, and creativity. As a student, Sabiha ran an educational community-based theatre group and a social welfare organization that increased awareness about womens health and rights, education, and child labor among low-income communities. She became aware of women’s health issues from her mother, who worked at a semi government hospital in a rural area. Sabiha believes that at present, women have little choice in making reproductive health related decisions and for this reason she would like to focus on working for reproductive rights.

Magdalena Lopez, Philippines Country Manager

Magdalena Lopez was the Philippines Country Manager of the Institute of International Education's Leadership Development for Mobilizing Reproductive Health (IIE - LDM) program from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining LDM, Ms. Lopez was involved in various socio-health development projects in the Philippines over the past 20 years. These included the Department of Health’s Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Project, the Doctors to the Barrios Project and the Health Human Resource Development Project.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of the Philippines, and an MBA in Health from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Makati City, Philippines.

Luz Francess, Philippines Program Associate

Luz Francess, or “Bicbic” to her friends and colleagues, was the Program Associate to  IIE’s LDM program in the Philippines.  Prior to joining the program in 2004, she was an LDM Fellow and cofounder of the Women’s Legal Education, Advocacy, and Defense (WomenLEAD) Foundation, Inc., a feminist organization that provides legal services, training and advocacy to women. Bicbic has been a development worker since her college days, having immersed herself in the life and struggle of the underserved sectors.

 

Last Updated: June 2011