Bios

Presentation Abstract:
FINCA founder John Hatch argues that microfinance clients' primary strategy for escaping poverty is for their children to stay in school long enough to qualify for a formal sector job. How many of these children fail complete secondary? How many graduate? Of these, how many fail to find formal sector employment? Answering these questions is vital to poverty-alleviation goals and the design of "second generation" financial products.

Biography:
John Hatch has spent his entire professional career serving programs that assist the world's poor, first as a Peace Corps volunteer, regional director, and trainer; later as a consultant to USAID; and finally (since 1984) as the creator of the microcredit methodology known as "village banking" and founder of FINCA, a nonprofit microcredit agency with programs in 24 countries. He has a BA and MA in history, a PhD in Economic Development, and has published four books on the farming practices of subsistence farmers.

Lisa Kuhn is a Micro-lending Product Manager in the Product Development Division of the Opportunity International Network. Her work in microfinance includes product development, research on emerging best practices on transformation and client graduation, and development of policy and tools to promote gender equity and sensitivity. She co-authored and presented the chapter on Empowering Women Through Microfinance in Pathways Out of Poverty, commissioned by the Microcredit Summit Campaign for its Microcredit Summit +5. She previously developed policy documents on microfinance for FINCA International and also worked with the Microcredit Summit Secretariat. She received her M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and her B.A. cum laude in Latin American Relations and Romance Languages from DePauw University.

Drew Tulchin, Managing Partner, defines his career in starting and building new ideas in the for-profit and non-profit sectors in the United States and abroad. Drew brings more than a decade of experience overcoming "Doubting Thomases" to achieve successful results and lasting organizations. His professional experience includes work with non-profit microfinance institutions, for-profit international finance companies, networks, US non-bank lenders (CDFIs), and capital sources. He has written more than two dozen business plans for for-profits, social enterprises, and non-profit revenue generating programs. Prisma Microfinance’s co-written plan was a Global Social Venture Competition award winner and was published. Private sector experience extends to start-ups, a Bluetooth wireless firm and Shopforchange.com; socially responsible businesses (Working Assets Long Distance); and community non-profits. He began his career in National Community Service, first as a VISTA (US domestic equivalent to Peace Corps) and then an AmeriCorps Team Leader with the East Bay Conservation Corps in Oakland, California. Drew received his MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle. He received his BA, Cum Laude, double major in History and International Relations from Washington University in St. Louis. His studies included a year abroad at Sussex University, UK. Drew currently is working with Grameen Foundation USA, managing their High Growth Partners Project, as well as contributing to a CGAP funded social indicators measurement action research effort.

Kris is graduating with Honors in International Politics from BYU’s Political Science Department with minors in Business and Russian Area Studies. Following an internship as a trade analyst with the International Trade Administration’s Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States, he has worked as an independent consultant on trade and finance contracts for clients in the US, Great Britain, Russia, and Ukraine. In addition, Kris has studied at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies and competed on BYU’s Model United Nations team, helping earn it the award of Distinguished Delegation at the national competition in NYC. This past summer, he conducted impact assessments for FINCA International in Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. Kris is currently working to complete his Honors Thesis on the role of social capital in international development.

Chandni Ohri is a development professional with a keen interest in poverty issues. Having witnessed extreme poverty and the accompanying misery in her native country India, Chandni is strongly motivated to explore and implement sustainable, long-term poverty alleviation programs. She is pursuing that objective in her current role as a Program Associate at Grameen Foundation USA, a non-profit working to alleviate poverty through the power of microfinance. Chandni received her Masters in International Studies from the University of Washington at Seattle. She also completed a certificate program in International Development Policy and Management at the Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. She completed her MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (India). Chandni is fluent in English, Hindi and Punjabi. She likes to read and travel when time permits.