Team

Teams

Management

Administration

Matt Flannery | Co-Founder and CEO

Matt began developing Kiva with his wife Jessica in late 2004 as a side-project with while working as a computer programmer at TiVo, Inc. In December 2005 Matt left his job to devote himself to Kiva full-time. As CEO, Matt has led Kiva's growth from a pilot project to an established online service with partnerships across the globe and millions in dollars loaned to low income entrepreneurs. Matt is a Draper Richards Fellow and a featured blogger on the Skoll Foundation's Social Edge website. He graduated with a BS in Symbolic Systems and a Masters in Analytical Philosophy from Stanford University. Read Matt's blog "The Kiva Chronicles" on Social Edge.

Jessica Jackley Flannery | Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer

Jessica Jackley Flannery is a co-founder of Kiva with her husband Matt, and the spirit behind the organization. Jessica first saw the power and beauty of microfinance while working in rural Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with Village Enterprise Fund and Project Baobab on impact evaluation and program development. Jessica has worked in the Stanford Center for Social Innovation to launch the inaugural Global Philanthropy Forum, and at Amazon.com, Potentia Media, the International Foundation and World Vision. Jessica has spoken widely on microfinance and social entrepreneurship, and has seen microfinance at work in a variety of communities in more than 30 countries. Jessica serves on a number of non-profit boards, including Opportunity International. Jessica holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business with Certificates in Global Management and Public Management, and a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from Bucknell University.

Jen Hamilton | Chief Financial Officer

Jen comes to Kiva with an entrepreneurial background and has extensive finance experience through her roles in the corporate and investment banking world. She began her career working with Citibank Canada in Toronto and later moved to the Bay Area to become a technology investment banker first at DLJ and later Credit Suisse and UBS. Jen's passion for international travel and culture led her to found On The Road Travel (www.ontheroadtravel.com) an online resource for independent travelers in Latin America. Jen holds an MBA from INSEAD (Fontainbleau, France) and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University (Kingston, Canada). Jen is an avid yogi, cyclist, skier and recovering triathlete.

Liz Harmon | Customer Service Manager

Liz coordinates the customer service activities of Kiva. Liz brings two years of customer service, database management, and research experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors. She came to Kiva after short stints working in litigation and in historical preservation in the American west. Liz graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in American Studies and Spanish Area Studies.

Rupa Modi | East Coast Development Manager

Rupa is responsible for developing East Coast operations in efforts to build awareness, fundraise, and seek new business opportunities. In 2007, Rupa contributed to raising program funds for Kiva from renowned foundations and donors. Additionally, Rupa was a featured speaker at the Wharton Technology Conference and moderated the Social Entrepreneurship Panel at the Wharton Entrepreneurship Conference in Philadelphia. Rupa is the Founder and CEO of ModiaDesigns, and she carries a deep interest and responsibility in utilizing her creative skill set to highlight causes in the U.S. and India. Rupa is currently pursuing a Certificate in Strategic Decisions and Risk Management at Stanford University. She holds an MBA in International Business from Drexel University and a B.A. in Computer and Information Sciences and Biology from Temple University's Honors Program.

Gerard Niemira | Customer Service Manager

Gerard is a member of Kiva’s customer service team, helping Kiva lenders have the best possible experience in the process of making a loan. He comes to Kiva with several years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Most recently he worked in sales and marketing in Washington, DC at First Book’s revenue-generating social enterprise, the First Book Marketplace. Gerard graduated with a B.A. in History from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY.

Fiona Ramsey | Public Relations Director

As Public Relations Director, Fiona oversees all PR communication and media exposure. Recent media highlights include coverage on ABC World News, CNN, BBC and The New York Times. During her 1 1/2 year tenure at Kiva, Fiona has also helped to scale our accounting infrastructure and build out our customer service and marketing programs. Fiona has over five years of operations experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, as well as extensive travel experience. In Ko Lanta, Thailand, she helped coordinate post Tsunami rehabilitation efforts and witnessed the impact of microfinance on rebuilding livelihoods. Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature from the University of Melbourne, Australia and is a CELTA certified ESL trainer.

Premal Shah | President

As President, Premal leads Kiva's efforts to scale its partnerships and member base. Prior to Kiva, Premal was a Principal Product Manager at PayPal, an eBay company. During his 6 year career at PayPal, Premal drove a number of key initiatives including a year long project defining eBay's role in economically empowering the global working poor. A number of corporate initiatives have come out of this effort, including PayPal's support of Kiva. Prior to PayPal, Premal was a strategy consultant at Mercer Management Consulting in New York. Premal has had a long standing interest in microfinance. In 1997, he was awarded a grant from Stanford University to research microfinance in Gujarat, India. More recently Premal co-founded the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network and spent 2 months in India working to refine / validate Kiva's model. In 2006, Premal was a featured speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative and Global Microcredit Summit. Premal graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

Christina Stoddard | Office Manager

Christina is responsible for managing Kiva's office operations and human resources. She brings three years of customer service and account management experience as an Associate at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. Christina graduated from the University of Denver with degrees in Spanish and International Studies, focusing on conflict resolution and cultural/regional studies. Upon graduating, she received honors from the University's Center for Multi-Cultural Awareness. Christina has studied and traveled extensively throughout Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain, volunteering at a number of organizations along the way.

Engineering

Zvi Boshernitzan | Chief Software Architect

Zvi joined the Kiva engineering team at the start of 2007 to help scale the site as its level of national coverage began exploding. Before joining Kiva, Zvi founded Robocommerce where he led the design and implementation of a comprehensive e- commerce and ERP software suite for online retailers. Earlier, Zvi helped develop software for hospitals at MyBestHealth, worked on the World Bank's global development gateway at ArsDigita, and consulted. Zvi holds a BA in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University. When not at Kiva, Zvi enjoys sleeping or riding his bike the three blocks between his bed and the Kiva office. Zvi is proud of his work with Kiva, because he believes in the power of technology to help entrepreneurs around the world.

Jeremy Frazao | Technology Director

Jeremy’s ten years of experience as a software architect blended with his love for exploring new countries and cultures create the perfect fusion for Kiva’s lead website developer.  His experience in the corporate world includes designing and implementing web applications for Chase Manhattan Bank, the National Cancer Institute, MBNA and IBM Corporation, including developing course material for IBM/Rational and conducting training programs for NASA and Capital One Bank.  Jeremy’s travels have taken him a full circle around the globe including walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and falling in love with South-East Asia.  Jeremy holds a BA in Computer Science from Hofstra University and is a CELTA certified ESL trainer.

Roma Jhaveri | Product Manager

Roma's excitement for technology solutions that address poverty brought her to Kiva, where she is responsible for the web product. She worked first as a software engineer and later as product manager at Knight Ridder Digital, the online arm of the former newspaper publisher, and most recently at consumer technology startup Sharpcast. Before working as an engineer, Roma spent time researching the economic development potential of information technology in rural India. As part of her project, she traveled through remote Indian villages to interview villagers about the role technology might play in their lives. She has also travelled extensively through other parts of Asia, Latin America and Europe and has studied at Oxford University. Roma holds a B.S. in Computer Science and a M.S. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University, where she was a Mayfield Fellow.

Jonathan Kart | Sr. Software Engineer

Jonathan brings a diverse engineering background to Kiva. After graduating with a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, Jonathan sated his ongoing academic fix by working as a software researcher with Rockwell Scientific. Following a near career change into the culinary arts, he returned to his true calling as an entrepreneur/web developer leading him to found a San Francisco based web shop. After a brief stint in the high volume corporate world of internet advertiser networks, Jonathan found a home here at Kiva, where he works to insure reliability and scalability of the website.

Sam Mankiewicz | Chief Technical Officer

Sam leads Kiva’s engineering team and is responsible for the day-to-day operations and ongoing development of the website. He comes to Kiva with almost 10 years of experience working with over a half-dozen technology startups, ranging from self-service kiosks and enterprise systems integration to digital tickets and online video sharing. Sam has traveled extensively through Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Sam graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University.

Microfinance Partnerships

Asawari RaoRane Agrawal | Microfinance Partnerships Manager for South Asia

Asawari is responsible for growing and managing Kiva’s network of MFI partners in Asia. She comes to Kiva from Unitus where she spent three years in a variety of roles including building a peer learning network between the various Unitus partner MFIs, managing donor initiatives in the Bay Area and expanding Unitus’ Indian MFI portfolio. Prior to Unitus, Asawari worked at McKinsey & Company in New York and San Francisco. She is also one of the key volunteers with the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network (SVMN). Her passion for development stems from her personal experiences growing up in Kenya, India and Oman. Asawari holds a B.S. in Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Casey Albert Santiago | Microfinance Partnerships Manager for West Africa

As Microfinance Partnership Manager for West Africa, Casey is responsible for driving Kiva's growth in francophone Africa, managing relationships with new and existing MFI partners and building out Kiva's regional presence. Previously, at Deloitte's Emerging Markets Group, Casey managed a global portfolio of healthcare and poverty alleviation projects. In this position, she saw the power of microfinance and other innovative financing schemes to improve people's lives. She has advised numerous NGOs, SMEs and social enterprises on strategic planning, sustainability and revenue diversification. Casey graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science from Wellesley College, an MBA from Columbia Business School and an M.A. in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Naomi Baer | Translation Program Manager

Naomi leads Kiva’s fast-growing team of volunteer translators, reaching from Phnom Penh to Madrid. With 14 years of experience as a professional translator, she brings close ties to the translation community and extensive experience managing language projects. Previously, Naomi worked as an Associate Producer at The Learning Company developing interactive media. In addition to having lived in Brazil, she has travelled widely, to West Africa, Indonesia, Central America, Japan, and New Zealand. Naomi especially enjoys learning new languages and has studied Spanish, French, Japanese, Navajo and American Sign Language. Naomi holds a B.A. in American Civilization from Brown University and is certified by the American Translators Association in Portuguese to English translation.

Isabelle Barres | Microfinance Partnerships Vice President

Isabelle oversees Kiva’s global microfinance strategy. Prior to Kiva, Isabelle was Director for Strategic Development at the MIX, which she helped create in 2002. There, she led efforts to identify and implement business opportunities to enhance MIX's position and reputation with its global audiences, working with a wide range of microfinance stakeholders including investors, donors, microfinance institutions (MFIs), networks, regulators and rating agencies. She was a key contributor to best practice publications on standards and financial performance monitoring, and is a founding member of Women Advancing Microfinance (WAM), the only organization for women professionals in microfinance. Isabelle comes to Kiva with 13 years experience in microfinance and the formal banking sector. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Montreal in Canada, an MBA from McGill University in Canada, and a post-graduate degree in Development Economics from the Sorbonne University in France, and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

JD Bergeron | Senior Manager, Fellows Program

As Senior Fellows Manager, JD Bergeron leads Kiva's efforts to create meaningful and productive involvement for volunteers who will serve as the new generation of microfinance professionals. He brings over twelve years of broad organizational and program development experience. Prior to Kiva, he was Director of Resource Development at ACCION International, a microfinance industry innovator since 1961. Prior to ACCION, he served with the U.S. Peace Corps in the economically disadvantaged border region of Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. He has served in senior roles in a number of young organizations, both in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. JD holds a BA in Russian Language and Comparative Literature from Washington University in Saint Louis.

Chelsa Bocci | Microfinance Operations Director

Chelsa has been with Kiva from the beginning and was responsible for establishing Kiva’s Microfinance Partnerships program where she continues to manage a great deal of relationships with Kiva’s Field Partners, primarily in Africa. In addition, Chelsa currently oversees Kiva's Microfinance Operations, responsible for Inventory Management and Kiva’s expansive Fellows Program. Prior to Kiva, Chelsa was a Corporate Recruiter and Immigration Specialist with Barclays Global Investors. She returned to the U.S. following a period of extensive world travel and volunteer work, including tsunami relief efforts in Thailand and Indonesia and an internship working with HIV-positive children in South Africa. Chelsa received her B.S. in Psychology from Santa Clara University, and has completed certifications in Social Performance Management, Framework for Reporting/Analysis/Monitoring/ Evaluation (FRAME), Behavioral Interviewing/Talent Selection, Risk Management Strategies, and Human Resource Management.

Jenny Boyd | Microfinance Partnerships Coordinator

As Microfinance Partnerships/Operations Coordinator, Jenny is responsible for helping to grow Kiva’s network of global MFI partners and for keeping the office running smoothly. She has several years of program management, logistics planning and marketing experience in both the nonprofit and corporate sectors. She also spent multiple years guiding backpacking and rock-climbing trips for teenagers. Jenny has traveled extensively, including studying abroad in Belize, volunteering in a medical clinic in Nepal and studying Spanish in Argentina and much more. She holds a B.A. in Geography from the University of Colorado.

Carol Caruso | Senior Microfinance Advisor

Carol Caruso has 14 years of business development experience working with Fortune 100 companies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Carol also has significant experience applying her business consulting & technology experience to the Microfinance sector helping clients develop business strategies, technology infrastructure, organizational plans and fundraising. Additionally, Carol has founded the Paris Microfinance Network: http://www.parismfn.org/. Previously, Carol was the Global Director of Sales Development for Corbis where she was responsible for the strategic development of the global sales organization and responsible for Corbis' Technology Asset Management services. Prior to joining Corbis, Carol spent over 10 years working in Emedia, Software and IT industries working throughout the US and EMEA. Carol ran the business consulting & strategic services division of Broadvision for the EMEA territory. She led her clients' business strategies & planning for enterprise system, CRM, internet & wireless development activities. Her clients include HSBC, Vodafone, TelecomItalia Mobile, CB Kuwait, Amazon and Microsoft. Carol's senior management experience also includes P&L responsibility, global staff management, M&A due diligence activities and public speaking. Carol received a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance from the University of California, Santa Barbara, completed the Executive Management program at UC Berkeley and received a certificate in Fine Art Photography from the San Francisco Academy of Art.

Shelby Clark | Portfolio Risk Manager

Shelby was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended Northwestern University on a swimming scholarship where he graduated Cum Laude in Biomedical Engineering. Upon graduating, he moved to Argentina for 6 months to study Spanish, and then accepted a job in Chicago with Oliver Wyman Consulting. Following this, he worked as an investment associate at a biotechnology-focused hedge fund. Shelby was Kiva's first Fellow, and spent time working with the Women's Initiative to Eradicate Poverty, in Mbale, Uganda. He has since returned to Kiva as the Portfolio Risk Manager. Shelby has traveled to over 40 countries, lived in 6 countries on 5 continents, and has studied 6 languages. Growing up with the Rockies in his back yard, he is an avid snowboarder and loves the outdoors.

Ben Elberger | Microfinance Partnerships Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa

As a Microfinance Partnerships Manager, Ben is responsible for managing Kiva's partnerships in East and Southern Africa as well as spreading the Kiva love to new microfinance institutions in the region. Ben was previously a Microfinance Partnerships Coordinator with Kiva and joined the team in early 2006. Prior to Kiva, Ben was a research assistant at the Center for Global Development where he worked with research fellows investigating the impact of International Monetary Fund programs on developing country health spending and on the political dynamics of the global health agenda. He has published on topics in international development and microfinance and brings a deep passion for innovative solutions to poverty alleviation. Ben is a graduate of Stanford University with a degree in Public Policy and, despite being a native New Yorker, loves California.

Kristy Harrison | Editing Program Manager

Kristy coordinates Kiva’s team of volunteer editors, in partnership with Mary Ann. Kristy has managed volunteers for almost ten years, most recently as a Campaign Manager for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program in San Francisco. She brings a passion for the global community and for helping people take steps to change their lives. Kristy has lived with families in Florence, Italy, and Oita, Japan, and has traveled in Europe, Central America, and Asia. She has studied Spanish and Italian and holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.

Daniel Kahn | Partner Development Specialist for the Americas

As a Partner Development Specialist, Daniel works with the microfinance team to help expand Kiva's network of global MFI partners in Latin America and to ensure portfolio quality through effective due diligence, monitoring, and evaluation. He has several years of experience working in Latin America and before joining the Kiva team, Daniel was a Project Associate at Innovations for Poverty Action, where he managed research projects related to the impact of microcredit and savings. Daniel holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from Tufts University.

Michelle Kreger | Microfinance Partnerships Manager for the Americas

As the Microfinance Partnerships Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, Michelle is responsible for driving Kiva's expansion and growth in the Americas, exploring new MFI relationships, working with existing Field Partners and building out Kiva's regional presence and team. She has multiple years of nonprofit experience, and before joining Kiva she managed the start-up and growth of the NatureKids Foundation, an education-focused nonprofit based in San Jose, Costa Rica. She has worked in communications at ACCION International, and has supervised and participated in community development projects in Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. Michelle holds a BA in International Relations with a minor in Economics from Boston University.

Darren Miao | Microfinance Partnerships Manager for East Asia Pacific

Darren is responsible for growing and managing Kiva’s network of MFI partners in the East Asia-Pacific Region. He previously worked in commercial banking at Bank of America in their Leadership Rotation Program as well as in the corporate finance department of a large Bay Area biotech firm. Darren also brings four years of experience from the social enterprise consulting firm Community Wealth Ventures where he assisted numerous nonprofits in launching profitable business ventures and corporate partnerships. Darren developed a passion for microfinance while attending business school where he worked on a voluntary basis for both MicroCredit Enterprises and Microplace.

Anushka Ratnayake | Fellows Program Manager

Anushka coordinates Kiva's Field Representative Program while working to develop and manage Kiva customer service. Anushka has traveled extensively and while in school was deeply involved in retention efforts and the educational rights of students from local low income communities. Anushka's travels include a nine month round the world trip, which took her from hiking in the northern mountains of Vietnam to volunteering at a center for poverty analysis in Sri Lanka and all the way to getting her diving certificate while visiting the Great Barrier Reef. She also had the opportunity to visit a number of villages in India which have seen the benefits of microfinance loans and was deeply touched to witness first hand how loans can change the lives of the working poor. Anushka graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Modern Literature.

Mary Ann Walsh | Editing Program Manager

Mary Ann coordinates Kiva’s dedicated team of volunteer editors, in partnership with Kristy. Kiva editors, from Sweden to Singapore, gently edit the business profiles of Kiva entrepreneurs to make them easily understood by lenders, while still preserving the voice of the original author. Mary Ann has many years of experience in technical writing/editing and website management (most recently at Macromedia), and in corporate banking. She's lived and taught English in Greece, and has traveled widely in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia. Mary has a B.A. in Classical Languages from Brandeis University.