Who are The Resource Foundation's staff members?

Loren Finnell, founder and Executive Director, has devoted his life’s work to international development, beginning in 1964 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador.  His broad experience includes running volunteer organizations, co-founding collaborative initiatives (PACT) and consulting with nonprofits to build institutional strength by supporting the programmatic and management needs of U.S., Canadian, Latin American, African and Asian organizations.  In recognition of his lifetime achievement, in September 2006 the National Peace Corps Association honored Mr. Finnell with its Sargent Shriver Award.  He is fluent in Spanish and has a basic understanding of Portuguese.  Mr. Finnell graduated from Manchester College in 1964. 

Marcela López-Macedonio, Deputy Executive Director, joined The Resource Foundation in 2000 as Director of Communications, after having worked for five years as an Associate Attorney at the New York City law firm of Goldfarb & Abrandt.  Ms. López-Macedonio holds B.A. degrees in Political Science and French from Rutgers University and a Law Degree from New York Law School.  During her graduate studies, Ms. López-Macedonio worked with two nonprofit organizations in New York City.  Ms. López-Macedonio is fluent in English, Spanish and French, and has a basic understanding of Portuguese.

Julia Love, Director of Communications, joined The Resource Foundation in September 2006, after working for nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Bolivia.  She holds a Masters of Government and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics, a Masters of Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A in Public Policy from Duke University.  During 2002-2003, Ms. Love was a Fulbright scholar in Bolivia.  She has produced and directed five documentary films.  Ms. Love is proficient in Spanish.

María Eugenia Vásquez, Program Manager, coordinates the program funding activities and provides administrative support to the organization.  Prior to this, Ms. Vásquez was employed by FEPP, an affiliated agency of The Resource Foundation in Ecuador. She also has 15 years' banking experience. Ms. Vásquez holds a degree in Economics from the College of New Rochelle in New York and a Certificate in Translation from New York University. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

Kris Merschrod has worked part-time for The Resource Foundation since 2004, conducting comprehensive project evaluations to ensure that contributions are used properly and are achieving results. He has 25 years of broad experience in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating high-impact development programs in the emerging world. In 1981 Dr. Merschrod received his Ph.D. in Developmental Sociology from Cornell University, with minors in Latin American Studies and Research Methodology. In 1974 he obtained a Master of Professional Studies from Cornell University, having graduated in 1966 from that school with a B.S. in International Agricultural Development. Dr. Merschrod has also taken graduate courses in Business Administration and Personnel Management at Florida State University. He is fluent in Spanish.

Carmen Ilizarbe has worked part-time for The Resource Foundation since September of 2005, assisting with the preparation of progress reports and proposals.  Ms. Ilizarbe is a Ph.D. student of Political Science at The New School for Social Research and holds a Masters degree in Political Science from the same university.  She also has B.A. degrees in Anthropology and Gender Studies from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.  After college, Ms. Ilizarbe worked with two nonprofit organizations and two prestigious universities in Lima.  She has also worked for the Ministry of Women and the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a technical advisor and researcher, respectively.  Ms. Ilizarbe is fluent in English and Spanish.

*Executive Committee (1) Chairperson (2) Secretary (3) Treasurer

Director Emeritus

Rev. Alberto Jiménez, S.J., Director Emeritus, Servivienda, Bogotá, Colombia

Directors

Michael M. Archer, SVP, Managing Director, MasterCard International, Purchase, NY

Alejandro Bernal, Area President, Canada and Latin America, Pfizer Animal Health, New York, NY

Jovita Castillo, President, For a Better World Productions, New York, NY

Thaís Cedeño, The Róger and Thaís Cedeño Charitable Fund, Surfside, FL

Alain Concher*(3), Vice President, Global Procurement, L'Oréal USA, New York, NY

José M. de Lasa*, Of Counsel, Baker & McKenzie, New York, NY

Loren Finnell, The Resource Foundation, New York, NY

María A. García, SVP, Emerging Market Sales, Lehman Brothers, New York, NY

Rafael Guardans Cambó, Executive President, Fundeso, Madrid, Spain

William Hockman*, Chairman & CEO, Hockman-Lewis Limited, West Orange, NJ

Darryl Hunt*, Public Relations Consultant, New York, NY

Rudolf Laager, President, LuKaDa International, LLC, Larchmont, NY

Christina Leijonhufvud, Managing Director, Social Sector Finance, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., New York, NY

Pedro Lichtinger*, President, Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations - Europe, Pfizer Inc, New York, NY

Colleen May, Owner/Chairperson, Intervine, Inc., Napa, CA

Carl Muñana, Development Finance Consultant, Madrid, Spain

Carla Volpe Porter* (1), General Counsel, Renaissance Technologies Corp., New York, NY

Lawrence Prince*, Chairman, J.B. Prince Co., New York, NY

Kenneth Ricci* (2), Principal, Ricci Greene Associates, New York, NY

Carmen Unanue, President, The C & J Unanue Foundation, New York, NY

John Welch*, Senior Managing Director, Bear Stearns & Co., Inc., New York, NY

Peter O. Wirth, President, TWT Ltd., New York, NY