Leadership Team

Fiona Macaulay

Founder and CEO

Ms. Macaulay is dedicated to equipping youth and adults with the vision, confidence, and skills to find quality employment or to create and grow their own businesses. She has fifteen years of experience in microenterprise development, experiential learning curriculum design, facilitation, and organizational capacity building in more than 20 countries across North America, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central Europe. (read full bio...)

Tim Nourse

President

Timothy Nourse has been implementing and supporting microfinance and enterprise development programs for more than fifteen years in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. As President, Tim manages Making Cents' overall operations and implements the company-wide strategic plan. He also leads the company's financial services portfolio. (read full bio...)

Lara Storm

Director, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services

Lara is an experienced microfinance practitioner with over ten years of professional experience including monitoring and evaluation of microfinance institutions, market research, and new products, including the development of financial services for youth in Bolivia. As Making Cents' Director of the Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage Program (YFS-Link), she is responsible for moving forward the program's vision, leadership, planning and implementation. (read full bio...)

Veronica Torres

Director, Youth Economic Opportunities

Veronica is an experienced youth enterprise and livelihoods specialist with over fifteen years of experience in designing, implementing, monitoring, and documenting integrated livelihood development programming for youth globally. As Director of Youth Economic Opportunities, Veronica works closely with members of her team and regular consultants to develop materials in areas of financial literacy, asset building, and workforce development for use with ministries of education, adolescent girls, technical vocational institutes, and community organizations. She is also the author of Making Cents' curriculum on youth-inclusive market research and contributing author to curriculum on product design and partnerships. (read full bio...)

Whitney Harrelson

Director, Knowledge Exchange & Partnerships

Whitney is committed to developing innovative learning initiatives and multi-sectoral partnerships that advance the field of youth enterprise, employment, and livelihoods development. Her ten years of experience in youth development, communications, partnership building, and knowledge management have supported the development of Making Cents' Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conferences and resulting publications. (read full bio...)

David Feige

Director, Economic Growth and New Business

David Feige is Director of Economic Growth and New Business at Making Cents International. He brings to the position 12 years of experience in technical, business development and project management roles for a wide range of donor and non-donor clients. His expertise includes value chain development; competitiveness analysis; MSME development; entrepreneurship; local economic development; and livelihoods interventions.
(read full bio...)

David James-Wilson

Senior Advisor, Youth Economic Opportunities

David is an experienced youth work professional, with a 25-year track-record in the design and delivery of innovative livelihood and non-formal education services for at risk youth in over 40 countries. David has managed multi-disciplinary work readiness, education, and enterprise development teams in government and non-government settings; and is well versed in the interplay between government policy, the development and funding of new services, and building the capacity of lead institutions to take innovative youth programs to scale. (read full bio...)

Annie Belt

Senior Manager, International Programs

Annie brings more than ten years of experience managing and developing international development projects ranging from economic growth and trade to agricultural training. At Making Cents, Annie works with the technical team to develop curricula and capacity building activities related to youth enterprise and livelihood development. Annie speaks fluent Spanish and received her Master’s in International Education from George Washington University. Before Making Cents, Annie taught high school English in Thailand where she developed a love of street food and an appreciation for air conditioning.

Stephanie Chen

Manager, Business Development and Partnerships

Stephanie is an experienced project, communications, and relationship manager with a wide range of experiences in the private, nonprofit, and corporate philanthropy worlds. At Making Cents, Stephanie plays a lead role in growing and diversifying new business and partnership development initiatives. She also provides strategic direction and supports the development and implementation of Making Cents' overall communications strategy. Prior to Making Cents, Stephanie was a senior program associate with the SEEP Network, a microfinance associate with Mercy Corps China, and an analyst with Deutsche Bank in New York City. Stephanie received her B.S. from Cornell University and M.A. in International Relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts University. She speaks Mandarin and has worked in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

Sabrina Dorman

Coordinator, New Business Development

Sabrina coordinates new business and project management activities at Making Cents and supports all communications and curriculum development activities worldwide. Sabrina also has experience in backstopping multi-year USAID projects related to training in enterprise development, youth entrepreneurship, and agribusiness. Sabrina has a broad background ranging from economic policy research to work in the microfinance sector. Before Making Cents, Sabrina designed and managed a micro-loan program in Sierra Leone with OneVillage Partners, as well as conducted research of emerging trends in the sector. She is interested in continuing to explore and pursue effective cross-sector development practices. Sabrina holds a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College.

Juanita Shelton

Office Manager

Juanita maintains and oversees the day to day functions of Making Cents' office and works closely with the President and Vice President of Project Management and Operations. She has worked with entire departments, teams, and small groups at every level of an organization from Board of Directors and upper management to support staff. Juanita has worked with professional businesses, non-profit associations, and government agencies. She is well noted for her skill in large and small group processes, including strategic planning, management, conflict resolution, management training, as well as board, committee, and team training. She has her Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Becker College with a concentration in Human Resources Management.

Fernando Maldonado

Senior Specialist, Enterprise and Capacity Building

Fernando supports Making Cents' enterprise and livelihoods technical areas by developing and implementing tailored curriculum modules, training courses, and assessment tools. Most recently, Fernando is providing technical assistance to the USAID Kenya Horticulture Competitiveness Project (KHCP) and the USAID Kenya Yes Youth Can! (YYC) initiative. Prior to Making Cents, Fernando was a business advisor under the USAID MEDI Armenia project, supporting the access to markets component of an SME value chain linkages program. Fernando possesses fluent command of Spanish and has worked in North America, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Fernando holds a B.A. in Government and International Politics with a minor in Economics and a M.A. in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University.

Rathi Mani

Manager, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage Program

Rathi is the program manager for Making Cents International's Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program, an innovative three-year capacity building program designed to help financial institutions develop relevant financial products and services to youth. Rathi is responsible for project management, curriculum development, and works as a Master Trainer to train practitioners in the areas of market research, product development, partnership-building, and staffing. Rathi also supports technical assistance work with financial institutions to develop financial products and services for youth. Prior to joining Making Cents, Rathi supported capacity building initiatives for microfinance associations around the world with the Network Development Services Team at the SEEP Network. Rathi's past field experience in microfinance operations and research includes East Africa, China, and Guatemala.

Marcela Rubio

Administrative Assistant

Marcela is the executive assistant to Making Cents’ President. Marcela also provides project, marketing, communications, and administrative support to Making Cents’ technical and DC-based staff. Marcela graduated from American University in December 2010 receiving her B.S. in Business Administration with a double specialization in International Business and Finance. Before Making Cents, Marcela interned with the Organization of American States and Visions in Action. She is a native of El Salvador and enjoys collaborating with the Salvadorian community in the DC area.

Mariko Scavone

Specialist, Agriculture and Livelihoods

Mariko is dedicated to equipping vulnerable populations to earn a sustainable livelihood. At Making Cents, she is the primary contributing author on over 50 hours of learner centered curricula that blend life skills with entrepreneurship, and has facilitated training in a variety of settings. Mariko works with financial institutions to design and deliver youth-inclusive products that allow them to serve a growing youth segment. She enjoys using qualitative data to conduct evaluations and document lessons learned. Before joining Making Cents, she oversaw monitoring and evaluation for a Save the Children agribusiness project in Bolivia. Mariko holds an M.S. in International Development from Georgetown University. She speaks fluent Spanish and has worked in 14 countries around the world.

Alexi Taylor-Grosman

Coordinator, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage Program

Alexi is the program coordinator for Making Cents’ Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program, an innovative three-year capacity building program designed to help financial institutions develop and offer relevant, profitable, demand-driven financial products and services to youth. Alexi is responsible for project management, monitoring and evaluation, and content management for the yfslink.org online platform. Prior to joining Making Cents, Alexi worked with FINCA International as a research analyst on client assessment and new product development. Alexi also acts as the training director of AMIGOS de las Américas, Washington DC, where she facilitates community service programs for youth volunteers in Latin America. Alexi speaks Spanish and holds a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Chelsea Babcock

Associate, Knowledge Exchange & Partnerships

Chelsea is devoted to making sure that all youths have access to the education and tools they need to succeed in life. Chelsea is responsible for supporting Making Cents’ knowledge exchange and partnerships building initiatives related to increasing economic opportunities for young people. For most of her life Chelsea has been committed to working with and giving back to the community. Past community service includes serving as an advisory council member for the Volunteen Program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Chelsea recently graduated from American University with a B.A. in Psychology. As an undergrad, Chelsea served as the class president where she worked on programming and advocacy for students.

Alexander Bittner

Manager, Project Management and Finance

Alexander brings more than seven years of experience working in international development. At Making Cents, Alexander supports the Project Management and Finance Unit where he contributes to activities related to project development, communications, administration, and backstopping as well as the basic financial management of the firm. Prior to joining Making Cents, Alexander was in the Contracts Department at Nathan Associates Inc. and CARANA Corporation. Alexander holds a B.A. in Sociology from Marymount University.

Veleka Burrell

Manager, Business Development and Projects

Veleka has more than ten years of experience in business development, communications, and youth development. At Making Cents, Veleka manages existing contracts, and supports business development activities, including identifying and analyzing new opportunities, responding to donor solicitations, and contributing to strategic plans aimed at increasing the company's growth. Veleka also leads the development of internal and external communications. Prior to Making Cents, she worked in program development at World Learning. Before that, she channeled a lifetime of curiosity by working as a newspaper reporter. Veleka is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Benin, West Africa. She has a M.A. in Journalism and Public Affairs from American University and a B.A. in Professional Writing from Baylor University.