Our team

 

Katherine Lucey, Chief Executive Officer Katherine Lucey is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solar Sister. After a 20 year career as an investment banker with expertise in the energy sector, Katherine retired from banking and turned her attention to finding a sustainable solution to the energy poverty that causes suffering to a quarter of the world’s population.  Katherine determined that a practical, grass-roots, locally generated solution was needed. Katherine is an Ashoka Fellow and a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur. She currently serves on the board of Solar Light for Africa, a not-for-profit corporation that brings solar energy to rural communities in East Africa. She holds an M.B.A. from Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia. She is an alumna of the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) the signature social enterprise program of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society of Santa Clara University.
Neha Misra, Chief Collaboration Officer Neha Misra is an Energy Economist with extensive experience in the closely intertwined areas of energy security, climate change and human development. She is passionately committed to women empowerment and community mobilization for scaling innovative applications of solar power to address the energy access challenge in developing world. Neha has worked with The Energy and Resources Institute in India and the U.S. She served as the North America focal point for the Lighting a Billion Lives Campaign, a commitment with the Clinton Global Initiative to bring light into the lives of one billion people by replacing kerosene and paraffin lanterns with solar lighting devices. In this role, Neha helped build key partnerships, undertake education & outreach to diverse stakeholder groups and raise funds to light villages across India. Neha holds a Master of Business Economics degree from the University of Delhi, India and a Bachelor of Science (honors) Physics degree from St.Stephens College, India.
Gina Porto Spiro, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer Gina Spiro is an international finance attorney and development professional with extensive experience in global transactions, corporate and project management, policy analysis, and international relations. Most recently, Gina served as the Senior Director of Corporate Policy and Planning in the Office of the CEO of the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. In this capacity, she advised the CEO on corporate strategy and communications, organizational change, personnel issues, official travel, and agency policy and procedures. Prior to her public service, Gina was a transactional attorney in the private sector. Gina represented institutional lenders and investors in connection with the development, financing, construction, and operation of domestic and international infrastructure projects, primarily in the energy sector, and also represented energy trading companies in transactions involving the purchase, sale, storage, exchange, transportation, and processing of oil and natural gas. Gina received her B.A. in American Studies magna cum laude from Fordham University and her J.D. cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Fordham University School of Law. She is a member of the bar of the State of New York and of the District of Columbia.
David O’Connor, Director of Operations David O’Connor is the Director of Operations for Solar Sister. He brings a background in international development and micro-finance management. David is a Peace Corps volunteer, serving in Kazakhstan. He is fluent in several languages in addition to his native English, including Mandarin Chinese, Kazakh, and Spanish, (sadly, none of which come up very often in his work in Africa). David is a graduate of the Emerging Markets Development Advisers Program at Thunderbird School of Management, earning an MBA in International Development. He holds a BA in English Literature from Arizona State University.
Evelyn Namara, Uganda Country Director Evelyn Namara is the Uganda Country Director. She brings a strong background in information technology and systems management. Prior to Solar Sister, she was a systems administrator for Orange Uganda and a systems engineer for Linux. She has a Bsc of Computer Science from Makerere University in Kampala, and an Associate degree from Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) and a Diploma in Information Technology (Science), Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT). Evelyn is an Acumen Fund East Africa Fellow and a recipient of the 2012 Change Agent Award given by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.
Timi Finnih-Dawodu, Nigeria Program Coordinator  Timi Finnih-Dawodu is the Nigeria Program Coordintor. She brings experience in commercial banking and knowledge of public and personal administration derived from nearly twenty years of financial management experience in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Timi is a member of Zonta International Club, a women’s empowerment organization and the Musical Society of Nigeria.
Fatma Muzo, Tanzania Program Coordinator Fatma Muzo is the Tanzania Program Coordinator. Her experience in business includes the development and management of microfinance schemes in rural areas. She has an MBA from the Corporate Management Institution Mzumbe University and an Advanced Diploma in Business Management from Institute of Accountancy, Arusha.
Regional Coordinators Lilliane Akurut Georgia Birungi Dickens Manyindo Mary Nankinga Edith Natamba Provia Natukunda Bridget Opany Jayne Opitto Zaina Tusiime
Board of Directors
Anne Marie Burgoyne Anne Marie Burgoyne is Managing Director, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. Before joining Draper Richards Kaplan, Anne Marie was the Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of the Golden Gate where she undertook a successful financial and operational turn-around and organizational merger. Prior, Anne Marie was a Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) Farber Fellow at Community Gatepath, a non-profit that provides services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Before entering the non-profit arena, Anne Marie was the Vice President of Service at Digital Impact, a publicly-traded email marketing company, and an Associate at Robertson Stephens, where she did investment banking with emerging market clients. Currently Anne Marie serves on the boards of Agora Partnerships, Equal Opportunity Schools, Global Citizen Year, Mission Continues, Welcoming America and Wild4Life. She previously served on the boards of Build Change, Genocide Intervention Network (now United to End Genocide), Grassroot Soccer, Little Kids Rock, LivingGoods, One Acre Fund, RefugePoint (formerly Mapendo International), Spark and Vision Spring (formerly Scojo Foundation). Anne Marie received her Master of Business Administration and Public Management Program certificate from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and was selected by her peers as the recipient of the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and its Wharton School, respectively.
John Forsgren John Forsgren has been a leader in finance and corporate management. He has 35 years in large corporations in the field of corporate finance, most notably as Vice President and Treasurer of Sperry Rand Corporation, Vice President and Treasurer of The Walt Disney Company, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Walt Disney Europe, Managing Director, Chase Manhattan Bank, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Northeast Utilities, and Vice Chairman of the Board and Chief Financial Officer, Northeast Utilities.   Mr. Forsgren is currently serving on the following Boards of Directors- The Phoenix Companies, CuraGen Corporation,  Trident Resources, Inc., and Duke Energy Corporation.  Charitable activities have included the following: Georgetown University,The Nature Conservancy, and Solar Light for Africa.  Mr. Forsgren has a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgetown University with a major in Economics, an MBA from Columbia University, and a Master’s Degree in International Finance and Management from University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Allen Hammond Allen Hammond is a member of the Leadership Group at Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs. He is also co-founder and VP for Strategy of Healthpoint Services, a global company incubated at Ashoka and implementing a disruptive model for delivering high-quality, affordable healthcare and safe drinking water to low-income rural communities in emerging markets. The company currently operates in India. Dr. Hammond is a serial entrepreneur (6 start-ups), an expert in market-based solutions to poverty, and a global leader in base of the pyramid (BOP) business strategies. Dr. Hammond is also the principal author of The Next 4 Billion, a landmark study of BOP markets and has published extensively in the scientific, policy research, and business literature, including articles in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Harvard Business Review, and Innovations. He has served as a consultant to the White House science office, to several U.S. federal agencies, to the United Nations, to a number of major corporations, and to several private foundations. He holds degrees from Stanford and Harvard Universities in engineering and applied mathematics.
Michael Looney Michael Looney is the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) Mentor Director (part time) at Santa Clara University and a Principal Consultant for Korora Partners (www.kororapartners.com). He has a broad range of leadership experience in private, public, and NGO sectors, as well as a rich background leading companies of all sizes from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Mike’s focus within his organization development consulting is on values and culture. He provides executive/individual coaching, team development, and total organization consulting. Education has been a consistent theme for Mike through three careers: as a middle-school teacher in Oregon, a psychotherapist at Cal Poly State University for six years, and finally 23 years leading or assisting in the education markets for a number of high tech companies including Apple, Claris, DEC, and Adobe, as well as multiple “start ups.” Within GSBI, Mike has worked as a mentor for social entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa, India, Philippines, Haiti, and Guatemala. He now recruits, trains and supervises a cadre of 70+ business leader mentors serving social entrepreneurs around the world. He has a range of interests in addressing the BOP needs with sustainable, scalable products, services and distribution systems. He lives, bikes, and works out of Los Altos Hills in Silicon Valley.
Katherine Lucey  Katherine Lucey is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solar Sister. After a 20 year career as an investment banker with expertise in the energy sector, Katherine retired from banking and turned her attention to finding a sustainable solution to the energy poverty that causes suffering to a quarter of the world’s population.  Katherine determined that a practical, grass-roots, locally generated solution was needed. Katherine is an Ashoka Fellow and a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur. She currently serves on the board of Solar Light for Africa, a not-for-profit corporation that brings solar energy to rural communities in East Africa. She holds an M.B.A. from Georgia State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia. She is an alumna of the Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) the signature social enterprise program of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society of Santa Clara University.
Advisors
Eng. Bahijjahtu Abubakar, Advisor, Nigeria Eng. Bahijjahtu Abubakar is the National Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Programme of the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria and is an avid advocate for the environment. She represents the Federal Ministry of Environment on several boards and her spirited concern for the earth has earned her national and international accolades. Due to her undying love for the rural woman, she launched a project to lift women out of energy poverty through the Rural Women Energy Security (RUWES) project. Mrs. Bahijjahtu Hadiza Abubakar was born in Kaduna, Kaduna State, Nigeria. She is a Mechanical Engineer and holds an MSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom..  She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Environmental Engineering there as well.
Sarah Dagnou, Advisor As the President of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Dr. Sarah Degnan Kambou leads a global research institute that focuses on realizing women’s empowerment and gender equality to alleviate poverty worldwide. Her expertise centers on sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS and adolescent health and livelihoods. Dr. Degnan Kambou has served as a technical advisor to multilaterals, leading corporations and governments seeking to integrate gender into policies, programs and services that will advance the status of women and girls around the world.
Peter DiCampo, Creative Media and Storytelling Advisor Peter DiCampo is a documentary photographer whose goal is to contribute his work to a dialog on international development. He launched his freelance career while also working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Ghana from 2006-2008.  His current long term project, Life Without Lights explores the varied social and economic implications of global energy poverty and raises questions on energy’s future. The work earned him the top prize in the British Journal of Photography’s 2010 International Photography Awards and additional awards in the 2011 PDN Photo Annual and the 2011 Anthropographia Awards for Human Rights.
Therese Jordan, Advisor Terri Jordan is the SVP Business Development at Crystal IS. Terri joined Crystal IS in 2011. Her passion is bringing clean tech innovations to the global community. Terri has extensive experience as a business development executive in energy, environment, and materials. Before joining Crystal IS she led business development worldwide at Konarka Technologies, Inc., a solar panel manufacturer. Prior to this she spent 15 years in positions of increasing leadership responsibility at GE in technology, market development, and quality roles, all focused on materials-based businesses. She also was formerly Director of Global Marketing for Victrex plc, a high performance materials company. Terri serves as an advisor to several organizations and forums involving energy and environment. She holds a BS degree from Tufts University in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science from University of Connecticut. She has earned four patents.
Sarah Kasule, Advisor, Uganda Sarah N.M. Kasule is Director for the Mother’s Union of Uganda.  Prior to her current position, she was Family Life Programme Officer, Mother’s Union, The Province of Uganda.  Sara is a teacher by profession with a diploma and a first class degree in education as well as a master’s degree in education administration and planning.
Proscovia Njuki, Advisor, Uganda Proscovia Njuki was the first woman to earn an engineering degree in East Africa.  She is the founder of the Association of Women Engineers, Technicians and Scientists in Uganda (WETSU).  She remembers being teased about her choice to study engineering. “I was one woman in a class of 40 men at university.” When she reported to Nairobi University, most lecturers and students were excited to have her, except for one lecturer who was irritated by her inquisitiveness. When she asked questions, he would retort, “Women! Why are you in this class?” Now retired, Njuki feels that the greatest reward for having made this decision is it has opened doors for women into the engineering field. I am so proud when I see many girls at the technology faculty. And they are doing well,” she enthuses.
Greg Van Kirk, Advisor Greg Van Kirk is an Ashoka Lemelson Fellow and the-co founder of The New Development Solutions Group. This includes Community Enterprise Solutions, Social Entrepreneur Corps and NDS Consulting. These are all ventures whose mission is to design and implement innovative responses to long-standing development challenges. He, co-founder George Glickley and their team are now focused on expanding the reach of their innovative “MicroConsignment Model” globally. Greg was recently chosen as a select member of both the “Ashoka Globalizer” and Ashoka/Siemens “Social Business Development Group”. He is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Greg began working in rural small business development as a Guatemala Peace Corps volunteer in 2001. He has served as an economic development consultant for organizations such as USAID, Chemonics, Columbia University, VisionSpring, Soros Foundation, Church World Service, OneRoof, Fundacion Solar, Fundacion Paraguaya, IDB and Water4People. Greg worked in investment banking for five years before arriving in Guatemala. Greg also works part time as “Social Entrepreneur in Residence” at Columbia University. Greg recently published the article “The MicroConsignment Model: Bridging “The Last Mile” of Products and Services for the Rural Poor” in Innovations Journal. Greg is a graduate of Miami University.