WASHINGTON – U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) today announced the appointment of three new members to the agency’s Development Advisory Council (DAC). The DAC comprises representatives of the international development community and advises the DFC Board of Directors on development impact. Existing DAC members Robert Mosbacher, Jr., and Paul Weisenfeld will serve as the DAC Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.
“I am pleased to welcome Nancy Lee, Tjada McKenna, and Jacqueline Novogratz to DFC’s Development Advisory Council,” said DFC CEO Scott Nathan. “Their expertise will inform DFC’s work and help us create meaningful development impact through the mobilization of private capital. I also want to thank retiring members Michelle Nunn, Bashar Masri, and the Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for their service on the Council and as advocates of U.S. development finance. I am grateful for the contribution they have made.”
The newly appointed Council members were recommended by DFC’s CEO and Chief Development Officer and approved by DFC’s Board of Directors on December 7, 2022. They include:
- Nancy Lee, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development: Dr. Nancy Lee is the Director for Sustainable Development Finance at CGD and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her work at CGD focuses on the role of development finance institutions in development impact, mobilizing private investment, climate finance, and gender equity. Previously, she was the Deputy CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), CEO of the Multilateral Investment Fund at the Inter-American Development Bank, and deputy assistant secretary for Latin America and for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Treasury Department.
- Tjada D. McKenna, CEO, Mercy Corps: As Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corps, Tjada leads a global team of more than 5,600 humanitarians, who provide immediate relief and help communities forge new paths to prosperity in the face of disaster, poverty, and the impacts of climate change, reaching 37 million people in more than 40 countries. Previously, Tjada served as Chief Operating Officer of CARE, where she oversaw the organization’s programming and global operations.
- Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Acumen: Jacqueline Novogratz’s work began in 1986 when she quit her job on Wall Street to co-found Rwanda’s first microfinance institution, Duterimbere. The experience inspired her to write the bestseller, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor and create Acumen. A pioneer of impact investing, to date Acumen has invested $145 million of patient capital into 180 companies impacting the lives of nearly 443 million people across Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States. She has been named one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy, one of Insider’s Climate Action 30 leaders, one of the 25 Smartest People of the Decade by the Daily Beast, and one of the world’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes, which also honored her with the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship. Her latest book, Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, offers concrete practices for building a better world.
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U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world today. We invest across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. DFC also provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs in order to create jobs in emerging markets. DFC investments adhere to high standards and respect the environment, human rights, and worker rights.