Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

What did you do before business school?

Out of college I worked for ACCION International, a leading non-profit in the microfinance industry, in the fundraising and communications department. While I was at ACCION, some of the projects I worked on were the communications initiatives around the IPO of the Mexican MFI, Compartamos and I also helped organize a  conference series called “Microfinance: Cracking the Capital Markets” Conference series in partnership with Credit Suisse.  More recently I worked at the Citi Foundation where we did grantmaking in microfinance and in financial education in over 100 countries.

How did you get involved with Microlumbia?

I became involved with Microlumbia because I met last year’s president of microlumbia at one of the open house events. Knowing that Microlumbia existed and that there was a group of people that were truly interested in this really solidified my decision to come to CBS. Given my background in Microfinance, I thought I could make a significant impact within the group.

Any tips for to anyone interested in learning more about microfinance?

Join a microfinance volunteer group! For example, I volunteer for the ACCION USA Microfinance Council. Our group does consulting projects for the organization, fundraising and advocacy work for domestic microfinance.

You can join the council or get more information by visiting: www.accionusa.org/microfinancecouncil.

Many of the large microfinance organizations have similar volunteer groups comprised of young professionals. Not only is it a great way to get to know microfinance but it is also really useful for networking with other young professionals.

Do you have a favorite resource for information on microfinance?

Of course, the ACCION International Website and in particular their new Center for Financial Inclusion (www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org). The World Bank Blogs,  blogs.worldbank.org, have a lot of great content. I also recommend the book Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen. It is a great baseline for anyone interested in development.

Any ideas what you want to do after CBS?

I am interested in going into consulting in the short term, but in the long term I hope to go back to Social Enterprise.

What do you do when you’re not at school or working with Microlumbia?

I love to try new restaurants, and of course like to travel.

What is your favorite place to travel?

I’ve been lucky to travel to many interesting places. In terms of microfinance, I was really blown away when I visited Peru. I went the slums outside of Lima and saw the impact microfinance has made in these communities. In one case, there was a small slum village (Peruvians call them “invasiones”) that had taken out a collective loan to install electricity in their village. It was one of those really fascinating life-changing experiences.

Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

What did you do before business school?

I studied Industrial Engineering at Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and then did Equity Sales at Merrill Lynch in Mexico City. After that I moved to New York and worked in Investment Banking in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS.

What are you working on with Microlumbia?

I am currently working with Women’s World Banking (WWB) to put together a “user friendly” presentation based on the MFI equity valuation document that was developed by WWB and Treetops. The goal is to make it easy for MFI owners and managers to understand the benefits and dynamics of tapping the equity markets.

Any tips for to anyone interested in learning more about microfinance?

Step 1: Read the book “banker to the poor” from Muhammad Yunus.

Step 2: Read research/news regarding Compartamos’ IPO

Step 3: Take a side on the ongoing argument

Do you have a favorite resource for information on microfinance?

I like www.themix.com; www.cgap.org; www.grameen-info.org; www.accion.org. Also, I would suggest setting up alerts for the word “microfinance” in FT.com, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Any ideas what you want to do after CBS?

I hope to work for a fund that invests in MFIs around the world to gain exposure to different MFI models, work for a socially responsible investing (SRI) fund to find out more about other social enterprise models being carried out, or work for a firm concerned with SROI or social impact valuation.

What do you do when you’re not at school or working with Microlumbia?

I spend time with my girlfriend, grab drinks with my MBA buddies, and I spend half of my Saturday mentoring teenage entrepreneurs on how to setup a business.

Hometown: Fairfax, VA

What did you do before business school?

I spent the year and a half prior to coming to CBS working on community-level water treatment in northern Ghana through a NGO that I co-founded, Community Water Solutions (CWS).  Check us out! www.communitywatersolutions.org

(Prior to that I worked in consulting doing growth strategy and change management)

How did you get involved with Microlumbia?

Before Community Water Solutions, I worked to address global issues through a for-profit business approach in both Nicaragua and Cameroon.  I truly believe that this approach is necessary to achieve sustainable solutions.  As such, microfinance, and Microlumbia, are directly aligned with both my interests and career goals.

Any tips for to anyone interested in learning more about microfinance?

Why not just give money to CWS at www.communitywatersolutions.org and see how incredibly far it goes?! The best way to learn is through application. After all CBS, IS where theory meets practice!

Any ideas what you want to do after CBS?

After CBS, I plan to return full time to futhering CWS’s efforts in Ghana.

What do you do when you’re not at school or working with Microlumbia?

I’m a musician at heart so when I’m able to, I love playing music (singing/playing guitar), listening to music, or going to concerts.

What is your favorite place to travel?

Oh, jeez, I LOVED travelling around India but Morocco was also amazing. Cameroon was such an incredible experience… I guess if I had to pick THE favorite of all the places I’ve been, I’d have to say New Jersey. Great malls.