MERL Tech CoP Steering Committee Members

Alberto Ortega Hinojosa is a Strategy & Data Insights Leader working in the philanthropic sector. He is the inaugural Data and Insights Officer at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where he leads the Foundation’s data insights practice to strengthen strategic decision-making. He has over 18 years of experience in program management, evaluation, and research, bringing deep expertise in policy analysis, data visualization, statistical methods, GIS, and audience-centered data storytelling.

Allison Sambo (she/her) has over 10 years of experience in organizations working on gender equality, sustainable agriculture, reproductive health, and gender-based violence. Most recently, she led research on social movements, including the development of tools to map and assess movements and monitor movement mobilization for the Global Fund for Women. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa, and an MPA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cathy Richards (she/her) is a technologist who helps activists, organizations, and other social change agents make the most of data and technology in order to increase their impact. She is currently a technologist and a Civic Science Fellow & Data & Technology Lead at Open Environmental Data Project. She taught Metrics & Data Visualization at SVA, is a co-founder at Pueblo CoLab – a collaborative that creates tech and data processes for the social sector, and has also worked at GitLab, The Engine Room, and Keystone Accountability. Cathy is MTI’s lead on AI and Environment and supports operations as well.

Fernando C. Barbosa (he/him) is an economist and a Senior Associate for Economics at the Inter-American Development Bank. As an evaluator, he has years of experience with data Analytics, AI, and Product Development.

Grace (she/her) is a strategic advisor helping philanthropies and investors to navigate complexity through innovative learning and impact approaches that strengthen rather than burden their work. For over 15 years, Grace has brought a combination of practical field experience and academic rigor to develop MERL systems that integrate right-fit, responsible digital tools. Prior to co-founding a consulting practice in 2022, she honed her expertise using participatory and tech-enabled methods within an array of international programs at the Institute of Development Studies in Brighton, UK. Grace has co-authored pieces with MTI on the use of LLMs in evaluation and assessing AI vendors during procurement. She co-leads the MERL Tech CoP’s Ethics and Governance Learning Group.

Mark Irura Gachara works for a more open, inclusive, and sustainable approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa and on the international level. With over 15 years of experience in IT and software development, Mark works with partner countries in developing their AI ecosystems and creating local AI solutions that can help them achieve their development goals.

Isabelle Amazon-Brown (she/her) is a design researcher and UX designer with 15 years of experience designing award-winning digital tools with vulnerable groups, including AI-powered chatbots. She also works with funders and implementing organisations, advising on responsible design & AI.

Jonas Norén (he/him) is the Chief Executive Officer at dav|consulting. With extensive experience in research, evaluation, capacity development, and statistics, he has worked within the fields of democracy, human rights, SME-development, emerging markets, complex markets, and democratic governance. Jonas thrives on open-source solutions and the potential for automation of mundane processes using state-of-the-art technology. He is one of the co-leads of the Sandbox Learning Group at the CoP.

Kecia Bertermann is a global leader with 20+ years in the development and philanthropy sectors, driving systems change through evidence-based programming and collaborative leadership across democracy, human rights, digital rights, gender equality, and health.

Kevin (he/him) is a data-driven social innovator whose career has spanned NGOs, social enterprises, US government, and philanthropy. Most recently, Kevin was the Director of Evaluation at Wellspring Philanthropic Fund which invested in advancing human rights and social justice. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor, teaching courses on monitoring and evaluation, at School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. He holds a Master in International Affairs from SIPA and graduated from Cornell University with summa cum laude in Computational and Systems Biology. He is an emotional support human to a loving but anxious dog, Macy, and lover of the outdoors and spicy food.

Madhuri Karak, PhD (she/her) is an independent research consultant, bringing a participatory research lens to climate justice and tech, collaborating with civil society organizations, non-profits, and land rights movements across South & Southeast Asia. Her research partners include Careful Industries, Amnesty International, European Digital Rights, the Engine Room, Open Environmental Data Project, and the Environmental Defense Fund, among others. Madhuri was a Mellon-American Council of Learned Societies Fellow (2019-2021) and holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

María de los Ángeles Lasa, PhD (she/her), is Applied Data Science Manager at Global Fund for Women. She works on data analytics and AI, developing tools and strategies for the social impact sector.

Neeta Goel is a development professional, working at the intersection of practice and research. Over the past twenty years, Neeta has worked on the design, implementation, and evaluation of development interventions in India and other LMIC countries. She is passionate about the use of evidence for equitable development and is a strong advocate for transparency and open data in research and evaluation.

Nicola Harford is a media and communications for development practitioner and researcher; experienced in advising, designing, managing and evaluating social and behavioural change programmes for public health (including sexual and reproductive health, family planning, HIV/AIDS), governance, natural resources and gender equity. She has extensive experience in radio, as well as print, video, and online/digital media; recent work uses digital analytics and AI approaches (NLP and LLMs) to facilitate audience segmentation, data collection, analysis and learning. Nicola is Managing Director at iMedia, overseeing finances and operations, developing new business, liaising with clients and associates, and supervising projects as well as conducting consulting assignments.

Pedro Prieto Martín (he/him) is a Technology in Development, MEL and Adaptive Management Consultant with over 25 years of professional experience. Over the years, he has worked in several cultural settings, including Guatemala, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Jamaica, Spain and the UK, playing various roles, such as evelopment practitioner, researcher, team lead, teacher, consultant, activist, civic tech entrepreneur, and software developer] in very distinct organisations. From From 2016 to 2024, Pedro worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (UK). He co-leads the Sandbox Learning Group and is a member of the CoP Steering Committee.

Prabin Nanicha Shrestha is a Regional MEL Specialist, currently working with the Evaluation and Learning Unit at The Asia Foundation. He is also a Co-Leader of EvalYouth Asia, where he contributes to strengthening young and emerging evaluators’ engagement and capacity in the evaluation sector in the region..

Quito Tsui (she/her) is a researcher and writer with expertise on technology in the context of the humanitarian and development sectors. She has a keen interest in the development of a technological environment rooted in justice with practical experience of supporting organizations to this end. She previously led research on digital identity, biometrics, interoperability and environmental justice at The Engine Room. She has also conducted academic research at the University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the London School of Economics. Quito’s writing has been featured in the Forced Migration Review (Oxford University), Bot Populi and The Nation and her work has been cited by outlets such as Access Now and Geographical. Quito is MTI’s humanitarian AI lead and supports MTI’s research initiatives.

Sara Chamberlain (she/her) is a globally recognized expert in gender and digital inclusion, bringing 25 years of hands-on digital development experience, including 17 years co-creating impactful solutions with low-literate women in LMICs.

Sarah (she/her) is a behavioral scientist and cognitive psychologist with two decades of experience in international development and social and behavior change interventions. Sarah has worked in the areas of health, migration, peacebuilding, children’s rights, education, and business and human rights, to deliver bespoke and innovative solutions. She is a member of the Behavioural Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) network. Sarah focuses on the strategic use of AI, and recently built the SBC Technique Selector GPT in November 2023 to help project designers easily identify evidence-based behavior change techniques. Sarah co-leads the CoP SBC Working Group and provides related support.

Savita Bailur (she/her) works at the intersection of gender and digital use (including community radio and telecentres), gig work, digital identity, digital financial inclusion and most recently, Generative AI. Her clients have included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, Omidyar Network, UN Women, UNICEF, Vodafone Foundation and the World Bank while at Caribou. She is the former Senior Director of Gender Equality & Social Inclusion at Caribou Digital and current adjunct Associate Professor in digital development at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. She holds a PhD and MSc in Information Systems from the London School of Economics as well as degrees from the University of London and University of Cambridge. Savita leads MTI’s AI and Gender Inclusion work.

Sofie Meyer (she/her) is a conversation designer at Turn.io, with a background in neuroscience and psychotherapy and a keen interest in AI and, in particular, safe use thereof at scale.

Stephanie (she/her) is an experienced learning and evaluation professional who applies her international development, public health, and policy background to evaluating organizations seeking to deepen their social impact. Stephanie is deeply experienced in theory of change development and developmental evaluation frameworks. She thinks critically about how organizations can more effectively work towards achieving outcomes. Currently, Stephanie serves in multiple roles as a Steering Committee Member and co-lead of the Community of Practice’s Philanthropy Learning Group. She is also an internal evaluator for a public health philanthropy, and the founder of Aya Innovative Solutions.

Varaidzo Faith Magodo-Matimba (she/her) is a pan-African feminist lawyer, decolonial funding advocate, and curator of the inaugural Afrofeminist Data Museum. She holds an Executive Postgraduate Diploma in Development Policies and Practices from the Geneva Graduate Institute. Her work focuses on human rights program design at the intersection of feminist tech policy, data governance, and digital inclusion in Africa. She has supported movement building, strategy, governance, compliance, and resource mobilization across West, Southern, and Eastern Africa. Vari is MTI’s AI in Africa lead.

Veronica Olazabal is a pioneer in the tech for good and responsible AI movements, with over 20 years of experience connecting capital markets to community outcomes. Her work centers on modernizing how ethical data architectures, emerging technologies, and evidence inform forward-looking capital deployment. Currently Climate Finance Lead for Climate SMILE, she previously served as Chief Impact Officer at the BHP Foundation and Managing Director at The Rockefeller Foundation. Veronica serves on the faculty at Columbia University, teaches the inaugural impact investing and evaluation course at the World Bank’s International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET), and advises the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Howden Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation. A past President of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and a Belfer Center Women in Power Fellow, she has received the Candid Data for Good Award, the AEA Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award, and the 2026 Molly Hageboeck Award for Excellence in Innovation.

Zach (he/him) is an evaluation consultant with experience in peacebuilding evaluation, youth-focused evaluation, participatory and collaborative evaluation, meta-evaluation, evaluation synthesis, technology- enabled evaluation, AI-enabled evaluation, and evaluation capacity development. He is active with the EvalYouth Global Network and various evaluation associations.  Zach’s field experience spans North and West Africa, South East Asia, and the Pacific with over two years of development experience in rural communities. He is currently finishing a PhD in evaluation and has been using NLP as a core tool in his work. Zach supports MTI on AI in Evaluation work.