Who we are

Our People
• Staff
◦ Alex Counts, President
    ◦ Salvatore Pappalardo, COO
    ◦ Partner Services and Geogr
    ◦ Capital Mgmt & Advisory
    ◦ Grameen Technology Center
    ◦ Social Performance
    ◦ Partner Technology Support
    ◦ Monitoring and Evaluation
    ◦ Development
    ◦ Finance
    ◦ Marketing
    ◦ Operations
    ◦ Strategic Planning Center
    ◦ Si White, Acting CFO
• Board Members
• Committees and Councils
• GF Advisory Council

Our Supporters

Our Grameen Heritage

Values

Awards and Recognition

Partnerships

Contact information

Grameen Foundation : Who we are : Our People : Staff : Development

Development Staff

Sandra Adams, Vice President of External Affairs

Gwyneth Gaul, East Coast Regional Director, Major Gifts
Matt Mechenbier, Development Technology Officer
Patrick Meriweather, Director of Business Development
Cheri Mitchell, Director of Corporate Relations
Christina Santiago, Development Assistant
Helen Yuen, Director of Annual Giving

E-mail: development@grameenfoundation.org

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Sandra Adams
Vice President of External Affairs

Sandra Adams brings three decades of nonprofit development, communications and marketing experience to Grameen Foundation. Throughout her career her focus has been on women’s and health issues in positions with the AAUW Educational Foundation, American Nurses Association, and National Breast Cancer Coalition and on environmental protection through her work with the National Parks Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society. An avid student and proponent of philanthropy, she has served as President of the Washington, DC chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, was twice elected Chair of the AFP national board of directors, and is currently on their advanced certification board. She was named Washington’s Outstanding Fund Raising Executive of the Year in 1994. Sandra has also served on the board and chaired the finance committee of EarthShare. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Mercyhurst College, a Master’s from the University of Massachusetts and a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Georgetown University. She and her husband Tom Roberts enjoy reading, travel and kayaking.

Patrick Meriweather
Director of Business Development

Patrick Meriweather is Director of Business Development at the Grameen Foundation. He brings 15 years experience in all aspects of program and organizational management and nonprofit business development to the organization. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, he was the Assistant Director for Bids & Proposals at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) for five years. In addition, Patrick has worked as a Contract Administrator, Nonprofit Administrator, Project Finance Manager, and Project Backstop at other nonprofits and at the International Trade Administration. He was worked in many regions of the world and is familiar with key organizations, staff, concepts, and trends in the international development industry. A former Peace Corps Volunteer, he is a graduate of Georgetown University (BS 1990) and American University (MS 1997).

Matt Mechenbier
Development Technology Officer

Matt joined the Development Team in 2005 where he focuses on operational efficiency and connecting with donors through technology. Prior to Grameen Foundation, Matt worked for Ashoka – where he found himself drawn to the incredible scalability of the Grameen approach to poverty. He is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Cheri Mitchell

Director of Corporate Relations

Cheri Mitchell is the Director of Corporate Relations for the Grameen Foundation. She brings fourteen years of experience in relationship management, marketing strategy, project management, and strategic planning in both the private and non-profit sectors with particular expertise in developing strategic alliances that incorporate corporate social responsibility into economic development strategies. Prior to joining Grameen, Cheri was the Corporate Relations Manager at FINCA International for over five years. Before joining the non-profit world, Cheri worked in the private sector for nine years as a strategist and account manager in marketing communications, and began her career as a sales and marketing manager for a Fortune 200 company. A world traveler, yet mid-Westerner at heart, she graduated from the Ohio State University.

Helen Yuen
Director of Annual Giving

Helen brings a combination of fundraising, communications, policy, and international experience to Grameen Foundation. At GF, Helen oversees building the organization's fund for unrestricted gifts, the James F. and Betty Sams Fund. She comes to GF after working abroad for the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in Rome, Italy and the South America and Caribbean headquarters of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Santiago, Chile. After completing a fellowship at Senator Kennedy’s office of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, she left policy analysis to develop her communication skills of writing, photography, and print and web design. She holds a B.A. in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College and a Masters in Public Affairs from Columbia University.

Gwyneth Gaul
East Coast Regional Director, Major Gifts

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Gwyneth was most recently Senior Major Gifts Officer at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where she managed a portfolio of individual, as well as corporate and foundation donors of $25,000 or higher. Prior to entering the nonprofit development field, she was a member of the field sales force for international pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis and in addition has worked for a public relations firm and an advertising agency. In her spare time, Gwyneth has served as a mentor to young children in foster care, an on-air radio host for an independent radio station, a promoter of live jazz music in the developing neighborhoods of Pittsburgh and was once an avid soccer player and coach

Grameen Foundation : Who we are : Our People : Staff : Development