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DIG’s founding partners in DIG-Middle East Office. Left to right:
Dr. Mayada Baydas, Ruby AlSalem, Franck Daphnis, and Delila Khaled. |
DIG Founders
Franck Daphnis, President & CEO
Mr. Daphnis is a recognized leader in development finance. Mr. Daphnis’ professional expertise is in the areas of housing finance, microfinance, urban development, operations management, housing and infrastructure rehabilitation, municipal services cost recovery, and urban environmental management. Before joining DIG, Mr. Daphnis worked as the Director of Field Program Operations with CHF International. He has served as a key advisor on development finance and urban issues for numerous noteworthy institutions including the Cities Alliance, CGAP, IFAD, SIDA and the World Bank. He has further been a member of the faculty at the Boulder Institute for Finance for ten years. Mr. Daphnis has authored and edited two books on housing finance, including the seminal work
Housing Microfinance: a Guide to Practice (Kumarian Press, January 2004).
Dr. Mayada Baydas, Senior Vice President & Managing Director
Dr. Baydas is a leading expert in the field of development finance with 20 years of research and practical experience focusing on the commercialization of microfinance through service companies and banking sector partnerships. She is a recognized specialist in microfinance market assessments, with extensive research and applied experience in examining the provision of financial and non-financial services to the working poor. Dr. Baydas previously established and served as the Director/General Manager of AMEEN sal, the largest microfinance organization in Lebanon. Dr. Baydas also served as a Professional Researcher and Lecturer at the University of California, Davis, and has been a lecturer at the Boulder Microfinance Training Program since 2005. She has presented at numerous microfinance seminars and conferences to scholars, policy makers and practitioners, and has several professional publications.
Delila Khaled, Vice President of Programs
Ms. Khaled brings 15 years of experience in the design, management, and implementation of international development programs. Her broad range of expertise includes microfinance, investment promotion, community development, employment generation and infrastructure improvement. She has managed programs funded by USAID, the World Bank, UNICEF, Asian Development Bank, and private sector organizations worldwide. As Vice President of Programs at DIG, Ms. Khaled oversees all program initiatives, including the Gates Foundation-funded Housing Finance for the Poor and Urbis programs, spanning fourteen countries worldwide. She previously served as Business Development Manager for The Services Group (TSG), and as Senior Program Manager for CHF International where she oversaw all microfinance, housing finance, agribusiness and community services programs in India, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, the West Bank and Gaza.
Ruby AlSalem, Director of Microfinance Consulting Services and Jordan Country Representative
Ms. AlSalem is an experienced microfinance manager and trainer with more than 12 years of practical experience. She has designed, implemented and managed several multi-million dollar programs, funded by USAID and the private sector, related to microfinance development, cooperative strengthening, and institution building. Ms. AlSalem provides technical support and targeted training to DIG’s partners worldwide in the areas of operations management, loan officer training, product design, and portfolio management. Prior to joining DIG, Ms. AlSalem served as Deputy General Manager and Operations Manager for AMEEN, currently the largest and most successful microfinance program in Lebanon, and one of the first programs in the Middle East to link MFIs with commercial banks. Ms. AlSalem has working experience in over 14 countries, in several regions around the world, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
DIG Senior Management
Eric Adams, Associate Director for International Housing Finance / Director of Operations of CapStone Financial Services
Mr. Adams has extensive international development and microfinance experience in Latin America, South Asia, Asia Pacific, Mexico, and Africa with multi-country experience in governance, regulatory compliance, budget management, operations management and resource mobilization & stewardship. He has managed microfinance companies and consulted for several international non-profit organizations and financial institutions implementing microfinance programs, providing management and staff training, training-of-trainers, strategic planning, market assessments, and product design. He has authored publications and training manuals on microfinance operations, market assessment, business planning, public policy and education. He holds an MBA in International Management and is fluent in Spanish.
Thea Anderson, Associate Director of Program Management
Ms. Anderson specializes in financial analysis assessments and establishing programs in post-conflict regions, and has extensive on-the-ground experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. She also has worked in various countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. She has managed large-scale field programs with multiple local and international partners, successfully scaling-up programs in complex environments. She has focused on development finance, community-based infrastructure rehabilitation/reconstruction, shelter programming, NGO capacity building, and emergency education programming. She has experience managing programs financed by a variety of donors including USAID, European Union, DFID, and the World Bank. In her current role at DIG, she serves as technical director for DIG’s urban related activities in Kenya, Bangladesh, and Angola.
Tara Panek Bringle, Associate Director of Program Management
Ms. Panek Bringle specializes in the design, management, and implementation of programs focused on development finance, shelter finance, and post-emergency economic and infrastructure rehabilitation. She is an experienced program manager, overseeing initiatives in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East/North Africa Region and Latin America. She has managed large-scale programs with multiple local and international partners, and has worked with a variety of donors including USAID, large US and international NGOs, private banks, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In her current role at DIG, she serves as the US-based Program Manager for DIG’s Housing Finance for the Poor program. She has provided technical assistance to a wide range of organizations, including commercial banks, NGOs, MFI networks, and service companies to find practical solutions to reaching scale and sustainability in providing financial services for the poor. Ms. Panek Bringle also served as a consistency editor for
Housing Microfinance: a Guide to Practice (Kumarian Press, January 2004).
Marianne Carliez, Associate Director of Program Management
Ms. Carliez is a recognized expert in designing and implementing programs focusing on the urban poor. Currently, she manages DIG's Urbis Program, a global initiative (funded by the Gates Foundation) to provide capacity building to pro-poor urban organizations and to improve slum dwellers’ quality of life in seven cities around the world. She oversees DIG's urban Community of Practice (
www.urbisnetwork.com). Ms. Carliez has also worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and for the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP). She has a Masters Degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Paris, Sorbonne in France.
Rula Dababneh, Senior Financial Services Advisor
Ms. Dababneh is an experienced banker, financial program manager, and international development consultant with 20 years experience in the finance, banking, MSME development, and business development sectors. Her experience includes: commercial banking, investment services, program design and management, strategic planning, and design of monitoring and evaluation systems. She has worked directly with high-level government officials, agencies and ministries, donor agencies, local and international NGOs, private voluntary organizations, and the business community. Before joining DIG, Ms. Dababneh was CGAP’s Middle East/North Africa (MENA) hub director in Jordan, managing and implementing activities in 12 countries in the region.
Michael Jenkins-Aizpuru, Senior Program Advisor
Mr. Jenkins is a sociologist and curriculum specialist with over 25 years of international development experience. He served in Honduras as director of the then largest Peace Corps program worldwide. As a grantmaker to grassroots organizations, Mr. Jenkins worked closely evaluating and monitoring hundreds of community-based organizations and NGOs in a post-conflict environment. As a program manager, Mr. Jenkins provided management oversight to a USD 50+ million portfolio of programs in local economic development, microfinance, humanitarian assistance, post-disaster reconstruction, disaster mitigation, and strengthening local government.
Bryan Winston, Country Representative for India / Director of CapStone Financial Services
Mr. Winston has more than 30 years of international economic, community, and housing development experience with key expertise in organizational development, microfinance management, project planning, training, and grants management. At DIG, Mr. Winston is seconded to CapStone Financial Services, a commercial microfinance company based in Chennai, India, where he serves as the managing director and DIG’s country representative. He has experience managing programs financed by a variety of donors including USAID, the Government of Colombia, European Union, the World Bank and private foundations in the US, Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining DIG, he directed a nationwide housing program in Colombia which provided comprehensive humanitarian, psychosocial, income generation, and shelter support to 30,000 displaced families each year.