Meet the team

Abdi was born and raised in the west end part of Ethiopia is fluent in Afan Oromo and Amharic as well as English. He is a final year General Master of Public Health student at Ambo University, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from the University of Gonder. Abdi is an expert in field research management, having worked in field research for the last 10 years serving different INGOs, private consultants, UN agencies, and Government research institutions as field coordinator, supervisor, enumerator, and auditor for different research projects. Abdi has worked for organizations such as the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). Abdi has also worked as an enumerator and field coordinator on multiple projects with Laterite, including as the field coordinator for the Gender Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) quantitative data collection in the Oromia region for the Overseas Development Institute.

Abel is a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite. He has more than ten years of professional experience in consultancy and research on a broad range of topics education, nutrition, agriculture, gender, children, youth, and income-generating activities. He brings significant leadership and finance-related expertise from his prior role as an Admin and Finance Director as well as his extensive engagements with a multitude of stakeholders from the private, public, and NGO sectors. Abel holds a BA in Business Education and is currently pursuing his MBA. Furthermore, Abel is an Enneagram enthusiast and has taught the subject on different platforms.

Abenezer is a Data Operations Associate at Laterite Ethiopia, where he specializes in qualitative projects. He holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology from the University of Gondar, and is working on his doctoral dissertation at Addis Ababa University. He has produced academic essays and seminar papers pertaining to contemporary social, philosophical, and methodological issues. His research and publications mainly focus on medical sociology and anthropology, reproductive and public health, and gender dynamics in Ethiopia. Most recently, he was a lecturer at Ambo University and has part-time experience working as a qualitative researcher, M&E consultant, research analyst, counseling officer, and social auditor. He is fluent in English and native in Amharic and Afan Oromo.

Amani is one of the most experienced field researchers in Rwanda and works with Laterite as a Country Data Manager. He specializes in operations management, field logistics and the training of survey teams. At Laterite Amani has directly managed large survey teams and projects involving complex logistics. In addition to Laterite, Amani has worked on major research projects for Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA), the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and the World Bank. He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

Anne serves as a Data Operations Associate at Laterite Kenya. She began her career as a Project Assistant and later as an M&E officer at an NGO before moving to other leading research organizations such as Jhpiego and IPA. She has managed several field teams and at Laterite, is one of the most experienced field researchers with over 8 years' experience. Anne has received training in Environmental Studies from the University of Nairobi where she completed her bachelor’s degree. She also holds a diploma in project management from the Kenya Institute of Management. She excels in team management and coordination, field logistics as well as infield data quality control.

Bélise is a Research Analyst at Laterite. She has previously worked at Laterite as a Senior Data Manager, where she worked to effectively build and streamline Data team operations at the company. Prior to this, Bélise worked at the Government of Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance on the establishment of its first Sovereign Wealth Fund. She pursued a BA in Social Sciences, majoring in Sociology and Politics, at Glasgow Caledonian University and an MSc in Economics of International Finance and Trade at the University of East Anglia. Her research interests range from labor and trade economics to issues of gender and equity in the context of Africa. Bélise is an Acumen fellow and a Chevening Scholar.

Bisrat is a Data Quality Analyst at Laterite Ethiopia Office. Bisrat was born and raised in Ethiopia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Addis Ababa University. Bisrat’s interest in data comes following an interest in statistics after reading Nassim Taleb’s “The black swan”. Bisrat’s interest areas include Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Fluid Mechanics. Bisrat loves working with people from different backgrounds.

Bruk works at Laterite as a qualitative Data Operations Associate. He was born and raised in Ethiopia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Social work from Jimma University and a Master of Arts in Social Work from Addis Ababa University. Prior to joining Laterite, he worked as a lecturer at Ambo University. He has also worked as a freelance data collector and supervisor on various research projects for different research and consultancy firms in Ethiopia including the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI), EMCOM Consulting, and Sublime Consulting. Bruk is interested in sustainable social development and public policy.

Christine is Laterite’s Finance Director, heading the group finance function and leading the accounting and office management team. Prior to joining Laterite, Christine worked as a Senior Auditor at KPMG Kenya where she led financial statement audits and assurance reviews for multinationals and local companies. She also facilitated training with the Learning and Development team. In addition, her experience includes working as an Internal Auditor in a micro-finance institution in Kenya. She holds an MSc Commerce (Finance and Accounting) from KCA University and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Christine Nishimwe works as a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite Rwanda. Christine is very experienced in coordinating and supervising field data collection teams. Before joining Laterite full-time, she worked as an Enumerator, Field Coordinator and also Field Supervisor in different projects like Girl Hub Rwanda implemented by Imbuto foundation, Keep Girls at School coordinated by Care International - Rwanda, 12+ project, Girl Effect Rwanda, a study of dropout and repetition in Rwandan basic education for UNICEF and MINEDUC, an evaluation of Indashyikirwa: A Community-level Programme to Prevent Gender-based Violence in Rwanda for the South African Medical Resaerch Council, and many others. Christine holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from UNILAK (University of Lay Adventist of Kigali).

Damari is a Data Quality Associate at Laterite. She is an experienced Statistician and data analyst with over 8 years of experience in health, nutrition and agriculture data handling. Before joining Laterite, she worked at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) as a Data Analyst/Statistician for a European Union-funded project dubbed The National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN). She was part of the NIPN Analysis Unit that contributed to the generation of the novel web-based nutrition dashboard for Uganda, which is the basis for tracking nutrition indicators annually, and ultimately improving nutrition programming in the country. She participated in writing the first ever Nutrition Situation Report of 2020 based on analysis of the Uganda National Panel Survey data of 2018/19 and 2019/20. She has also trained officers from Ministries, Departments and Agencies that are core in the implementation of the second Uganda Nutrition Action plan (UNAP II) in Nutrition Data handling. Before joining UBOS, she worked at Makerere University School of Public Health as a Data Manager and Brac-Uganda as a Research Associate as well as the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (IDRC) as a Research Assistant and a Data Officer. She completed her Master’s Degree in Statistics from Makerere University in 2017, with a focus on Biostatistics. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics from Makerere University.

Denis works as a Data Quality Manager at Laterite. Before joining Laterite’s Data Team full time, he worked as an enumerator, field coordinator and most recently as a Field Supervisor on a number of qualitative and quantitative research projects including a social protection case study for the FAO, a Winrock International study on the prevalence of child labor in tea growing areas in Rwanda and the GSMA/TIGO Rwanda Connected Women Program. In addition to his work at Laterite, Denis has worked with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR-Rwanda), Tigo Rwanda as a Business Research Analyst and at a local social protection NGO – Safer Rwanda. He holds a BSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Rwanda.

Dieudonne works as Senior field supervisor at Laterite.Prior to joining the data team full time,Dieudonne has worked as Enumerator,Field coordinator and Field supervisor. He worked on a number of quantitative research such that Technoserve, Teacher Training academy(Plan International), Girl Hub Rwanda, KGAS, Kigali Panel,12+ Baseline, Word Bank Baseline line survey on Land water husbandry, Winrock International study on prevalence of child labor in tea growing areas, Cookstoves, Spark Endline, to mention a few. He interned in Tigo as Network Operations Engineer and worked with Contracting companies as a Telecom Engineer. Dieudonne holds a Bsc Degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.

Dimitri is one of Laterite's Founding Partners and specializes in program evaluation, econometrics and research methods. Dimitri is Greek and Dutch and has lived and worked in more than 10 countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Zambia, Angola, India, Indonesia and Rwanda. Dimitri holds an MPA in International Development from Harvard University, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, and an MSc in Management from ESCP Europe Business School. Prior to establishing Laterite, Dimitri worked for the World Bank in Washington and Nairobi, for the UNDP in Angola, and the Delegation of the European Commission in Tanzania. He also briefly supported the Harvard Center for International Development and the KPMG/Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. Dimitri is fluent in English, Dutch, Greek, French and Spanish.

Elbethel Darge is a Finance and Admin Associate at Laterite. She holds a BA in Accounting and Finance from Addis Ababa University and is currently pursuing her MBA in Finance. Prior to joining Laterite, she was a Functional Consultant at Techno Brain Group and worked on the IFMIS project of Ethiopia. During her time there, her main role was providing finance and payroll training.

Enrico is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Ethiopia office. Prior to joining Laterite, he worked as a Data Analyst at Booster Box (a PPC Agency). He also worked as a Research Assistant at the Mind & Behaviour Research Group of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford, and as a Project Officer at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Prior to that, he was a Research Assistant at Bocconi University. He has experience in the analysis of household survey data, as well as in program evaluation. Enrico holds a MSc and BSc in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. He is a keen cyclist and lover of all things mountain-related.

Ezron Mucyo works as a Senior Field Supervisor. He also helps in leading and managing Quantitative projects from time to time. Prior to joining Laterite full-time, he worked as an enumerator and team leader on a couple of projects including but not limited to MRC, IDS, LARS III, FSI, and SMART campaign. He worked as Senior Field Fixing for Iwacu Tours and Travel working collaboratively with Dalberg. He also worked as a Marketing and Sales Executive for Airtel Rwanda. Ezron holds a Bachelor's degree in Management with Concentration in Insurance from Southern New Hampshire University.

Fabiola works at Laterite as a Data Manager. In addition to leading quantitative projects, she is specialized in managing qualitative projects. Prior to joining Laterite’s Data team full time, she worked on different projects as enumerator and translator, which include: the MRC/What Works study on Gender Based Violence, an evaluation of the 12+ Girls’ Health and Social Asset Building Program and a qualitative study for TIGO Rwanda/GSMA Connected Women Program. Besides working for Laterite, she worked for World Vision Rwanda as a data collector where she conducted interviews on the WASH project, she interned with Indego Africa as a Computer trainer to its Artisan women, and worked for Think Impact as a logistic assistant. She holds a Bachelor’s degree of sciences with Honors in Pharmacy from the University of Rwanda.

Faith is a Finance and Accounts Associate at Laterite, managing the finance and operations for the Kenya office. Prior to joining Laterite, she worked as a Finance and Accounting Analyst at Cytonn Investments Management PLC. She is well versed in Financial Reporting and Analysis, Budgeting and Costs Controlling techniques, Taxation, Cash flow and Stakeholder Management. She holds hers Bachelors in Commerce with a Finance major from the Multimedia University of Kenya and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Fitsum was born and raised in Ethiopia. He holds a MBA with concentration in Project Management. He has over 10 years of experience in field research, managing data collection teams, leading operation on large-scale and complex research projects in Ethiopia. Prior to joining Laterite, he was the Field Manager at IDInsight and worked for a number of research and data collection agencies in Ethiopia. Other roles include Qualitative field researcher and Team leader at WAAS international consultancy, a leading market and socio economy research company in Ethiopia and also a Field Research Operation Manager at the Ethiopian Economics Association. At Laterite, Fitsum manages all the data collection teams, supervises all major field work activities, directly conducts qualitative research and providing support to the entire research team given his experience managing large data collection projects in Ethiopia. Fitsum is fluent in English, Amharic and conversant in Afan Oromo.

Habtamu is a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite. He has worked for many research and data collection agencies in Ethiopia. In addition to his solid background in conducting quantitative and qualitative surveys, Habtamu has extensive experience in team management, recruitment coordination, and logistics planning of large-scale surveys. Prior to joining Laterite, he worked as a Senior Data Quality Officer at Insights Consults where he was tasked with managing the data teams and analyzing findings of a coffee survey in Ethiopia which was carried out by Enveritas Inc. Habtamu holds BA in Geography and Environmental studies from Addis Ababa University. Currently, he is pursuing an MA in Development studies: “Environment and Sustainable Development”.

Ioana is a Romanian economist and a Research Associate working on the IGNITE project. She has been living in Ethiopia since 2018. Prior to joining Laterite's Ethiopia office, she worked as a research consultant for the World Bank and the Austrian Foundation for Development Research, and spent two years as a junior advisor at GIZ’s African Union office, implementing activities in Morocco, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Besides her experience designing and managing gender-sensitive development cooperation projects, Ioana also conducted research at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna and the Vienna University of Economics, focusing on behavioral economics and RCTs, and completed traineeships in statistics and policy evaluation at the Austrian Central Bank and the European Commission. She holds a MicroMaster degree in Data, Economics and Development Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and J-PAL, as well as a Master's degree in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics.

Janvier is Laterite's Senior People Operations Associate, leading the recruitment process, maintaining enumerator and employee database, and supporting employee growth. Prior to joining Laterite, he worked as HR Coordinator at Kepler where he was in charge of coordinating recruitment process and performance management, leading new hire orientation, managing employee data in the HR software, and updating HR policies. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications with a Concentration in Business from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jean Claude works as a Data Manager at Laterite. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural economics and Agribusiness from the University of Rwanda. He has over 7 years of experience in field research activities, managing data collection teams, managing the implementation of field operations and leading complex field work activities. Before joining Laterite’s Data Team full time, he worked as an enumerator, field coordinator and field supervisor on a number of quantitative research projects including the World Bank baseline survey on land water husbandry, the Winrock International study on the prevalence of child labor in tea growing areas in Rwanda, the MINISANTE baseline and endline field preparation of year 1 of the 12+ program, the baseline and midline surveys of the Mencare+/BANDEBEREHO program for PROMUNDO/ RWAMREC, and the SPARK baseline survey. In addition to his work at Laterite, Jean Claude has worked with the Highland center for leadership and development (L4D ltd) as a Research Assistant, has been a promoter at Society for Family Health (SFH, former PSI), and has also worked at the international NGO Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as a field team leader.

Jennifer is the Accounts & Admin Assistant for Laterite providing support in managing the accounting and finance functions for the Kenya office. She has four years of experience in accounting, budgeting, audit and financial reporting. Prior to joining Laterite, she worked as an Accounts and Finance Officer at Springboard Capital Ltd. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Sociology from Chuka University and is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Job is a Data Operations Associate at Laterite. Born and raised in the eastern region of Uganda, Job is self-motivated, enthusiastic, hardworking, people-centered and results-driven. He holds Bachelor of Information Technology from Makerere University, Uganda. He has over six years of experience in field research activities, including planning fieldwork and managing both qualitative and quantitative data collection teams. Before joining Laterite, he worked as a field anthropometric enumerator, field manager, project coordinator and project lead for various non-governmental research institutions such as Innovations for Poverty Action Uganda, Family Health International (FHI-360), Metajua, USIDS WEI/BANTWANA and Educate Uganda.

John is a Senior Research Associate at Laterite's Kenya office working on the IGNITE project. He has five years of experience in corporate strategy consulting roles in Canada before switching his focus to development research. His past research projects have included a study on entrepreneurship in Jamaica with the Inter-American Development Bank, an urban sustainability project with UN-Habitat in Kenya, and a study on the link between state history and political views in Rwanda. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Toronto and a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

John has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam. Before joining Laterite, he worked as the Project Coordinator at Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, where he started as an Enumerator before he was promoted to Project Coordinator role. John has 3 years of experience in field research, project management and leading qualitative and quantitative data collection teams in Tanzania. At Busara, he took part in different projects across African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania. He has interest in Agriculture, Education, Public Health and Minerals.

Before joining Laterite, Jonathan Bower was a Country Economist at the International Growth Centre's Rwanda team managing a portfolio of research on urbanization, infrastructure and climate change. Prior to this he worked in policy research administration and resource mobilization at peacebuilding organization Aegis Trust, also in Rwanda. In 2010-2013 he was an Overseas Development Institute Fellow and Resource Economist based in Fiji, focusing on agriculture, at the Land Resources Division in Secretariat of the Pacific Community. He holds an MSc in Development Economics from SOAS, University of London with distinction, and a Bachelors degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford.

Jon works as a Research Associate based in the Kenya office. Prior to working at Laterite, he served as a consultant for the World Bank where he conducted research on social protection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and as a research assistant for the University of Oxford Refugee Studies Centre, where he led research on the economic lives of refugees and refugee host interactions in Ethiopia. Jon was an ODI fellow in the Treasury of Papua New Guinea in 2014-2016 and holds an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford (UK), and an MA in Economics from the University of Edinburgh (UK).

Jorge understood why quantum mechanics and financial markets are both built upon probabilities while doing his Mathematics Engineering studies. Then, he did a PhD in Applied Sciences to learn more about the Brownian motion's family and Stochastic modelling, and a post-doc in Geostatistcs to understand a bit of the world with data. Driven by a quest for social impact he decided to go beyond academia, which saw him explore AI, Data Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, HCD, Social Choice Systems and other fields. After working in France and Kenya as a Data Sciences consultant, he landed at Laterite. He has done research and worked on three continents, published a few scientific papers, and, as he loves education and human relations, he has never stopped teaching.

Jose is an Ecuadorian health economist finalizing a PhD in Public Health at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. His research is focused in international comparisons describing, explaining and projecting educational inequalities in disability and health expectancy in Europe. Prior education includes an MSc in Health Economics from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from Macalester College in the US. Additional research experience includes analyzing the impact of non-contributory pensions on health outcomes of Colombian elderly poor. Jose also has experience as a public servant at the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health, tasked with aiding in monitoring of national prevention and control strategies and developing the public health sector strategy for the reduction of the impact of traffic accidents.

Prior to joining Laterite Josh worked at Makerere University Business School where he ensured data collection for the seminar for sustainable economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Josh has experience with Quantitative and Qualitative data collection. He has been working with us as a Field Supervisor on a contract basis since 2018. Josh is currently pursuing a (MAEPP) Masters in Economic Policy and Planning from Makerere University and holds a (BA) Economics from Makerere University Business School.

Judith is a Research Associate at Laterite’s Amsterdam office. Prior to joining Laterite she worked at the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) where she ensured that Dutch socioeconomic policies are informed by the latest insights from research and practice. Judith has experience with quantitative and qualitative research projects and policy evaluations across a range of international development organizations, government agencies, and research institutes. She is versed in translating research insights into meaningful policy advice. Judith holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the London School of Economics and a B.Sc. in International Development from Leiden University. Her specialization is in social development, economics, and public health.

Julien works as a Research Analyst based in the Amsterdam office. He obtained his Master's degree in International Economics, with a focus on Development Economics, from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Before joining Laterite, Julien worked for two years as research assistant for the Center for Child Well-Being and Development, hosted by the University of Zurich, under the supervision of Prof. Guilherme Lichand. He worked on projects focusing on education and health in Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi and Brazil, and conducted fieldwork in Côte d'Ivoire to study the impact of a nudge intervention, targeting caregivers and teachers, on children's schooling outcomes. He also researched the effects of an intervention aiming at reducing dropouts in Brazil in the context of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his free time, he likes to play tennis, going on runs or bike tours, or reading a book.

Juliet Kalimba is one of the most experienced women in data collection, logistics, field team management in the country. She works as Data Operations Associate at Laterite. Before joining Laterite's data team full-time, she participated in various projects including the Reach-T project implemented by Winrock International; a study on the prevalence of child labor in tea growing areas in Rwanda; Care International's Keeping Girls at School project; Promundo's Bandebereho project; a project on the health and poverty effects of cooking practices; a study for Girl Effect Rwanda and so many others. She has worked as an enumerator, field coordinator and field supervisor. Juliet also worked with Compassion International as an accountant and non-government organization called Practical Action as a promotion and marketing assistant for cook-stove producer cooperatives. She holds a Bachelor's degree in commerce and applied economics with honors in finance from University of Rwanda.

Kevin is a Data Quality Associate at Laterite. Kevin has experience managing data monitoring, auditing and cleaning activities at Laterite for projects such as the Promundo phone survey and FSI Expansion study, as well as several agriculture surveys at the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) where he served as a Data editor, working mainly with Stata. Kevin is also experienced at managing field teams as he served as a field supervisor in several surveys for the Center for Economic and Social Studies (CESS). Kevin holds a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the National University of Rwanda.

Kristin is a Business Development and Communications Associate at Laterite's Amsterdam office. She is an experienced communications and policy professional with a background in urban planning. Kristin holds a Bachelor of Planning (First Class Honours) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and has completed a minor in economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Prior to joining Laterite, Kristin worked in communications and project management roles for an international social investor based in the Netherlands. She also has over four years' experience delivering complex government reforms for the New South Wales government in Sydney, Australia, where she held various policy roles.

Laura is a Research Associate at Laterite, based in the Kenya office. She holds a B.A. in International Business and a M.Sc. in International Economics & Economic Policy, with a focus on the evaluation of development policy and applied microeconomics from Goethe University in Frankfurt a.M., Germany. Prior to joining Laterite, Laura worked as an Economist at Fichtner, a German consultancy focused on infrastructure projects worldwide, the German Development Bank KfW in Kenya, and the Inter-American Development Bank in Bolivia. Laura is experienced in economic research, econometric analyses and project management.

Laura works as a Research Analyst based in the Amsterdam office. She has a BSc. in Social and Economic Sciences and an MSc. in Economic Policy from the University of Antwerp. She also holds an MSc. in Development Economics from Wageningen University. She is experienced in conducting quantitative and qualitative research with a focus on gender and health. During her studies, she conducted fieldwork in Sierra Leone to study the impacts of rural electrification and she also researched the secondary effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on healthcare use. Before that, she worked for CIFAL Flanders, an organization specialized in capacity development for the UN Agenda 2030. In her free time, she likes to go on long runs and play classical guitar.

As a Senior Research Associate in the Rwandan office, Laura manages a portfolio of research projects in education, early childhood development and gender. She has experience analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data, conducting key informant interviews, and providing M&E advisory. Before joining Laterite, she was a public policy analyst at the French Treasury where she gained experience in both micro and macro-economic policy analysis and advisory, as well as research dissemination. Laura holds a Master in Economics and Public Policy from École Polytechnique, Sciences Po Paris and ENSAE, a Bachelor of Mathematics from Pierre et Marie Curie University and a Bachelor of Sciences Po Paris.

Lydie is the Program Associate for Laterite in Rwanda. She specializes in the management of a portfolio of medium and large scale data collection projects. Lydie has managed large teams of over 120 enumerators and led field operations and logistics for projects involving 12,000 interviews. She is experienced in managing studies involving the tracing of study participants over multiple years (2.5 years). Lydie specializes in the management of education projects involving early grade reading assessments, learning assessments and classroom observations. She is experienced in managing sensitive projects involving data collection with children and studies on gender based violence. Lydie also led the establishment of new logistics and management systems that strengthened operation processes and improved efficiency of field operations.

Maggie manages a portfolio of research projects in early childhood development, public health, nutrition, and education. She is experienced in leading randomized controlled trials, mixed methods research, qualitative studies, and process evaluations. She holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University and a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University. Maggie’s background includes work as a researcher at Laterite in Rwanda, a monitoring and evaluation officer at Gardens for Health International in Rwanda, a research associate in the National Cancer Institute Risk Factor Assessment Branch, and a research assistant at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. She has worked on research and public health projects in Rwanda, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

Marco is a Research Analyst at Laterite’s Amsterdam office. Before joining the team he worked as a Research Assistant for Bocconi University. There, he focused on the impact of Covid on Education and on the Afrobarometer data to analyse the relation of road connection and economic development. Before that, he worked for Brac Uganda and for the European Commission - Development and Cooperation Unit, on the EU-China trilateral cooperation. Marco holds a BSc in Finance and a MSc in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University. He has experience in economic research, data management and econometric analysis. His research interests are focused on gender inequalities and gender roles as well as education. In his free time, he likes to bike, stay in nature and kitesurf.

Martin is a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite. He has a wealth of experience in field data collection having been involved in a range of research projects. He started as a Field researcher in 2014 for Institute of Primate Research based at Mpala Research Center-Laikipia. He then worked as an enumerator and a supervisor in several institutions such as Population Services Kenya (PSK), Acorn Management Services and Strathmore Business School (SBS). He joined Laterite Kenya in 2018 as an enumerator and then as a field supervisor. He has experience on both quantitative and qualitative data collection. He holds a BSc in Natural Resources Management from Egerton University.

Mats was born and raised in the Netherlands. He holds a BSc and MSc in International Development Studies from Wageningen University & Research, specializing in development economics. During his studies, he did fieldwork in Ghana and Uganda for the N2Africa project. Before joining Laterite, Mats worked for Impact Institute in Amsterdam. He is currently also working part-time as a research assistant for the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, where he supports various impact evaluations and will continue to support them through to July 2020.

Matteo is a Research Analyst at Laterite’s Amsterdam office. Prior to joining Laterite, he was an ODI Fellow and Economic and Financial Analyst at the Ministry of Finance of Guyana. He also worked as a Research Assistant at the London-based National Institute of Economics and Social Research. He is experienced in undertaking micro- and macroeconomic research, impact evaluations and fieldwork. Matteo holds a MSc in Development Economics from the University of Amsterdam and a BSc in Economics and Business from LUISS Guido Carli.

Melese is a Data Operations Associate at Laterite’s Ethiopia office. Melese has significant experience working on large and complex data collection projects as a statistician at the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia, where he led and coordinated the national population and housing census; annual agricultural survey; large, medium and small scale industries study; as well as research on the Productive Safety Net Program and Feed the Future projects. He has also worked as a Field Supervisor to the International Food Policy Research and Ethiopian Development Research Institutes prior to joining Laterite. Melese holds a Bachelor of Science in statistics and computer science from Addis Ababa University. In his free time, he likes to exercise and read.

Mercy is a Kenyan applied economist and a Research Analyst working on the IGNITE project. She is passionate about evidence-based research to inform policies in developing countries. Prior to joining Laterite, she worked as a consultant at the World Bank’s Poverty & Statistics Global Practice. She led research on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program to be rolled out by the Kenyan Government. Before that, she led research on financial inclusion among women and vulnerable communities in Rwanda on behalf of a Kenyan university. She also has experience working in disaster management in Northen Kenya, health care in Kenya and Uganda, civic engagement in Uganda and agriculture in Kenya. Mercy holds an MSc in Finance and Econometrics from Queen Mary University of London.

Mico is a Research Associate at Laterite's Rwanda office. He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Economics from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He specializes in econometrics and research design with research interests in public health, education and policy evaluation.

Narcisse is a Data Quality Associate at Laterite. He holds BA in Management with Concentration in Logistics and Operations from Southern New Hampshire University. Prior to joining Laterite Quality Team, he was part of Laterite Data Team where he worked as Enumerator, Field Supervisor, and Senior Field Supervisor. Before that, he worked as Assistant IT Manager at Kepler Kigali. Narcisse's interests are in data science, economics, and forensic data analysis.

Oliver is a Research Associate at Laterite’s Amsterdam office. He has capabilities and interests quantitative data analysis and visualization and impact evaluation. He holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Sussex and and MSc in Economics from the University of Amsterdam, where he specialized in international development and public policy. Prior to joining Laterite, Oliver worked on M&E and impact evaluation for a Dutch NGO in the WASH sector, financial inclusion and SME development in Uganda, and education research at the ETH Zürich in Switzerland. He has quantitative and qualitative research experience in education, inclusive finance, SME development, WASH, nutrition and agriculture.

Olivier is Laterite's Finance and Accounts Manager and specializes in accounting. Prior to joining Laterite, Olivier worked as an accountant at Transparency International Rwanda, at the Peace and Decentralization Enterprise of the Swiss Cooperation and at the African Evangelistic Enterprise. Olivier holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management/Accounting from Mount Kenya University, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Management from the Byumba Polytechnic Institute.

Philip leads Laterite’s growing Uganda office as well as providing expertise across all of Laterite’s portfolio of education-related projects. He completed his PhD in Economics from McMaster University in 2012, with a focus in Econometrics, Labour and Education Economics. Prior to his doctoral work, he spent 5 ½ years working for the Canadian Government conducting program evaluations of federal education and labour market programs. Since completing his doctoral work, Phil worked in academia, teaching and publishing in a range of topics related to education, labour markets and health. His 2017 publication on junk food bans in schools won the Vanderkamp Prize for best article in Canadian Public Policy. His work with Laterite has also included projects related to agriculture (especially coffee) and refugees.

Pietro is a Research Associate at Laterite Uganda. He holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University in Milan, where he specialized in international development, impact evaluation methods and behavioral economics. Prior to joining Laterite, Pietro worked in Uganda for a data collection company and as a research assistant for the University of Amsterdam. He also spent a summer in the United Kingdom working for an international development consultancy. His experience includes projects in agriculture, nutrition, fertility, health and education.

Priscah Cheruiyot is a Research Associate at Laterite, based in Kampala, Uganda. Born and raised in Kenya, Priscah holds a Master’s degree in Biostatistics from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Smith College. Priscah has conducted survey coding, and data monitoring, auditing and cleaning for several complex surveys, including the evaluation of a coffee agronomy training project with a sample of approximately 15,000 coffee-farming households in western Uganda. Priscah is experienced at working with STATA and SurveyCTO to improve data quality and automate processes.

Ravina is a Research Associate at Laterite. Born and raised in Tanzania, Ravina is interested in the application of evidence to inform public policy particularly in the agriculture, financial inclusion and education sectors. She has undergraduate degrees in Economics and Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice (MPA-DP) from Columbia University. Prior to joining Laterite, Ravina worked for the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) in Ethiopia, and for One Acre Fund in Tanzania. Ravina has also worked on research projects to end child labor and improve public transportation in Haiti and Kenya, respectively.

Rik is the Lead Economist at Laterite. He specializes in quantitative research methods, survey methodology, and the econometrics of causal inference. Rik has over a decade of experience in evaluation and research. Rik has led a range of (quasi)-experimental evaluations across Africa, Southeast Asia and the MENA region. Prior to joining Laterite, Rik held a position as managing consultant at ICF providing research and evaluation services to the European Commission and as an impact measurement specialist at Oxfam Novib, leading (quantitative) evaluations across a wide range of humanitarian and development programmes. Before that, he worked as a statistical researcher at Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and in academia. He holds a PhD in Political Science from Maastricht University.

Sachin Gathani is one of Laterite's founding partners and specializes in public sector strategic consulting, project management, and public policy. He has over 12 years’ experience leading data collection and research projects, and has led over 65 data and research projects in East Africa. Born and raised in East Africa, Sachin studied and worked in the US and Latin America for more than 10 years before moving back to the region. He has undergraduate degrees in Political Economy and Business from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters in International Affairs (Economic Policy & African Studies) from Columbia University. Prior to establishing Laterite, Sachin worked for the World Bank Group in Kenya, as a management consultant for several US State Governments, and as a consultant for Booz & Co (now a subsidiary of Price Waterhouse Coopers) in South Sudan. He also has led studies for government agencies in Djibouti and Colombia.

Samuel Shumye works as a Data Operations Associate at Laterite. Samuel has experience leading data collection and management teams at various local and international consultancies in the areas of agricultural, social, and market research. He holds a BA in Economics from Mekelle University, and has been responsible for leading national surveys and various large projects, such as a survey of Ethiopian coffee farmers. Over the years, Samuel has proven his research management capacity working as an Enumerator, Supervisor, and Field Coordinator. Giving training and managing actual fieldwork is his favorite working area. Before joining Laterite’s Data Team, he worked as an Operational and Data Quality Officer at Insight Consultancy.

Samuel is a Data Operations Associate at Laterite. He holds Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Hawassa University, Ethiopia. He has over 10 years of experience in field research activities, including planning fieldwork and managing data collection teams. Before joining Laterite's Data Team, he worked as an enumerator and field coordinator in Laterite Ethiopia as well as other governmental and non-governmental research institutions such as Central Statistical Agency (CSA), Family Health International (FHI), Save the Children, Economics Association of Ethiopia (EAE), and the Center for Development Consultancy (CDC).

Sylvia is Biostatistician with over three years of experience in data management, analysis, and reporting. She holds a Master's degree in Medical statistics and a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, both from the University of Nairobi-Kenya. Since postgraduate qualification in 2017, she worked with African Population Health and Research Center (APHRC) as a data manager and analyst, before joining Laterite Kenya as a Research Analyst. She is passionate about data quality monitoring and the application of both simple and advanced statistical methods to derive information from data to guide policy implementation.

Teferi Mequaninte Tensay is a Program Manager at Laterite's Ethiopia office. Previously he worked at the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency, Planning and Development Commission of Ethiopia, International Food Policy Research Institute, and the National Bank of Ethiopia. His work has focused on policy and financial programming on macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, developing strategic planning documents, institutional and policy frameworks and research design for public, private sector and international research organizations. Teferi also specializes in Environmentally Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (ESIG) with lots of experience in designing environment, climate, gender, youth and nutrition policies, strategies and plans and implementing related programs, including mainstreaming ESIG interventions into national and sectorial development plans and programs. Teferi holds a PhD from the university of Hohenheim in Institutional Economics, Germany. He received his master’s degree in Globalization and Economic Development from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, as well as an M.Sc. degree in International Economics and BA degree in Economics, both from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

Tessa currently works as a Senior Research Associate in the Laterite Kenya office. She has a wealth of experience working on projects relating to agricultural value chains, with a focus on gender and nutrition. She holds a MPH in Global Health with a concentration in Monitoring and Evaluation from The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health. Tessa works primarily on IGNITE, a project that aims to build technical innovation in nutrition-sensitive and gender-integrated agriculture for Tanager. She leads data analysis and report writing, contributes to research design, and develops and pilots survey instruments together with 18 IGNITE clients. She also manages research projects with IGNITE clients, including a project on intra-household decision-making for teff farming households in Ethiopia and a project on time allocation and mechanization in Nigeria. She has also worked in Kenya on the impact evaluation of One Acre Fund’s grevillea tree program in Kenya, including the baseline in 2019 and the midline in 2020.  Her experience includes working as a Health & Nutrition Advisor for a WASH NGO in Rwanda, and working at FHI 360 in Washington DC.

Thomas is an Accountant in our Uganda Office. He began his career as a Bookkeeper at M2R Consults - an accounting firm, before moving to UBK Developments Ltd and Auro Foundation Ltd, where he served in the capacity of Assistant Accountant and Finance Assistant respectively. Through his personal experience in the corporate world, Thomas brings extensive knowledge in taxation, book-keeping and financial management. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting Major) from Makerere University and is studying toward attaining his CPA (U) membership.

Tom is a Geospatial Data Intern at Laterite's Geospatial lab, within the Innovations team. Originally from France, he studied at Agrocampus Ouest (L'Institut Agro), an engineering school in agronomy. Throughout his studies, he became passionate about data and programming, and is currently completing his Master's in agronomy and data science. His double interest for data and geospatial processes, especially in agriculture and health, motivated him to work at Laterite. Tom also has a passion for international exchanges and foreign languages: aside from his native French, he speaks and never stops learning English, Portuguese, Spanish and German.

Vincent is a Research Analyst working out of Laterite's Amsterdam office. Before joining Laterite, Vincent worked and trained with a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations in the development space and obtained fieldwork & research experience in sub-Saharan Africa. His research and professional experience centers around participatory governance of common pool resources, sanitation development, and the strategic use of rigorous evidence in development policy-making. Vincent holds a Double Degree (MSc / MPP) in Public Policy and Human Development from United Nations University-MERIT and Maastricht University, where he specialized in Migration Studies and conducted research on participatory sanitation governance. Next to his native German, Vincent speaks English, Dutch and Spanish.