Meet the team

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. At Laterite, Abdi manages and coordinates data collection projects as well as the recruitment and training of field teams in Ethiopia. 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 the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from the University of Gonder.

Abel 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.

Addisalem works on research projects Laterite's Ethiopia office. He conducts survey coding and training, data monitoring and cleaning, carries out qualitative data collection, and supports data quality assurance on projects for clients such as the World Bank and the University of Washington. Prior to joining Laterite, Addisalem served as a program manager at Birhan for Mothers and Children Morbidity and Mortality Surveillance Program, a joint program between Harvard University and St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College. He has managed an implementation research project by Harvard and Addis Ababa University that focused on scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care in Ethiopia, and managed operational research for the Save the Children International's Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic Opportunities project for Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Addisalem also served as an HIV/AIDS project coordinator at the Federation of Ethiopian Associations for Persons with Disabilities, as the Head of Research and Training Department at Clear Impact Consult, and as a clinician and head of Bulehora Health Center. Addisalem holds a Master's degree and a Bachelor's degree in Public Health from Haramaya University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from St. Mary University College.

Amani has worked with Laterite Rwanda since 2014 on a wide range of large-scale data collection projects, and is now Country Data Manager. He specializes in operations management, field logistics and the training of survey teams. During his years at Laterite, Amani has managed large surveys involving complex logistics and multiple survey instruments in the areas of early childhood development, public health, education and agriculture, including learning assessments and anthropometric measurements. In addition to his work at Laterite, Amani has worked on major research projects for the World Bank, Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). He holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.

Anne leads data collection activities in the Laterite Kenya office. She is experienced at overseeing data collection, field team recruitment and training, preparing field plans, writing field reports and all aspects of managing fieldwork for large-scale data collection projects. She has managed focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, classroom observations, and child assessments for projects relating to health, agriculture, education, and migration. Prior to working at Laterite, Anne worked on research and data collection projects for Jhpiego, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Plants for Life International. Anne holds a BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Project Management from the Kenya Institute of Management. She speaks Swahili and Kikuyu as well as English.

Ayumi is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Sierra Leone office. She is passionate about using data and research to improve the health and well-being of people in under-resourced settings. Before joining Laterite, she worked on a research project in Nairobi, Kenya as an embedded student researcher, and supported data collection on gender-based violence. Before that, Ayumi worked for UN Women and contributed to advocacy and resource mobilization for gender equity. Ayumi holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. In her free time, she enjoys taking dance classes and discovering world cuisines.

Bea is country lead in Sierra Leone, where her role is to establish Laterite's presence and expertise in West Africa. She is passionate about development education and the use of research and learning systems to strengthen program design, implementation, scale/sustainability and policy. Bea was formerly a Senior Research Associate in Laterite Rwanda where she coordinated Laterite's learning partnership for the Mastercard Foundation's Leaders in Teaching program. Subsequently, she joined VVOB to manage Catch Up - a national-level remedial education TaRL program in Zambia. She also previously served as the Regional (West African) Program Manager for Worldreader, leading work around EdTech scaling and systems learning on program institutionalization. Bea has an MPhil in Education, International Development and Globalization from the University of Cambridge. Her undergraduate education is in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry.

Bethelhem is an accomplished administrative professional with over 5 years of experience providing executive assistance, event coordination, travel management, and office operations support in dynamic corporate environments. She has honed exceptional organizational and communications skills working for international companies including H&M. Bethelhem thrives at improving processes and collaborating cross-functionally to accomplish goals. She is dedicated to continuous learning and skill development. She holds a Master's in Business Leadership from Addis Ababa University as well as a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

Bisrat manages and oversees data quality for large-scale, complex data collection projects in Ethiopia. This includes daily data monitoring and periodic data auditing during data collection as well as data cleaning using Stata upon completion of data collection. In addition to his day-to-day work, Bisrat works to improve Laterite’s data quality processes. He has written two python scripts to automate samples of audio audits and audio pulling as well as outputting summary statistics for all the numeric variables in a survey questionnaire coded into SurveyCTO. He was also part of the Laterite team that presented a SurveyCTO webinar on a python script used at Laterite to optimize survey management. Bisrat holds a BSc 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”.

Brian works on research projects in Laterite’s Kenya office, from preparation of survey tools to survey coding, data cleaning and analysis. He works on projects in agriculture and education. Before joining Laterite, Brian was a socio-economics intern at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. During this period, key areas of research focused on pastoralist livelihoods and improved food security through maize technologies. Brian holds a Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor's in Agricultural Economics and Resource Management from Maasai Mara University. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Nairobi with a focus on perceptions and control methods in relation to pest management. He has an interest in generating empirical-based evidence geared towards improvement of households in terms of food security and incomes.

Bruk has over five years of experience managing field teams working on research projects in Ethiopia. He has recruited, trained and managed data collection teams for quantitative projects in various sectors including public policy, socio-economic development, gender, agriculture, entrepreneurship and education. He has also managed and led qualitative data collection including key informant interviews and focus group discussions. 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.

Camelia works on research projects across East Africa in the areas of public health, gender, social protection and livelihoods. At Laterite's Amsterdam office, Camelia has contributed to a post-conflict study of a government safety program in Ethiopia, an evaluation of an entrepreneurship training by the World Bank in Ethiopia, and a maternal health study in Kenya. She has previously worked for the Council of International Schools in The Netherlands, for GIZ in Ethiopia and for IPA in Liberia, where as a Research Associate she led an RCT project evaluating the GiveDirectly unconditional cash transfers and a market access intervention in Liberia. Most recently she worked as an assistant to the President of the Republic of Moldova, her native country. Camelia majored in International Development at Leiden University College and holds a MicroMasters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from MIT and the MSc in International Development and Management from Lund University. She speaks Romanian, English, French, and Russian and has a 365+ days streak learning Dutch on Duolingo.

Camila coordinates research and data collection projects with a focus on agriculture. She holds a BSc degree in Global Resource Systems from the University of British Columbia and an MSc in Economics and Governance from Wageningen University. She has recently completed a minor in development sociology at Cornell University. Her interests lie in the intersection between agriculture, development, and economics, with a strong interest in the social and scientific components of development projects. She has worked in the public sector and academia, and has lived in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. In her free time, she enjoys long-distance running and road cycling.

Carlos currently holds the position of Research Intern at Laterite's Peru office while in the process of completing his Economics degree. Throughout his academic journey, he has actively contributed as a research volunteer at multiple institutes affiliated with his university, with a particular focus on social research and policy development.

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 is experienced in coordinating and supervising field data collection teams at Laterite Rwanda. She is an expert in the use of childhood development assessment tools such as the Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT), Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children II (KABC-II), Mullen Scales of Early Learning and anthropometric measurements (height and weight measurement). She also previously worked on data administration at Laterite. Before joining Laterite full-time, Christine worked as an Enumerator, Field Coordinator and Field Supervisor on projects for clients such as Girl Effect Rwanda implemented by Imbuto foundation, UNICEF, MINEDUC, the South African Medical Research Council, and many others. Christine holds a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from University of Lay Adventist of Kigali.

As a Research Director with Laterite’s Kenya office, Dale oversees research in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania in the areas of public health, gender, nutrition, and agriculture. Her research focuses on the application of epidemiologic methods to program evaluation and implementation science, with special expertise in study design, statistics, and mixed-methods studies. Prior to joining Laterite, Dale spent three years living in Rwanda as an embedded researcher with Partners In Health. In this role, she also supported public health research and research capacity building in Haiti, Malawi, Mexico, and Sierra Leone. Dale holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology, and International Affairs from Georgetown University as well as a MS in Biostatistics and ScD in Epidemiology from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Damari is an experienced statistician and data analyst with over 8 years of experience in health, nutrition and agricultural data handling. At Laterite Uganda, she works on data monitoring strategies and data quality checks for projects in coffee agronomy and public health. Before Laterite, Damari worked at the Uganda Bureau of Statistics as a Data Analyst/Statistician for a European Union-funded project called the National Information Platforms for Nutrition. She was part of the Analysis Unit that contributed to the generation of the web-based nutrition dashboard for Uganda and the first ever Nutrition Situation Report of 2020. She has also trained officers from ministries, departments and agencies on the implementation of the second Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP II) in nutrition data handling. She also previously worked at Makerere University School of Public Health as a Data Manager, at BRAC-Uganda as a Research Associate and at the Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration as a Research Assistant and a Data Officer. She completed her Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Statistics at Makerere University.

Denis leads the day-day management of the Rwanda data quality team, ensuring the successful delivery of data quality team tasks on Laterite Rwanda's project portfolio. Before joining Laterite’s Data Quality Team, Denis worked on the Data Team as a Senior Field Supervisor. Before that, he worked as an enumerator and field coordinator on a number of Laterite’s 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) as a Research Assistant, Tigo Rwanda as a Business Research Analyst and at a local social protection NGO Safer Rwanda as a Programs Officer. He holds a BSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Rwanda.

Dimitri is one of Laterite's Founding Partners and specializes in sampling, econometric methods, program evaluation methods, analytic automation, and monitoring and evaluation. 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.

Enrico is a Senior Research Associate 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 & Behavior 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.

Eric is a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences-International Relations from Kigali Independent University. Eric has over five years of experience in field research activities including data collection, logistics management, field management and management of field teams. Before Joining Laterite, Eric worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI Rwanda) as Field Team Leader in the nutrition program, conducting the impact evaluation of the Shisha Kibondo Fortified Blended Food program. Eric also worked with Innovations For Poverty Action (IPA Rwanda) as a Field Manager for three years on various projects on topics such as environmental promotion, financial education and youth employment. Eric has experience working in remote areas across the country.

Ester is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Tanzania office, born and raised in Tanzania. Before joining Laterite, Ester was a Technical Advisor at Options Consultancy Services’ Tanzania team managing monitoring, evaluation and learning of program activities while providing technical support in designing and analyzing assessment surveys. She also advised on the Sexual Reproductive Health program’s quality improvement workstream. Prior to this, she worked in research programs mostly on Randomized Clinical Trials as a Statistician and Data manager at National Institute for Medical Research, Muhimbili Research Centre in Tanzania. She holds an MSc in Epidemiology and Applied Biostatistics from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College, Tumaini University and a Bachelor degree in Economics and Statistics from University of Dodoma.

Formlery a Senior Field Supervisor, Ezron Mucyo works as a Data Operations Associate. 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 Manager at Laterite, overseeing finance and operations functions across multiple countries from the Kenya office. Prior to joining Laterite, she worked as a Finance and Accounting Analyst at Cytonn Investments Management PLC. She brings over 8 years of extensive experience in finance and accounting. Faith is adept in financial reporting and analysis, budgeting, cost controlling techniques, taxation, cash flow, and stakeholder management. She holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the University of Nairobi, along with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with majoring in Finance from the Multimedia University of Kenya. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Faiza Omar is a Research Analyst at Laterite Kenya. She is a graduate of the University of Glasgow Adam Smith Business School, having pursued a Master’s in Finance and Economic Development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Economics from Strathmore University. Faiza has previously interned as a Financial Analyst and Modeler, and a Finance officer at the Capital Markets Authority in Kenya. She is passionate about evidence-based policy making and is looking to grow in the areas of research and development economics.

Fleur is an AI developer at Laterite’s Amsterdam office. Born in the Netherlands and raised in Curaçao, she holds both a BSc and MSc in Applied Physics from TU Delft, with a minor in International Entrepreneurship and Development. During her bachelor's, Fleur completed internships at the Kumasi Business Incubator and Farmerline in Ghana. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she conducted research at CERN as a technical student. Her interest in data and machine learning grew during her master’s degree, where she further developed these skills. In her free time, Fleur enjoys ceramics, watersports and dancing.

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.

Francisca is an Accounts and Admin Assistant at Laterite Tanzania with over four years of experience in accounting, financial management, budgeting, taxation and office operations support. Before Laterite, Francisca contributed to projects USAID and EU-funded projects while at the Malengo Development Foundation and the Mwanza Youth and Children Network. In addition to her accounting and financial expertise, she is skilled at event management and travel coordination. Francisca holds a bachelor's degree in Finance and Banking at the Institute of Finance Management in Dar es Salaam and is currently studying to be a Certified Public Accountant.

Gutama is a Research Analyst at Laterite’s Ethiopia office. He is passionate about impactful research that plays a role in improving the socio-economic well-being of poor communities. Prior to joining Laterite, Gutama had served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Haramaya University for one year. He holds an MSc in International Master of Science in Rural Development, which is organized by six European universities and hosted by Ghent University in Belgium. He also holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics from Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey and a BSc in Agricultural Economics from Haramaya University in Ethiopia. In his leisure time, he enjoys exercising and exploring R functions.

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”.

Ilse is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Amsterdam Office with a keen interest in solving development challenges through an interdisciplinary approach. Born and raised in Mexico, she holds a Bsc. in Politics, Psychology, Law, and Economics (PPLE College) from the University of Amsterdam with a major in Economics and Business, and a Research Master in Social Sciences also from the University of Amsterdam, specializing in quantitative research methods. Prior to joining Laterite, she worked as a research intern at Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and as a research assistant for the University of Utrecht. She has experience working with national register data and survey data as well as with the application of diverse statistical models.

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.

Ishmail is a Data Operation Associate at Laterite Sierra Leone with experience in both qualitative and quantitative data collection. Prior to working at Laterite, he worked as an enumerator, field supervisor and eventually as an assistant field manager in different projects in Sierra Leone conducting school, phone and household surveys. These projects covered a breadth of project clients including the World Bank, Oxford Policy Management, Statistics Sierra Leone and Dalan Development Consultant. Ishmail has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in procurement.

Jacques is an Assistant Office Manager and Accountant at Laterite, supporting the management and administrative needs of the Kigali office. Prior to joining Laterite, Jacques was the Chief Accountant at a local NGO and also worked in a similar capacity for a Government agency. He has a Bachelors in Information Systems and Management and a MBA from the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali.

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).

Jessie works in the Business Development and Communications team at Laterite's Netherlands office. Prior to her role at Laterite, Jessie worked in various business development, partnerships, project & event management and resource mobilization roles in international NGOs, including Amnesty International Australia and ActionAid UK. Jessie holds a Bachelor of International Studies and Commerce from the University of Wollongong, Australia, and is currently remotely studying for a Master's degree in Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Jessie is a Business Development and Communications Associate based in the Amsterdam office. Before joining Laterite, she was a consultant for the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s gender program focusing on partnerships and communications. She also has three years’ experience as a program officer for an anti-poverty program spearheaded by the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines where she worked on rural livelihood development and post-conflict reconstruction. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and a double Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Development Studies in Ateneo de Manila University. While completing her Master’s degree, she worked as an editor and writer for a digital marketing firm.

John is a Senior Research Associate in Laterite’s Kenya office. His research is primarily in the agricultural sector with a focus on gender and nutrition. John has led research design, analysis, and reporting on both quantitative and qualitative studies in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. Prior to joining Laterite, John worked on research projects with the Inter-American Development Bank in Jamaica and with UN-Habitat in Kenya, and also has five years of experience in strategy consulting roles in the private sector in Canada. 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.

John Robert Tenywa is a Data Quality Analyst at Laterite’s Uganda country office. He has previously held roles as a Research Assistant at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Data Supervisor at the University of Southern California, and a Graduate Fellow at Makerere University School of Economics. In these positions, he gained practical experience in quantitative methods and statistical analysis, supporting various research projects by coding survey instruments, managing and analyzing large datasets, and contributing to the production of research reports. John Robert’s research interests lie in the fields of development economics, agriculture, and technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Makerere University, Uganda, and has recently completed his Master’s degree in Economics at the same institution. Outside of work and studies, John Robert enjoys traveling, playing soccer, and watching movies.

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.

Judith is a Senior 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.

Judy is a Data Quality Analyst at Laterite's Kenya Office. She holds a BSc in Applied Statistics with Computing from the University of Kabianga. Prior to joining Laterite she worked with Save the Children International as the Research Assistant where together with a research team, they conducted research, monitoring and impact evaluation of projects in Somalia / Somaliland Country Office. Judy is a data analyst by profession with experience in quantitative data analysis and impact evaluation and familiar with a variety of statistical techniques. She has co-authored publications including one on Accelerating Change towards Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation; 'Effects of community dialogues'. She is passionate about making sense out of data and generating evidence to inform policies across sectors. She combines her tenacity with strong interpersonal and analytical skills.

Julien works as a Research Associate 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.

Jurrian is a Research Analyst at Laterite’s Uganda office. He holds an MSc in Development Economics from Wageningen University and an MSc in Sustainable Business from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Prior to his time at Laterite, he worked at Wageningen Economic Research on transition challenges in the Dutch and international food and agriculture systems using applied research. At Laterite, he mainly works on projects in the agricultural domain.

Bélise is a Research Associate 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.

Kevin is a Research Analyst 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 an experienced communications and policy professional, based in Laterite's Amsterdam office. She holds a Masters in Communication for Development from Malmö University, Sweden and a Bachelor of Planning (First Class Honours) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She has also 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 Senior 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 Associate based in the Kigali 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.

Luke is a Senior Research Associate, currently leading Laterite's Uganda country office. Luke previously worked for Save the Children International for three years in Sierra Leone, Malawi and South Sudan, leading on developing proposals for large climate change grants, including managing all research and studies associated with the proposals. This included assessments in three countries to understand capacity to deliver climate change adaptation projects. Prior to working internationally, Luke worked for the Department for Education and was a research and senior research analyst. Luke's work in the UK included contributing to several RCT's evaluating the impact of different vocational educational policies, and subsequently for an education charity in the UK to evaluate the impact of parental and teacher influence on young people's career choices. Luke holds a masters in mathematics from Imperial College London, and in his spare time enjoys playing tennis, running, dancing, and exploring new countries on a moped.

Lydie is a Senior 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 leads consolidation of company functions and strategic projects at Laterite. Before transitioning into this role in 2022, she was a member of the research team based in Kigali, Rwanda for five years where she managed a portfolio of research projects in early childhood development, public health, nutrition, and education. Her background includes work in research, public health, and monitoring and evaluation for NGOs, government agencies and academic institutions. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Yale University and a Bachelors of Arts in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University.

Marianne has spent the last decade in the education sector, in progressive leadership positions where she has led organizations, people, operations and programs across East & Southern Africa (Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Prior to joining Laterite, she was the Country Programmes Manager at VVOB Rwanda, overseeing multiple donor funded programs in partnership with the Ministry of Education, to advance and scale the quality of education through school leadership and teacher professional development. She is a certified chartered accountant (ACCA), holds an MBA from Heriot Watt University and an executive leadership diploma from the University of Oxford Saiid Business School. Marianne is passionate about the development of Africa through the economic participation of the continent’s women and youth.

Marie-Paule is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Rwanda office. She was born in Rwanda but grew up in Belgium and recently moved back to Kigali. Prior to Laterite, she was working as a data quality officer for the Rwanda Biomedical Center supporting public health initiatives while finishing up her Master's degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. Marie-Paule's background is in biology. She holds a BSc in Cellular Biology and Physiology from Universite Toulouse III Paul Sabatier in France and a Higher National Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. In her spare time she enjoys movies and reading.

Marina Uwurukundo is an admin and accounts assistant at Laterite's Rwanda office. She brings over five years of experience in administration, accounting and logistics, holds a bachelor's degree in Economics, specializing in Monetary Economics, from the University of Rwanda. In her previous roles, she managed administrative tasks, ensured materials were delivered as requested and performed financial responsibilities.

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 is a researcher with expertise in conducting quantitative data collection and research in the areas of agriculture, resources, and livelihoods. Prior to joining Laterite, he has worked on various impact evaluations for the Leibniz Institute of Economic Research, where he supported work for academic publication in peer-reviewed journals. Mats holds a BSc and MSc in International Development Studies from Wageningen University & Research, specializing in development economics. At Laterite, he is leading quantitative data collection efforts for Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) in Ethiopia. Simultaneously, Mats manages several other research and data collection projects for the Worldbank and HereWeGrow.

Meha is a Research Analyst with Laterite Kenya. She has a deep interest and passion for using robust statistical methods to solve climate and agriculture-related development issues in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Prior to Laterite, she has led a multi-country study to identify leading African climate-tech for the World Food Programme, designed education trainings and M&E systems to promote farmer’s adoption of regenerative agriculture with Warc Africa in Northern Ghana, and designed policy research along with events for Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law in Washington, DC. Meha further gained a closeness to econometrics as teaching assistant for the course during her MPA in Development Practice at Columbia University. Originally from Mumbai, India, she also holds a BA in Economics, International Studies, and Global Health from Macalester College.

Melese is a Data Manager 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.

Michael is a Data Quality Analyst at Laterite's Ethiopia Office. Before joining Laterite, Michael worked as a Data Engineer at Gebeya where he built data pipelines which were used to build dashboards and reports. He also took part in building a Deep Learning AI model used to classify images for a new feature. Michael has a Bachlors Degree in Economics from Addis Ababa University and is currently persuing his Masters in Data Science at Eastern University. Michael has an understanding on the statistical measures currently being used and also associates new ways to solve and answer questions. He is interested in the new technology field of AI and strives to make the world a better place through it.

Monicah Bagweneza holds a Bachelor of Science in quantitative economics from Ndejje University, Uganda with two years of experience in data processing, monitoring, and evaluation. She has worked with Access to Finance Rwanda as Data Processing Assistant/Enumerator with data collection and data entry as main tasks. She has also worked with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Rwanda as a young economist and was mainly tasked with tracking and evaluating different projects on a quarterly basis.

Muhammed brings a wealth of over 10 years of experience as a Projects Officer at the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) where he coordinated and implemented various projects in Uganda whose aim is to acquire land required for the construction of high voltage transmission lines throughout the country. The role included project data management, planning and implementing land acquisition strategies, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, project monitoring and tracking and team management. Muhammed’s academic background is in Project Planning and Management, Information Technology and Quantitative Economics.

Nadine Yizere is a Data Quality Analyst at Laterite's Rwanda office. She completed a master's degree in Mathematical Sciences with a major in Data Science from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Rwanda. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Rwanda's College of Science and Technology. In her free time, she likes to follow updates on technology, travel and hair dressing. Nadine is eager to learn and grow as well as contribute to the growth of Laterite Rwanda's Data Quality Team.

Natasha is Laterite Rwanda's newest Program Associate at Laterite Rwanda. She brings over 8 years' experience in the international development management and research consulting and has worked across Africa, notably Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, CAR, and Zambia. She has previous experience with peace education, diaspora engagement, teacher training and development programs, and social and emotional learning in schools - and is particularly passionate about research in education. Natasha holds two Bachelors of Science degrees and a Masters of Arts in international Development and Education from the University of East Anglia.

Neema is a Senior Field Supervisor at Laterite Tanzania. Neema was born and raised in Tanzania. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Dar es Salaam. She has extensive experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection across different regions in Tanzania, with expertise in team management and field logistics. She has collaborated with a diverse range of organizations, including both government and non-government entities such as Data Vision International, PSI Tanzania, TMDA and Busara Centre for Behavioral Economics, assuming various responsibilities as an enumerator, supervisor, and coordinator. Neema’s journey with Laterite began in 2022 as an enumerator, then as a field coordinator, and after as a field supervisor on different projects. Neema loves working with people from different backgrounds.

Neerajha is a Senior Research Associate at Laterite's Ethiopia office. She has worked as a tech consultant and social impact researcher for over 9 years. Her educational background includes degrees in Engineering, Development Management, and an MSc in Social Policy and Social Research. Previously, she played a leadership role at a consulting firm in India, where she directed research and evaluation initiatives in 20+ Indian states. She has contributed to various impact evaluations, MEL, strategy consultations, and feasibility studies for large-scale corporations and international organizations across thematic areas including energy and environment, climate, agriculture, education, public health, financial inclusion, and livelihoods. Additionally, during her MSc, Neerajha worked on energy and fuel poverty research and policy initiatives in the UK.

Oliver is based in Laterite’s Kenya office and leads projects involving quantitative data analysis and visualization, and impact evaluation. He has quantitative and qualitative research experience in education, inclusive finance, SME development, WASH, nutrition and agriculture. 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. 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.

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.

Padmini works in Laterite's Ethiopia office and is skilled in handling quantitative data, including monitoring, cleaning and analysis, as well as in qualitative data coding and analysis. She grew up in India, Kenya, UAE, and the USA. Before joining Laterite, Padmini supported an implementation research project addressing intimate partner violence in Kenya at Ujamaa-Africa in partnership with Johns Hopkins University. Earlier, she worked on research projects in East Africa and Asia in the fields of gender-based violence, reproductive health, digital health, and psychosocial health. Padmini holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor's in Public Health and Psychology from Johns Hopkins University. In her free time, she likes to make art and discover new music.

Rafaela is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Ethiopia Office. She was born and raised in Portugal. Before joining Laterite, Rafaela has worked as a Research Assistant in the field of Neuroeconomics at the University of Amsterdam. She graduated from the University of Amsterdam, with a MSc in Economics specialized in Public Policy, and a MSc in Business Economics specialized in Neuroeconomics. She holds a BSc in Management from Iscte, in Lisbon, during which she spent a semester in Daegu, South Korea.

Ravina is a Senior 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.

Ricardo is a Research Associate at Laterite's Peru office with eight years of experience in developing impact evaluations, primarily in the agriculture sector. Before his tenure at Laterite, Ricardo was part of The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), concentrating on quantitative impact evaluations and data management. He also contributed to a Peruvian research center (GRADE) and the Peruvian Ministry of Education. Ricardo holds a B.A. in Economics and a Master's degree in Development, with a specialization in Economics and Econometric Analysis of Development Policies from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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 has experience leading data collection and managing teams at various local and international consultancies in the areas of agricultural, social, and market research. At Laterite, he has been responsible for leading national surveys and several large data collection projects in Ethiopia, where he specializes in giving training and managing fieldwork. Over the years, Samuel has proven his research management capacity working as an Enumerator, Supervisor, and Field Coordinator. Before joining Laterite’s Data Team, he worked as an Operational and Data Quality Officer at Insight Consultancy. He holds a BA in Economics from Mekelle University.

Samuel leads large-scale data collection activities and manages survey logistics at Laterite’s Ethiopia office. 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).

Sandro is a Peruvian economist and brings in 20 years of experience wearing different hats within the development sector. He has served as the Deputy Minister of Education, as Executive Director of a National Scholarship Program, and as Senior Education and Social Protection official in the Inter-American Development Bank. His experiences have culminated in his current role of establishing Laterite’s vision for impactful research to the region.

Sara studied Geology in Portugal and Germany before starting a different career with a Master's in Science Communications from the University of Bath. Sara worked as a structural geologist with a focus on lab projects and field work, as a science writer for AAAS Science magazine, Planet Earth online and as a freelancer. Before joining Laterite, Sara led the Communications and Events team of a not-for-profit set up to coordinate academic clouds and compute resources in Europe.

Serenity (they/them) is a Research Analyst specialized in agriculture projects and based at Laterite’s Tanzania office. They have a background in education, WASH, and geophysics research in Tanzania, Rwanda, India, and Myanmar. They have worked for and with organizations including The World Bank’s DIME group, gui2de (Georgetown University Initiative on Innovation, Development & Evaluation), NECTA (National Examinations Council of Tanzania), and Myanmar’s Department of Rural Development. Serenity is a recent Master’s graduate from Georgetown University’s Master of International Development Policy program, during which they completed a capstone research project that involved the design, implementation, analysis, and report writing for a phone survey of 4540 respondents in three Indian states on the retention and experiences of marginalized students enrolled under the Right To Education Act. Serenity enjoys jazz improv, squash, and board games.

Sonia is an Office Administrator at Laterite's Rwanda office. She holds a BA degree in Communication concentration in Health Care from Southern New Hampshire University. Before joining Laterite, she worked as an Administrative Assistant at Governance for Africa (GFA). Sonia also worked as a Participatory Research Action (PAR) Manger at the City University of New York.

Steven is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Amsterdam Office. He holds a BSc in International Development Studies and a MSc in Development Economics, both from Wageningen University. Steven has worked as a journalist and columnist, and as research analyst at Wageningen Economic Research. At Wageningen Economic Research, Steven contributed to a project focused on developing a dashboard with human rights risks for various agricultural supply chains, such as coffee and cocoa. In his free time, he enjoys to play squash.

Sylvia is biostatistician with experience in data management, analysis, and reporting. She supports various projects in public health, agriculture, gender and livelihoods in Laterite's Kenya office. 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. Since postgraduate qualification in 2017, Sylvia worked with African Population Health and Research Center (APHRC) as a data manager and analyst, before joining Laterite. She holds a Master's degree in Medical statistics and a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, both from the University of Nairobi.

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.

Umugisha is an experienced field researcher with expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques in Rwanda. He specializes in field team management, logistics management, field operations planning and translation. He has experience in data collection projects relating to gender, health, agriculture, education, youth, labor and taxation. Umugisha holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Rwanda. Prior to Laterite, he worked as a Field Researcher at Delagua and Rwanda's International Institute of Ophthalmology.

Victoria is a Research Analyst at Laterite's Ethiopia office. She has previously worked on impact evaluations in Ghana and the Philippines in the agricultural and social protection sectors, and was a consultant for the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. She holds an MPA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a BA in Economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.

Yerosan Mesfin is Data Operations Associate. Before joining full-time, he worked with Laterite's Data Team as a qualitative data collector, field coordinator and Senior Field Supervisor in various projects, including the study of Ethiopian smallholder farmer’s willingness to pay for crop micro-insurance for GGGI; and the Strengthen PSNP4 Institutions and Resilience project for IFPRI. Besides his experience at Laterite, Yerosan has worked with Peace and Development Center (PDC) as a Research Assistant where he interviewed migrants and returnees, and worked as freelance researcher on research project titled ‘Well-being, women and work in Ethiopia (3WE)'. Yerosan holds a BA in Social Anthropology from Addis Ababa University and MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester.

Zipporah joins Laterite as the People Operations Manager and will be based in the Nairobi office. Zipporah brings over 10 years of experience in different capacities garnered from various sectors including government, development, private and consulting. She was previously at Instiglio, an international development consulting firm where she led the Global Talent Acquisition team and was a key point of contact for people operations in Africa, leading on the people initiatives within the region. Prior to this, she worked with Komaza as a Talent Acquisition Specialist and with Human Performance Dynamics Africa as an Human Resources Consultant. Zipporah holds a Master's in Business Administration from USIU and a Bachelor's in Business Economics from the University of Kent.