NYWSE is pleased to present leaders in the microfinance industry who have provided entrepreneurs access to capital, resources to grow their enterprises, and ultimately the opportunity and strength to start a business. Each of these panelists has successfully integrated micro-lending programs within their organizations in different ways and will discuss the impact they've made in supporting women entrepreneurs globally.

EVENT DETAILS
Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, Conference Center [Please bring your ID.]

MODERATOR

Mia Feldman, JPMorgan Social Finance Group
Mia works in the Social Finance Group in J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank, the commercial initiative focuses on capital markets and principal investment opportunities within the microfinance and broader social enterprise sectors.  Previously, she worked in domestic microfinance at ACCION New York as both a loan consultant and a lending team leader. She is the founder and former chair of the ACCION USA Microfinance Council, an organization dedicated to promoting this not for profit to young professionals, providing strategic advice and assisting with fundraising activities with the support of the Board of Directors at ACCION. She is currently on the ACCION New York Advisory Board. She is fluent in Spanish and holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Scripps College in Claremont, California.

She is enrolled to begin a Masters in Public Affairs in the fall of 2011 at Woodrow Wilson School. In this year prior to going back to school she will continue to work in the Social Finance group in the Investment Bank at J.P. Morgan.

PANELISTS

Gina Harman, President and CEO, ACCION USA
Gina Harman, named president and CEO of ACCION USA in May 2008, brings 35 years of extensive private sector management and public service experience to the microfinance organization.

Formerly President of Harman International’s $600 Million consumer products division, Ms. Harman managed the company’s 12 consumer brands, strategy, engineering, product development, marketing and sales worldwide. Prior to her senior post at Harman International, Mr. Harman served as Executive Director of the Astoria Local Development Corporation, in the Office of the Mayor as Youth Bureau planner for the borough of Queens, founded and served as Executive Director of the Washington Square Day Care Cooperative and as an advocate in various labor and community organizations.

Ms. Harman has been involved with microfinance for years through service on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of ACCION New York, briefly as its Chief Executive Officer and President before leading the merger with ACCION USA to form the largest microfinance portfolio in the country.  Ms. Harman received the Neighborhood Achievement Award from  Mayor Bloomberg in 2009 in recognition of ACCION’s work with women- and minority owned businesses in NYC.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the CDFI Coalition, the Consumer Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, NY State Governor Paterson’s Small Business Task Force and Capital One’s New Market Tax Credit’s Community Advisory Board.

Ms. Harman holds a bachelor's degree in Urban Planning and Policy from the State University of New York and is a graduate of the Non-Profit Management Institute at Columbia University and the Tenenbaum Institute at the Milano School – Graduate Center of the New School, both in NYC.   She resides in NYC.

Emily Kerr, Founder and CEO, Liga Masiva
Emily Kerr is the founder of Liga Masiva. Her vision, consulting experience, and deep experience in Dominican communities in the DR and in the US create a strong foundation for the enterprise. A New York native, Emily graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Hamilton College and also studied in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Part of her study included a year-long fellowship to do advanced field study in Organic Food Initiatives in the Dominican Republic. This research was the beginning of her ongoing relationship with organic farmers in the DR. Subsequently, Emily was hired as a consultant to increase sales and usage of a wireless “food stamp” program in NYC and was able to generate a lift of 400% over the previous year’s sales. Most recently, Emily lent her business acumen and skill at building relationships to support First Manhattan Consulting Group on projects in Latin America, overhauling the collections operations of the biggest low-income mortgage provider in Mexico, among other engagements.

Richa Agarwal, Project Manager, BRAC USA
Richa Agarwal, a Project Manager with BRAC USA, recently merged her 12 years of experience in the New York fashion industry with her passion for microfinance.  Richa works with BRAC’s largest social enterprise Aarong in Bangladesh, employing 65,000 rural artisans. Richa currently oversees special projects that will increase Aarong’s capacity to provide employment to more Bangladeshi rural artisans. Richa was educated at Boston University, FIT and Pratt Institute.

Jahaira Guerrero, Director of Microenterprise Development, Brooklyn Cooperative

Jahaira Guerrero is the credit union’s Director of Microenterprise Development and has been with the credit union for one year. Currently, Jahaira is responsible for the majority of high-volume business lending and all aspects of business underwriting and disbursements. In addition to maintaining a healthy loan portfolio and implementing high-quality loan originations, she is also responsible for the credit union’s participation in the SBA Express loan collateralization program, and acts as our main liaison with the SBA team. Jahaira has performed various outreach initiatives with partner organizations with an interest in business lending, such as Acción, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and NYC Business Solutions. Prior to the credit union, Jahaira worked at NYC Business Solutions as a finance account executive and as a senior loan officer at Accion USA. She holds a BA from Lehman College at the City University of New York.

Katherine Rosenberg, Director of Evaluation and Education, Grameen America

Ms. Rosenberg joined Grameen America as Director of Evaluation and Education. Most recently, Ms. Rosenberg was a research coordinator at New York Presbyterian Hospital where she was responsible for project management, patient recruitment, and evaluation activities for multiple projects. Prior to this, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal where she designed and implemented numerous health education efforts, disease prevention programs, and community development initiatives that included the establishment of a village-operated cooperative pharmacy. Ms. Rosenberg holds a B.A. degree from Union College in American Studies and an MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.