press-release

Renowned International Development Leaders Join Counterpart’s Board of Directors

May 9, 2016

Arlington, VA (May 9, 2016) – Counterpart International recently elected three international development experts to their Board of Directors: Hilda “Bambi” Arellano, Allan Culham, and Jean Philippe Prosper.

Each of the new Board Members brings with them decades of experience in international policy, development, and finance.

Bambi Arellano serves as the Director of the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School. Ms. Arellano said she joined the Board because of “Counterpart’s combination of innovation and staying true to its core principles. I had contact with Counterpart in a number of areas where I worked and the organization was known for adapting as development challenges changed.” In particular, she noted that “Counterpart has achieved commendable work in the most challenging area of civic society and governance.”

Ms. Arellano had a distinguished career at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), rising through the Foreign Service with posts in countries including Egypt, Afghanistan, Iraq, Guatemala and Ecuador, ultimately retiring as the Senior Development Advisor at the Foreign Service Institute. Prior to her time at USAID, Ms. Arellano also lived and worked in Latin America for 17 years.

Allan Culham brings more than 40 years of international experience to Counterpart, working at posts throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in addition to his home in Canada. He began his career as a volunteer for CUSO International, stationed in Botswana from 1974 to 1981, later rising through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Mr. Culham will bring his decades of relationships and knowledge of developing countries to Counterpart, noting that “Counterpart’s vision and philosophy — empowering local communities and providing capacity building for their counterparts — is essential to effective development work. Counterpart believes, as I do, that you need local ownership, local engagement and local opportunities.” Mr. Culham retired from Global Affairs Canada in 2015.

Jean Philippe Prosper is currently an Independent Director on the boards of various companies and was, until June 2015, the Vice President for Global Services of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. Mr. Prosper, a Haitian national, has had a vast and varied career working in international finance, including 17 years at the IFC, first as Chief Investment Officer for Financial Markets covering West and Central Africa, and later serving as Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, managing an investment portfolio of over $20 billion. Mr. Prosper also spent more than 10 years at the Inter-American Investment Corporation, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. He has been the recipient of the two most prestigious awards of the World Bank Group, the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award and the Good Manager Award.

“We know that the most important role an international development organization can play is to help people help themselves. This is the Counterpart approach and my own philosophy,” said Mr. Prosper. “I am excited to join the Board and help expand the good work Counterpart is doing, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. So much needs to be done there,” added Mr. Prosper.

“Bambi, Allan and Jean Phillipe join a talented and committed Board of Directors,” said Counterpart’s President and CEO, Joan Parker. “There are many ways they can contribute to global development efforts and to choose Counterpart is humbling and also very exciting,” she added. “Their expertise in development policy and global financing will contribute greatly to Counterpart’s new initiatives such as the Social Sector Accelerator and our work in more than 20 countries around the world.”

Arellano, Culham and Prosper join Counterpart’s current Board members: Board Chair Deborah Nolan, Former Partner at Ernst and Young; Diana Walker, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Handshake; Dr. Carlos F. Aguilar, Senior Vice President and Global Managing Director, CH2M Hill; Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation; Eric H. Meade, Futurist and Strategist, The Whole Mind Strategy Group; Brenda Broz Eddy, Vice President, Eddy Associates; Raul Herrera, Partner, Arnold and Porter; and Judith H. Whittlesey, Executive Vice President, Susan Davis International.