Leadership & Staff

Elisabeth Rhyne
Managing Director

Brian Clancy
Chair
Center Advisory Council

Heather Clark
Senior Fellow
Beyond Codes Project

Charlotte Connors
Communications Officer

Stephanie Dolan
Senior Project Coordinator
Investing in Inclusive Finance

Deborah Drake
Program Manager
Investing in Inclusive Finance

Anita Gardeva
Publications Specialist

Joshua Goldstein
Director
Councils & Outreach

Sergio Guzmán
Senior Associate

Emily Leeding
Business Manager

David Levai
Program Manager
Client-Product Connection

Robin Ratcliffe
Director
Industry Initiatives

Paul Rippey
Senior Fellow
Energy Links Project

Elisabeth Rhyne
Managing Director

Elisabeth Rhyne is managing director of the Center for Financial Inclusion at ACCION International, where she works to bring together leaders in financial services to address challenges facing the microfinance industry today (www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org). As senior vice president of ACCION International from 2000-2008, Ms. Rhyne led ACCION’s initial entry into Africa and India and directed the organization’s research efforts to develop new financial products and managed ACCION’s publications and educational activities.

Ms. Rhyne has published numerous articles and five books on microfinance, including Mainstreaming Microfinance: How Lending to the Poor Began, Grew and Came of Age in Bolivia (Kumarian Press, 2001). She was also co-editor of The New World of Microenterprise Finance (Kumarian, 1994), which provided the introduction to microfinance for many of the field’s current professionals. Her most recent book, Microfinance for Bankers and Investors, was published by McGraw-Hill in June, 2009.

Ms. Rhyne was director of the Office of Microenterprise Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1994 to 1998, where she developed and led USAID's Microenterprise Initiative. Ms. Rhyne’s experience includes eight years living in Africa (Kenya and Mozambique), consulting on microfinance policy and operations for governments, international organizations and microfinance institutions.

Ms. Rhyne holds a master's and Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history and humanities from Stanford University.

 

Brian Clancy
Advisory Council Chairman

Brian Clancy is the Advisory Council chairman for the Center for Financial Inclusion and a member of the Board of Directors of ACCION International. He is the CEO of Kendae Technology, a company dedicated to delivering online decision-support solutions to individuals and organizations. Kendae Technology is currently in the process of developing an extensible software platform and the first in a series of commercial applications.

Prior to founding Kendae, Mr. Clancy was a senior manager at Fidelity Investments for 15 years. There he served as the chief financial officer and senior vice president of Investment Operations for the firm’s investment management arm. Other roles he played over the years included senior vice president of New Business and Market Development, senior vice president of Investment Management Technology, and senior vice president of Defined Contribution Institutional and Participant Services.

Mr. Clancy holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA from Cornell University.