Abraham Salomon

Senior Program Manager

Kenya Team

Abraham Salomon is PxD’s Senior Program Manager in Kenya. He has worked on agricultural research and development projects in Eastern Africa for over 13 years. He has also been the in-country lead for University of California, Davis projects, including ‘Innovations in Dry Season Horticulture’ and ‘Increasing the Capacity of Smallholder Farmers to Produce and Market Vegetable Crops in Uganda’ as part of the USAID Innovation Lab for Horticulture. He has also led research consultancies for the World Bank on irrigation adoption among smallholder farmers, and managed nation-wide surveys into irrigation and agro-processing practices for Columbia University. Abraham has also led the development of an innovative irrigation-as-a- service company for smallholder farmers (Agriworks Uganda). He holds a BSc in Community and Regional Development from the University of California, Davis.

Alexander Ramirez

Head of Software Development

Technology Practice

Alexander Ramirez is PxD's Head of Software Development. He holds a B.S. in Computer and Information Science from East-West University, Chicago. Prior to joining PxD he worked as a software engineer in the financial sector and as a CyberSecurity engineer at various military installations. He is currently also a CyberSecurity instructor at the University of Minnesota. His interests include functional programming, cybersecurity, and automated program synthesis.

Amrita Ahuja

Chair of the Board

Board of Directors

Amrita Ahuja is a founder of Evidence Action where she led the start-up of Dispensers for Safe Water, and chaired the board of Deworm the World as it scaled to reach 30 million children. Amrita leads the Douglas B. Marshall, Jr. Family Foundation, an innovative funder with a focus on international education. Amrita previously worked as a Management Consultant at the Monitor Group. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University. In addition to her service to PxD, Amrita currently serves on the boards of the Global Innovation Fund (UK), STiR Education, and Evidence Action.

Amrita Sabnavis

Finance and Audit Committee member

Finance and Audit Committee

Amrita has a wealth of experience, with nearly 30 years spanning advertising, retail banking, wealth management, private equity, and entrepreneurship. She currently works as a strategy consultant for Mann Deshi Foundation & Mann Deshi Bank.

Ashish Kamra

Research Manager

India Team

Ashish Kamra is PxD’s Research Manager in India. He holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and a B.E. degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh. Ashish has over two years of experience in Big Data Analytics. Before joining PxD, Ashish interned with Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and EPW Research Foundation. His interest lies in agriculture economics.

Bhaumik Shah

Head of Operations

Central Support Team, India Team

Bhaumik Shah is PxD’s Head of Operations. Bhaumik holds a MBA in Rural Management. He previously worked with the Institute of Financial Management and Research as a consultant, and at Awaaz.De as the Vice President of Operations. He has led ICT4D interventions in India and Ethiopia. His interest and experience lies in project management and operations.

Billy Diggin

Executive Advisory, Tech and Product

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

Billy Diggin joined PxD in December 2021 in the capacity of Executive Advisory, Tech and Product. He holds Bachelor and Master's degrees in Engineering from the University of Limerick and an MBA from The Smurfit Business School, University College Dublin. Billy has diverse commercial experience across pharma, electronics, semiconductor, insurance healthcare and innovation sectors. In the past, he has helped to deliver targeted healthcare into developing countries and continues to work on developing solutions for Parkinson's Disease

Brian Keefe

Director of Finance and Operations

Leadership Team, Central Support Team

Brian Keefe is PxD’s Director of Finance and Operations. He holds a Masters degree in Business from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Bachelors degree in Psychology from Merrimack College. He has over 30 years of experience in Finance and Operations, with the last five years spent working in non-profits. Prior to joining PxD, he worked at Housing Families Inc., Lazarus House, DHL, Ryder and GE.

Caitlin McKee

Assistant Director, Research

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

Caitlin McKee is PxD’s Assistant Director, Research. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a certificate in International Development from the University of Washington. She has experience in agricultural research, impact evaluation, and policy analysis and most recently worked for the Center for Global Development in London. Caitlin has implemented randomized control trials in East Africa, notably for cassava farmers in Tanzania and sugarcane growers in Uganda. She has also conducted data analysis on Tanzanian smallholder farmers with projects for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala working on women’s empowerment issues.

​Charles Misiati

Assistant Field Manager

Kenya Team

Charles Misiati is PxD Kenya's Assistant Field Manager. He holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Childline College in Nairobi and a Certificate in Supervisory Management from GTI Mombasa. Charles has 7 years of experience working with smallholder maize farmers and evaluation of barriers for fertilizer use in western Kenya. He previously worked for the Kenyan Government as a Community Development Assistant, working with communities and welfare groups within western Kenya.

Chris Musungu

Field Manager

Kenya Team

Chris Musungu Namulundu is PxD’s Field Manager in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously, he worked for PxD as a field manager under Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). Chris has a Certificate in General Agriculture and Home Economics from Kilifi Agricultural College. He has over 10 years of experience in research and partnership development and has worked as a manager on various projects including the Fertilizer Markets for Local Information (MALIK) project in Kenya.

Dan Björkegren

Co-Founder and Board Member Emeritus

Daniel Björkegren is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). He works to make machine learning more humane, and apply it to problems in developing countries. He is an affiliate of MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab, and the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University.

David Sears

Chief Financial Officer

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

David Sears is PxD's Chief Financial Officer. He is also a Senior Advisor to the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT and serves on the Board of Teaching at the Right Level/Africa. Prior to joining PxD, David served as J-PAL's Director of Finance and Operations for over 12 years during a period of considerable growth around the world. David's skills lie in the areas of financial management, systems development, and funds management for non-profit organizations. Many, many years ago David started his career with the US Peace Corps in Morocco, where he ended up staying for 5 years. David holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US.

Deepak Punia

Data Engineer

Technology Practice

Deepak Punia is a Data Engineer at PxD. He holds a B.Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from GGSIPU, New Delhi. He has a total of 8 years working experience and prior to joining PxD, he worked with different companies such as TCS, ION Trading and D.E Shaw. His primary skills lie in SQL, Linux, automation using Python and DevOps. He enjoys learning and applying new tech skills and has completed several courses available on e-learning platforms such as Udemy and DataCamp.

Emmanuel Bakirdjian

Africa Regional Director

Kenya Team, Leadership Team

Emmanuel Bakirdjian is PxD’s Africa Regional Director. Emmanuel holds a MPhil in Development Economics and a MSc in Economic Development and Project Analysis from CERDI (Centre for Studies and Research on International Development), Clermont-Ferrand, France. He has been a Senior Research Manager for the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Africa office, based at the University of Cape Town, and also worked for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

Eric Njue

Program Manager

Kenya Team

Eric Njue is PxD’s Program Manager in Nairobi, Kenya. He holds an M.Sc. degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics and a Bachelor in Agribusiness Management from Egerton University. Eric has over 8 years of technical expertise in agricultural development, spanning across multi-disciplinary research and program management. Before joining PxD, Eric worked as a Consultant for the USAID project in Kenya, an associate consultant at WFP (World Food Program), a researcher at Tegemeo Research Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, among other roles both at county and national government institutions. His professional interest includes farming capacity development, designing and implementing household and community surveys in diverse settings, econometric and statistical techniques, management of survey databases and scientific writing skills and, innovative approaches for integrating quantitative and qualitative research.

Freyhiwot Nadew

Ethiopia Country Director

Ethiopia Team, Leadership Team

Freyhiwot Nadew is PxD's Country Director for Ethiopia. She holds a MA in Mass Communications from the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining PxD, she worked as a Communications and Information Manager at the Danish Refugee Council/Ethiopia Migration Programme. She has also previously worked with the Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Trail for Africa CDT Africa/Addis Ababa University, Farm Radio International, and Save the Children. She also has also worked as a Media and Communications Consultant for various international organization including different UN agencies.

Gagandeep Kaur

Head of Programs

India Team, Leadership Team

Gagandeep Kaur is PxD's Head of Programs in India. She holds a BA Honors in Economics from University of Delhi and an MBA with a specialization in Finance from FORE School of Management, Delhi. After 17 years of experience in the banking and finance industry, both in India and overseas, she made a choice to shift to the development sector and has worked in the education space for close to 8 years where she was an integral member of the leadership team, working on setting direction, translating mission into operating plans, and managing all functions related to monitoring & research and evidence building for programs. She is passionate about mentoring smaller non profits and building their capacity.

Habtamu Yesigat

Director of Programs, Ethiopia

Ethiopia Team

Habtamu Yesigat is PxD’s Director of Programs, Ethiopia. He holds a PhD from the Technical University Munich in Production and Resource Economics, a MSc degree in Agricultural Economics from Haramaya University, and a MSc in Rural Development from a consortium of European Universities. He is an Agricultural Development Economist with extensive research experience in sub-Saharan Africa and Germany. He has previously worked for the Gondar Agricultural Research Center of Ethiopia, FAO, ILRI, and the World Bank.

Heiner Baumann

Co-Founder, Advisory Board Member and Board Member Emeritus

Advisory Board

Heiner is a Co-Founder and served as Managing Director of PxD until the end of 2023. He is currently focused on building the Climate Action for Smallholders (CASH) Coalition. He has over twenty years of experience funding, managing and supporting high growth social change organizations focused on sustainable agriculture, clean energy, community health, education, and conservation in East Africa, South Asia and Latin America. After five years with McKinsey & Co., Heiner held various leadership roles with New Profit, Inc., the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and the Barr Foundation.

Jagori Chatterjee

Researcher

Central Support Team

Jagori Chatterjee is a Researcher at PxD. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Washington-Seattle. Previously, she completed her M.Sc. in Economic Policy at the University College London and B.Sc. in Economics Honors at Presidency College, Kolkata. Her research experience and interests primarily lie in gender and family economics in South Asia. More recently, she was at Furman University and Rhodes College teaching and mentoring student research in behavioral economics, labor economics, and quantitative methods.

Jessica Zhu

Researcher

Central Support Team

Jessica Zhu is a Researcher at PxD. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Bard College and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has extensive experience in conducting research in development economics, specifically in agriculture related area. She has previously worked at the World Bank’s Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) group and consulted for IFPRI.

Jinu Koola

Board Member

Board of Directors

Jinu is currently an Investment Director at ICP Infrastructure. Before joining ICP, Jinu was a Senior Economist and Head of ESG Analytics at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Norway’s USD 1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Jinu was previously with the U.S. Treasury where she served as the U.S. Financial Attaché to India. She has a broad range of policy and research experience from working with the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, and Innovations for Poverty Action.

Jonathan Lehe

Chief Strategy Officer

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

Jonathan Lehe is PxD’s Chief Strategy Officer. Jonathan holds a Masters in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School. He has more than 10 years of experience in the global agriculture, health, and education sectors, designing, implementing, and evaluating programs to scale up access to critical services in 30+ countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. He has previously worked at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and consulted for the World Bank, DFID, Bridge International Academies, and MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Kamran Khan Niazi

Research Manager

Central Support Team

Kamran Khan Niazi is a Research Manager at PxD. He holds a Masters in International Affairs from Geneva Graduate Institute and a Masters in Development Economics from Toulouse School of Economics. Before joining PxD, Kamran worked as a Research Associate with J-PAL on governance and political economy projects. He has also consulted for EGAP, SIDA and the UN Secretariat on several evaluation projects.

Messay Sintayehu

Senior Project Associate

Ethiopia Team

Messay Sintayehu is a Senior Project Associate within the PxD Ethiopia team. He holds a Master’s degree in Project Management from St. Mary’s University and a Bachelor degree in Business Management from Unity University. Messay has years of experiences in Ethiopia working across climate change, environment, agriculture and sustainable development sectors. His areas of expertise include project management, action research, environmental advocacy and knowledge management. Prior to PxD, Messay has worked at Echnoserve Consulting, Forum for Environment and Unity University.

Michael Kremer

Co-Founder and Board Member

Board of Directors

Michael Kremer is the founding Director of the Development Innovation Lab and is University Professor in Economics, the College, and the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recipient of MacArthur Fellowship and Presidential Faculty Fellowship, and named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2019 Michael was named with Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee as Nobel Laureate for Economic Sciences. Kremer’s recent research examines education, health, water, and agriculture in developing countries. He has been named as one of Scientific America’s 50 researchers of the year, and has won awards for his work on health economics, agricultural economics, and on Latin America. He helped develop the advance market commitment (AMC) for vaccines to stimulate private investment in vaccine research and the distribution of vaccines for diseases in the developing world. In the fall of 2010 he was appointed as the founding Scientific Director of Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) at USAID..

Michelle Febrone Atieno

Senior Finance Associate

Kenya Team

Michelle Febrone Atieno is PxD's Senior Finance Associate for Kenya. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from the University of Nairobi. Prior to joining PxD, she worked as the Senior Accountant for Innovations for Poverty Action. She has over 10 years experience in accounting and financial management for international non-profit organizations and private companies, such as the African Canadian Continuing Education Society (ACCES) and Literacy for all (LIFA).

Nicholas Milne

Chief Development Officer

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

Nicholas Milne is PxD’s Chief Development Officer. He holds an MSc in International Business and Development from the University of London and a BA (Hons) from the University of Manchester. He has more than 10 years’ experience leading global partnerships, development and fundraising to support a range of social and environmental issues across a variety of sectors including agriculture, education, retail, mining, and technology. He has worked for leading not-for-profits, Save the Children, British Red Cross, Plan UK, CARE International, Farm Africa and Youth Business International, co-founded a social enterprise in responsible consumption and supported social enterprises in Colombia, Nepal and Scotland.

Niriksha Shetty

Chief of Programs

Central Support Team, India Team, Leadership Team

Niriksha Shetty is PxD’s Chief of Programs. She holds a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics from Franklin and Marshall College. Prior to joining PxD, she worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Microfinance IFMR, managing impact evaluations related to mobile phone-based agricultural extension systems.

Owen Barder

Chief Executive Officer

Central Support Team, Leadership Team

Owen Barder is PxD’s Chief Executive Officer. He is also a Visiting Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics, and an adviser to the House of Commons International Development Committee. From January 2020 he will be a Non Executive Director of Social Finance, a UK non-profit. Previously Owen served as Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) in Washington DC, before establishing CGD Europe and building it into an influential European think tank. Prior to his work in civil society, Owen was a British civil servant in HM Treasury, the office of the Prime Minister, and the UK Department for International Development in career spanning a quarter of a century. He was private secretary to the Prime Minister and to two Chancellors of the Exchequer. He also took breaks from the civil service to work at the South African Treasury, the Center for Global Development, Development Initiatives, and was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley. Owen has served on the board of several NGOs and as an Associate at the Institute for Government.

Pallavi Jain

Manager - Partnerships and New Programs

India Team

Pallavi Jain is PxD's Manager - Partnerships and New Programs in India. She holds dual Masters’ degrees in Communication from the London School of Economics & Political Science and Annenberg School of Communication at University of Southern California, and a BA from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University. She has international experience and expertise in design, production, implementation, strategy design and monitoring & evaluation for social change programs. She has also worked on large scale programs to build sustainable solutions to complex social problems with clients such as Nutrition International, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Population Foundation of India (PFI), SaveLIFE Foundation, USAID, FICCI, PCI Media and Thinkthrough Consulting. Pallavi is also the Co-Founder & Director of The Change Designers LLP, New Delhi, India, a multi-disciplinary communication organization creating large scale communication campaigns for social development.