Melissa Richer: Melissa Richer is the Founder andExecutive Director ofAyllu, which provides critical support to social enterprises in emerging markets to scale their impact. Recently, in media partnership with Next Billion, Ayllu launchediuMAP, the world’s largest directory of BOP social enterprises. Melissa previously worked for Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. She has worked on international development projects in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America that include education, maternity care, conflict resolution, immigration, and minority rights. Melissa is a graduate of Duke University, and she currently lives andworks in São Paulo, Brazil. Twitter@melissaricher
Shital Shah:Shital’s family immigrated to the US from India when she was only four years old, but her heart and soul still remain there. She dove head first into the world of international development following her undergraduate studies by returning to India as an Indicorps fellow. In the past few years, she has been involved with the Washington Leadership Program, InSPIRE (a summer program for South Asian youth), and internships with Acumen Fund, the UN, Oxfam International, the World Bank, and New Visions for Public Schools. Shital currently works with microsavings initiatives in South Asia as a consultant with ShoreBank International in Washington, DC. She is working with Ayllu to map BOP social enterprises around the world.
Shital holds an MPA from NYU Wagner and a BA in International Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University.
