6 Benjamin Lokshin, Asia Foundation Benjamin Lokshin is a program officer with the Asia Foundation, where he plans and manages technology-driven development projects across the Asia-Pacific region. Ben’s work focuses on developing new mobile and web platforms in Nepal and Thailand, and he also contributestoresearchinitiativesondigitalfinancialservices,digital literacy and the impacts of online platforms across the region. James Militzer, The William Davidson Institute at The University of Michigan James Militzer is an editor at NextBillion. He worked as a freelance writer, editor and videographer prior to joining NextBillion in 2012, initially as editor of NextBillion Health Care, then as editor of NextBillion Financial Innovation. He currently edits NextBillion Financial Health, while also overseeing general content on the main site. After graduating from Central Michigan University with a degree in broadcasting, he spent several years teaching English in Mexico and Japan, and traveling through Europe and Asia. After returning to the U.S., he established a monthly newspaper and non-profit that served Latino immigrants. He spent over 10 years as a freelance writer and editor, working for numerous publications and other clients. He also has worked as a Spanish interpreter and copywriter/videographer at the University of Michigan Health System. Lee Ng, MetLife Lee Ng joined MetLife in February 2015 as vice president and chief operating officer of LumenLab, MetLife’s innovation centre in Singapore. She leads the Innovation Management Office of the first-of-its-kind innovation centre in the life insurance industry, with the goal of launching new business models and capabilities for MetLife Asia. Prior to joining MetLife, Ng spent 20 years with various organizations in Silicon Valley—most recently serving as director of venture technology at Siemens, where she spent more than six years incubating innovative technology. Before Siemens, Ng worked at Agilent, HP and as a consultant. Ng holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and both master’s and Ph.D. degrees in materials engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a minor in business. Alejandra Ríos, Women’s World Banking Alejandra Ríos joined Women’s World Banking in 2016 to lead the credit area for the product development team. In this role, she is responsible for managing all strategic credit related engagements, replicating existing products with network members and associates, developing new services and providing strategic direction.Ríoshasover20years’experienceinprojectmanagement, institution-building, strategic planning and credit management in the field of MSME finance. She began her professional career in 1995 with International Project Consult, where she participated in and managed a number of short and long-term projects in Latin America and Albania. In 1999 she took up a consultancy position with Women’s World Banking in which she carried out a wide array ofprojectsinLatinAmerica,theMiddleEastandNorthAfrica,aswell as Bosnia and Herzegovina. These projects consisted of advice and assistance given on such areas as housing programs and housing loans; credit department organization and management; individual lending methodology; rural lending; staff training and incentive schemes; and IT management. Ríos joined Sparkassenstiftung fur Internationale Kooperation from 2000–2004 as a short-term consultant, responsible for several assignments in the Philippines. Ríos holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Rennes, France, as well as an advanced post- graduate degree on the study of agricultural and industrial projects (University of Rennes). She speaks English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. Jaya Sarkar, Trickle Up Jaya Sarkar, Trickle Up’s vice president of program quality and innovation, is an international development professional with 30 years of experience, including project management in India and Latin America. She joined Trickle Up in 2011 and focuses on the organization’s scale strategy for economic empowerment of the poorest, leading the establishment of large state partnerships in India, negotiation with the World Bank Adaptive Social Protection program in five Francophone countries in West Africa, and development of relations with key ministries and programs in Latin AmericaincludingParaguay,NicaraguaandMexico.AmongSarkar’s publications and projects is the 2006 Children and Adolescents: Four Million Actors for Development, published with the UNDP and UNICEF in Bolivia. Sarkar holds a master’s degree in international development administration from World Learning and a BA in English and government from Oberlin College. She serves as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs. Jaspreet Singh, UNCDF Jaspreet Singh works in the area of digital economy with UNCDF, engaging with public and private sector stakeholders with a focus on contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. He joined UNCDF in 2015 and works on expanding its portfolio of digital projects across Asia. After working across various portfolios in agricultural and rural banking, small and medium enterprise banking and investments with ICICI Bank during the mid-2000s, Singh became an adviser on digital finance for financial inclusion. He worked with various international organizations including the World Bank, UN, IFC, and other global consulting firms. He also worked with implementing organizations including banks, telcos and tech companies across Asia, Africa and the Pacific on assignments ranging from customer research to strategic implementation.