Karen Tramontano, Founder and President: Karen Tramontano served from 1997 to 2000 as Assistant to President Clinton on issues of labor,international trade and development, and various other foreign and domestic issues. While serving as Assistant to President Clinton, Ms.Tramontano was also the Counselor to Chief of Staff John Podesta. Ms. Tramontano is a Senior Advisor to the International Labor Organization’s Director General and a Principal of Dutko Global Advisors. She has also served as Chief of Staff to John Sweeney at SEIU. Ms. Tramontano has experience in local Government, serving as the Chief of Staff to Washington D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly.

Caleb Shreve, Executive Director: Prior to joining GFI Caleb was the founder and lead partner of Tidewater Consulting, a Washington, DC based organization serving non-profits and foundations focused on international development.  During his 7 years at Tidewater Caleb worked in over 20 countries and with clients from around the globe to implement initiatives targeted at helping the world’s most vulnerable communities of women, the indigenous and the working poor.  Prior to his work with Tidewater, Caleb served on the White House staff of former President William Clinton and on the leadership team of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.  He has also held senior positions with the Corporation for National Service’s Americorps program, the International Broadcasting Bureau and the Presidential Campaigns of Senator John Kerry and Barack Obama. Caleb’s areas of interest and expertise include community based economic empowerment, multi-stakeholder engagement, grassroots engagement and strategic communications. A native of Washington, DC, Caleb holds degrees in Political Science and English Literature from the College of Wooster. 

Whitney Simon, Program Manager: Prior to joining GFI, Whitney spent time working in the Economic and Commercial Section at the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay and as a Graduate Fellow for an international consulting firm specializing in trade and business capacity building. Whitney also spent significant time in Cochabamba, Bolivia were she received a Foundation for Sustainable Development grant for her proposal to organize women in micro and small businesses and helped to establish the Women’s Network of Micro-Entrepreneurs. Other international experience includes teaching English in Taizhou, China and studying labor relations at the University of Seville. Areas of research include international labor standards, corporate social responsibility, and intellectual property rights. Whitney holds a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Míchel Andrade, Project Director, Central America: Prior to joining GFI, Míchel worked for the Soros Foundation Guatemala as the Deputy Director for the Access to Justice Program. Before this he served as a civilian observer for the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). Míchel, a lawyer and native of Ecuador, graduated from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and completed his postgraduate studies in Alternative Dispute Resolution at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá.

Otto Navarro, Country Representative, Guatemala: Prior joining GFI, Otto Navarro, Notary and Attorney at Law, served as Director for the Analysis and Opinion Department at the National Program of Reparations for Guatemala. Mr. Navarro has also acted as Adviser for the Legal Action Center of Human Rights as well as a consultant for the Planning Secretary of Guatemala. Other international experience includes acting consultant for the UNDP, adviser for the creation of the initiative of law of Rural Development in Guatemala and legal adviser for the Investigation Coalition of Illegal Groups and Clandestine Security Organizations in Guatemala. Mr. Navarro received his LL.M. in Constitutional Law in Guatemala and also studied International Criminal Law at Harvard University and International Protection on Human Rights in Finland. Mr. Navarro serves as an adjunct Professor of Human Rights at the Rafael Landívar University in Guatemala.

Natalia Saberin, Graduate Fellow: Prior to joining GFI, Natalia worked at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital as a trader’s assistant in the fixed income market.  Currently, Natalia is a first year graduate student at American University pursuing an M.A. in International Development and an M.B.A. with a focus on Emerging Markets.  Natalia was born and raised in the southern part of Brazil where she became interested in economic development in third world countries.  Natalia’s specific area of focus is in finding innovative solutions to alleviate poverty by using the private sector in South and Latin America. She holds a B.S. in Finance with a minor in Entrepreneurship from the University of Florida. 

Naomi Logan, Intern: Prior to joining GFI Naomi worked as an intern on Capitol Hill as well as Abt Associates, a public policy analysis firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Naomi is a sophomore majoring in International Affairs with concentrations in International Economics and International Development Studies at George Washington University.


 

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