US Team

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  Dianne Calvi, our Chief Executive Officer, has over twenty years of international management experience. Prior to joining Village Enterprise, Dianne served as the President of Bring Me A Book Foundation, a literacy nonprofit with international partnerships in Hong Kong, Malawi, Mexico, and Guatemala. Previously, she worked in sales and marketing for Microsoft, Xerox, and Montedison in Milan, Italy. She has also served on several nonprofit boards. Dianne received a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from Bocconi University (Milan, IT) on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

  Dianne Calvi
  Chief Executive Officer
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  Anne Olson is our Director of Africa Operations. She has a BS in Mathematics and was a high school math teacher for 8 years before moving into software and programming. Anne worked in the software industry for 25 years; she retired in 2005 after 20 years at Hewlett-Packard. Her last position was Finance Support Manager with an international staff.

  Anne Olson
  Director of Africa Operations
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  Caroline Bernadi joined the team in 2005 as a volunteer on the Village Enterprise Impact Evaluation. She became Foundation Director in September 2008. Prior to Village Enterprise, Caroline worked in operations in the luxury goods industry in France and was the co-founder of Maatiam, a social venture. She holds a MS in Industrial Management from Ecole des Mines in France.

  Caroline Bernadi
  Foundation Director
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  Previously a Senior Fellow based in Soroti, Uganda, Philip Arscott now works in the U.S. office as the Director of Finance and Africa Support. Philip holds a BA in Economics from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He has been working with Village Enterprise in both the US offices and East Africa since 2008. Philip calls San Francisco home and enjoys gardening, traveling and exploring the outdoors.

  Philip Arscott
  Director of Finance and Africa Support
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  Jennifer Nixon is our Sr. Director of Development and has worked with Village Enterprise since 2009. She brings years of experience in grant-making, marketing, sales, management consulting, and working with nonprofits to Village Enterprise. Jennifer has run her own real estate investment small business, and was Director, Academic Marketing & Sales for Harvard Business School Publishing. She has also served on several nonprofit boards. She received a BA from UC Santa Cruz, an MA in Divinity from the University of Chicago, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

  Jennifer Nixon
  Sr. Director of Development
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  Leah Newman joined Village Enterprise as the Associate Director of Development in July 2011 and is now the Marketing Communications Director. She graduated from Pitzer College with a BA in Economics and International & Intercultural Studies and holds a Masters Certificate in Social Development from the University of Mauritius. Her interest in economic development and poverty alleviation has led her to live in South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius (as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar). She loves to travel, hike, swim, scuba dive and watch baseball.

  Leah Newman
  Marketing Communications Director
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  Alongside Ryah Belford’s position as Office Manager/ Executive Assistant at Village Enterprise, she is studying for her personal training corrective exercise certification. Originally from Boston, she graduated from Ithaca College in 2011 with a BA in Culture and Communication, then moved to San Francisco to explore her passion for poverty alleviation and anti-human trafficking work on a professional level. She enjoys reading, sailing and exploring new places, wherever they may be.

  Ryah Belford
  Office Manager/Executive Assistant

Our US-based staff brings their life experience, talent, hard work, and passion to the task of alleviating poverty in East Africa. While they call California home, their hearts are never far from the people they serve.