We are thrilled to welcome six new staff members to the Cadasta team: Caroline Moh, Kelly Liang, Leah Kellenberger, Siphiwe Komwa, Sunil Ghimire, and Sydney McKenney.
Caroline Moh joins us as Director of Business Development, working to develop and implement Cadasta’s growth strategy. She specializes in working with diverse stakeholders to articulate functional and technical expertise, demonstrating a clear understanding of problem-solving through unique insights and innovations. Her professional experience includes work throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Western Africa, and Southeast Asia. Caroline holds a BA in History from the College of William and Mary, and an MPA with a focus on Public Policy from George Mason University. Raised in six countries, Caroline has never developed a good answer to “where are you from?”
Kelly Liang joins us as our new Finance, Admin and Contracts Manager and is responsible for the Foundation’s day-to-day functions in the arkeas of financial management, contract compliance, and proposal budget development. Kelly has a graduate degree in Master of Accountancy and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration. She has been in the international development industry for 7 years, with two years of experience in project finance management and fives years of experiences in proposal compliance and budget development with a wide range of donors. Kelly moved to DC ten years ago from NYC and has adopted NoVA as her hometown with her husband and three wonderful kids.
Leah Kellenberger provides operational support for day-to-day management, leading the team in core administrative systems, policies and processes. She has previous experience working in non-profit organizations and international development NGOs, holding specific experience in microfinance and cooperatives. She holds a BA in International Affairs from The George Washington University. Leah is a proud Pennsylvanian and Phillies fan, as well as an occasional French and German speaker.
Siphiwe Komwa joins Cadasta as a Program Coordinator. She is responsible for coordinating grant management activities, performing partner-related research and analysis and supporting the implementation of project documentation activities. Siphiwe has five years experience working with the Malawi Government in the Executive and Legislative branches as a Research Analyst and Parliamentary Committee Clerk respectively. She was an intern with the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts as a grant writing assistant and responsible for evaluating youth programs. Siphiwe graduated with a BA in Political Science at the Catholic University of Malawi and an MA in International Development and Social Change from Clark University in Massachusetts. She enjoys being involved in charity work, travel, and trying different foods.
Born in Nepal, Sunil Ghimire moved to the United States in 2017 for graduate school. He is a GIS Technician with over 5 years of experience in rural development, livelihood enhancement, and natural resource management with a focus on GIS and database management. Before moving to the US he worked as a GIS Project Officer in an earthquake response operation with the Nepal Red Cross Society, German Red Cross, and Belgian Red Cross. Sunil has been involved with GIS consulting in a variety of sectors, including forestry, wildlife management, resource management, oil and gas, land tenure and demographics. Sunil holds a BSc in Forestry from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and a MSc in Environmental Studies from Lamar University, Texas.
Sydney McKenney joins Cadasta as the Communications and Design Specialist where she is excited to jump in with creating and implementing the external strategy and designing any visual or creative projects. Sydney has a double Bachelors of Arts in Media Art & Design and Political Science from James Madison University in Virginia. Sydney has spent her career crafting communications and design solutions for a wide range of nonprofits across a variety of social and political issues. She volunteered as a Program Director with Manna Project International in Sangolqui, Ecuador in 2014. Working with the community in Ecuador was the spark for her desire to continue her work in international development and international organizations. She loves swapping travel stories – and can even do it in Spanglish. Although born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, she has been in D.C. for about four years. In her off time, she loves books, creative writing, large amounts of coffee, begrudgingly attending yoga class and exploring the city with friends.
We are incredibly pleased to welcome Caroline, Kelly, Leah, Sunil, Siphiwe, and Sydney to the Cadasta family. With their inputs, Cadasta is poised to scale up our tools, services, and platform to advance global land and resource rights to put vulnerable people and communities on the map.
