Board of Directors

Elisabeth Rhyne has devoted much of her career to microfinance. She is now managing director of the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, a research and action center for collaboration on challenges confronting the microfinance and financial inclusion sectors. At the Center, she co-founded and now oversees the Smart Campaign, a global effort to embed client protection principles and practices throughout the microfinance industry.

As senior vice president of ACCION International from 2000-2008, Ms. Rhyne led ACCION’s initial entry into Africa and India, directed research efforts to develop new financial products and managed ACCION’s publications and educational activities.

Ms. Rhyne has published numerous articles and books onmicrofinance, including Microfinance for Bankers and Investors(McGraw-Hill, 2009) and Mainstreaming Microfinance(Kumarian Press, 2001). She co-edited The New World of Microenterprise Finance, which provided the introduction to microfinance for many of the field’s current professionals. 

Ms. Rhyne was director of the Office of Microenterprise Development at the U.S. Agency for International Developmentfrom 1994 to 1998; while there she led the Agency’s Microenterprise Initiative.  She lived eight years in Kenya (with USAID) and Mozambique (as an independent consultant),working on microfinance policy and operations for governments, international organizations and microfinance institutions as well as on a range of private sector development programs.

She has taught at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Boulder Institute of Microfinance. Ms. Rhyne holds a master's and Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in history and humanities from Stanford University.

Ms. Armstrong is the Chief Financial Officer at the Atlantic Council, a Washington based international think tank organization. Previously, she served as the Interim Controller at PBS and is an acknowledged industry expert in non-profit accounting, administration and grants & contracts compliance.
   
Before her service at PBS, Ms. Armstrong worked for more than 30 years in executive positions with many non-profit institutions, including International Relief & Development (IRD), Pathfinder International, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Pacific/Asian American Mental Health Research Center, Metropolitan Planning Council, American Cultural Center of Baghdad, and the American Bar Association. In addition, Ms. Armstrong spent several years as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for the Metropolitan Planning Council, Friends of the Parks, Corporation for Open Lands, Open Lands Project, Upper Illinois Valley Association and Wetlands Research Institute.
 
Ms. Armstrong earned a Master’s degree in Accountancy from DePaul University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago. She is also a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Armstrong has a strong affinity for microfinance and the Grameen family of companies. While serving as CFO of Pathfinder International, the organization received a grant from GrameenPhone to expand health programming in rural areas. She lives in Arlington, VA, with her husband James (a Mesopotamian archaeologist) and their two daughters.

Carlos Fonseca is Senior Vice President of Sales Strategy and Solutioning, Financial Institutions, Insurance at Mastercard.

Previously he was Global Vice-President for Knowledge and Insights at The Coca Cola Co. For seven years, he was the Marketing SVP/ Group Head for Strategy, Planning and Analytics at MasterCard Worldwide. His experience before MasterCard includes brand management, insights and financial analysis positions working for financial services and FMCG companies, including Procter & Gamble, BAT and Citigroup.

Through his career, he has built a balanced background in marketing and finance, developing the ability to manage and motivate cross-functional teams in projects ranging from the M&A of a credit card’s portfolio to the semiotic analysis and testing of an advertising campaign. Carlos’ early exposure to emerging markets with assignments in Brazil, India, Venezuela, Argentina and Russia, among others, fueled his interest in understanding developmental economics and in gaining hands-on experience in launching and growing businesses in such environments. He is also is very interested in the role that new technologies and media play in changing consumer behaviors, particularly in the area of payments and in its applications to promote financial inclusion and community empowerment.
 
He is a graduate in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, with postgraduate studies at Georgetown University and Insead.

Mr. Thomas was a Trustee of Freedom from Hunger from 2005 to 2016 and was Chair of the Freedom from Hunger Board from 2007 to 2011. He served the organization as a spokesperson and networker, contributing his business expertise and strategic advice. 

Mr. Thomas is Chairman of the Board of Stemlab-Crioestáminal, a biotechnology company based in Cantanhede, Portugal, engaged in the preservation of stem cells to treat future critical diseases in children. 

From 2000-2015, he also served as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of The Trustmark Companies, a nationwide insurance company based in Lake Forest, IL. Mr. Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors at USHEALTH Group Inc., a Ft. Worth based insurance company. He has more than 40 years of experience in the financial services industry, particularly the insurance industry, in which he has held a variety of executive and leadership positions.

Mr. Thomas served as a Trustee of the Georgia State University Foundation for 9 years and six years as a Trustee of the Actuarial Foundation. Mr. Thomas holds a Bachelor Degree from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, and an MBA from Georgia State University. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, Cathy. They have three children and four grandchildren.