Pia Lindström is a program manager at the Unit for Global Economy and Environment at Sida, primarily working with challenge funds within the fields of environment and climate change including resilience. he holds a M.Sc. degree in International Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and a B.Sc. in Political Science from Stockholm University. She has previously worked with the EU Commission/EuropeAid on corporate social responsibility issues and has for six years been based in the field in Bhutan and India working for the UNDP as well as managing local NGOs focusing on climate smart agriculture, sustainable waste management, appropriate technologies including sustainable energy and water projects, and youth social entrepreneurship programs.

Etienne is an agricultural engineer in landscape management and currently works in sustainable agriculture and land governance. After 11 years of experience in Central Africa and Central America, he worked on rural development and natural resources management for a Brussels based organisation, undertaking numerous field missions in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He joined the European Commission in 2004 in its environment service before moving to the external cooperation service in 2011 to work on climate change.

Sandra Suarez  started serving as the Grants & Finance Manager in January 2022 for the WE4F USAID Secretariat. Prior to joining the program, Sandra served as the Program Development Specialist-Budget for USAID/Colombia where she managed the overall budget of Colombia Mission, Bilateral Agreements, coordination between Washington the mission, and the mission’s planning matters for external contacts. Prior to joining USAID, Sandra served as the Budget and Accounting Chief for the International Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs, where she managed a $1.9 billion dollars budget for seven fiscal years and  supervised a team consisting of a Team Leader,  four Accountants, a Voucher Examiner Supervisor, and seven Voucher Examiners. Sandra has attended Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Universidad Santo Tomás, Universidad Industrial de Santander UIS, and Universidad Sergio Arboleda and the European Business School, resulting in an Accounting CPA, a civil engineering degree, and a topography degree with a specialization in environmental studies, and a MBA.

McKenzie Horwitz serves as the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager for the WE4F USAID Secretariat Unit. In partnership with the WE4F GIZ Secretariat Unit, her role includes the design and management of the WE4F M&E framework and systems, as well as overseeing the implementation of monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities across all USAID-supported Regional Innovation Hubs.

She received a M.A. in International Economics and Development from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. where she specialized in quantitative methods and economic theory. She received a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from Texas A&M University. Prior to joining WE4F, she supported the creation of a data quality framework applied to national WASH initiatives in India.

Katie manages the global communications and knowledge management strategies and oversees the hubs’ communications and knowledge management activities. She received her M.A. in Environmental Policy and Management at Middlebury Institute of International Studies and her B.A. in Political Science and French at Hood College. She has a decade of experience in supporting, developing, and leading communications and knowledge activities for agriculture, energy, and water organizations in domestic and international settings.