Key skills and expertise

With 30+ years of experience, Lauren is a seasoned Senior Finance, Investment, and International Development Advisor specializing in responsible investment and program management. Expertise includes impact and sustainable finance, MSME finance, climate risk management, climate adaptation and resilience and gender equity and social inclusion. Career highlights include chairing the International Social Finance Accelerator Selection Committee, serving as Chief Investment Officer at Accion International and leading the IDB Invest teams that catalyzed microfinance investments in Latin America, including BancoSol Bolivia (first commercial microfinance bank in the region) and ProFund SA (first microfinance investment vehicle or MIV in the world). As Managing Director of One Planet Ventures, her practive areas focus on international climate and social resilience oriented finance and investment projects in collaboration with development finance institutions, multilateral banks and governments across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Other notable accomplishments involve launching investment funds, expanding outreach from 1 to 7 million people, and managing over $230 million for housing microfinance while serving as Chief Investment Officer at Accion International, structuring the world's first micro housing fund (Microbuild) for Habitat for Humanity International through One Planet Ventures and publishing a non-fiction book on her experiences in Cuba researching small farmer agriculture.

Project experience and donor exposure

Worked across diverse projects involving international donors and funding agencies, including the European Investment Bank, British International Investment, GIZ, International Finance Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, and UN Women. Responsibilities have included project design, management and implementation, technical assistance, capacity building, and strategic advice on sustainable finance, gender equity, and climate adaptation across diverse sectors including renewable energy and agriculture. Scope of work may be international, regional and national, in geographic locations including Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Europe.

Sectors and geographic focus

Bringing extensive experience across sectors such as renewable energy, banking, agriculture, microfinance, and SME development. Background includes leading and advising transactions with a sustainable finance and/or responsible investment focus, providing interdisciplinary expertise  integrating climate risk management, gender equity and social inclusion in financial services for MSMEs and impact investment funds. Geographic experience spans global, regional and country-specific initiatives in Latin America, Africa, and SE Asia, emphasizing cross-cutting approaches like digital financial inclusion and gender responsive climate adaptation and community development in rural areas. Lauren has deep familiarity with regional development issues, including financial inclusion, social impact and sustainable finance, particularly in Latin America and Africa.

Languages and education

With a background in business, social change and development, Lauren is a native English speaker, fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, with strong proficiency in French and working knowledge of Italian. Lauren uses her language skills in diverse professional contexts, including leading and/or collaborating with multinational and multilingual teams, as well as in-country work in the local language. Her educational background includes a joint degree program combining a Masters of Business Administration with a dual major in Finance and Strategic Planning from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA,. with Master of Arts in International Relations, with a major in Social Change and Development (minor in international economics) from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), USA. Lauren as graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, USA.