Executive Director
AIM for Scale Secretariat
Paul Winters is the Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Global Affairs and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. He also serves as Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture. His research and teaching focus on rural poverty, food insecurity and climate change and the evaluation of policies and programs designed to address these issues. Prior to joining Notre Dame, he worked at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, American University in Washington, DC, the Inter-American Development Bank, the University of New England in Australia, and the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru. He holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Director
AIM for Scale Secretariat
Imara Salas is an Associate Director at the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago, where she manages the secretariat for the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture. She leads partnerships mobilizing over $1 billion for evidence-based innovations in agriculture, climate resilience, and innovation. Previously, she worked with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, Harvard University, and Chile’s Center for Public Policy, contributing to agricultural and digital transformation projects. Imara holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in Economics from Georgetown University.
Program Director
Tobias Baedeker is an agriculture development economist specializing in innovative solutions for climate resilience and food systems transformation. Over 14 years at the World Bank, he led teams designing and implementing operations across 20+ countries in Africa, Latin America, MENA, and South Asia, driving over $1.5 billion in investments for food security, emission reductions, and value chain integration. Tobias has co-authored articles in Nature Climate Change and Nature Food and published various technical reports. Previously, he worked as Project Coordinator for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Young Leader for Sustainability at GIZ. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Bachelor of Arts in Economic Sciences from the University of St. Gallen.
Scientific Director
Mohammad Farrae is a food systems specialist with expertise in sustainable development, climate-smart agriculture, and global food systems initiatives. Most recently, he served as Senior Specialist for Food Systems Partnerships at COP28, where he advanced global commitments to climate-smart agriculture and supported the implementation of key initiatives. Previously, Mohammad consulted for FAO and the University of Notre Dame on rural transformation, and contributed to development projects in Pakistan, including U.S. Embassy and Gates Foundation-supported programs. He holds a Master of Global Affairs in Sustainable Development from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering.
Communications Director
Adrienne Uselman serves as the Communication Manager of the AIM for Scale Secretariat. Previously, she oversaw communications for DevTech Systems, Inc., a federal contractor for USAID and the U.S. State Department in the economic growth and data analytics spaces. She has worked at the World Food Programme, both at headquarters in Rome and across Bangladesh. Prior to her career in international development, Adrienne was a marketing professional in the music industry. She holds a Master of Science in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing from McGill University.
Program Manager
Farouk Abdul-Salam is a Program Manager at AIM for Scale. He holds a PhD in Economics from Simon Fraser University, with expertise in causal inference (including RCTs), macroeconomics, and experimental finance. Previously, Farouk was an Economist at Amazon, where he focused on experimental design and data-driven policy interventions. He also served as Senior Economist at Liquidity Capital (LQC) Venture Capital, leading analytical initiatives in venture debt. He also holds a concurrent role as Research Program Manager at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Technology and Economic Development (CTED).
Economic Research Associate
Awo Yusuf is an Economic Research Associate at the AIM for Scale Secretariat, where she supports research across agricultural and livestock innovations. She plays a key role in analyzing and evaluating scalable, evidence-based solutions that enhance productivity, sustainability, and climate resilience. She also serves as a Research Assistant at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Technology, Economics, and Development (CTED), contributing to policy-relevant economic research in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy. Previously, she worked at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she contributed to development economics research, and at VentureSouq, a regional venture capital firm, where she supported sustainability-focused investment initiatives. Awo holds a Master of Science in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Politics from LSE.
University Professor in Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and the Harris School of Public Policy; Director of the Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago
Michael Kremer is the chair of the Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security, and Agriculture and a University Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, where he directs the Development Innovation Lab. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for the experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. His research focuses on innovation, including in education, health, water, finance, and agriculture. He has also worked extensively on how to design institutions to accelerate innovation, including through Advance Market Commitments (AMC) and social innovation funds. Michael actively translates his academic work into real-world programs. He helped to design an AMC for a pneumococcal vaccine. Subsequently three vaccines have been approved, and rolled out in 60 countries, saving an estimated 700,000 lives. As part of the Accelerating Health Technologies group, he conducted research and advised governments and international organizations on how to accelerate vaccination against COVID-19. His work on school-based deworming informed India’s national deworming day, which treats over 275 million children each year. His work on safe drinking water led to the Dispensers for Safe Water Program, which reaches 4 million people via the NGO Evidence Action. He is a co-founder of Precision Development, which leverages digital technology to improve productivity and incomes for smallholder farmers in developing countries. Michael received his PhD from Harvard University.
Professor of Economics at New York University (NYU), jointly appointed
in the Department of Economics at NYU-NY and in the Division of Social Science at
NYU Abu Dhabi.
Professor in Global Environmental Policy and Earth System Science in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University
Jennifer (Jen) Burney is a Professor in Global Environmental Policy and Earth System Science in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the coupled relationships between climate and food security – measuring air pollutant emissions and concentrations, quantifying the effects of climate and air pollution on land use and food systems, understanding how food production and consumption contribute to climate change, and designing and evaluating technologies and strategies for adaptation and mitigation among the world’s farmers. Jen’s research group combines methods from physics, ecology, statistics, remote sensing, economics, and policy to understand critical scientific uncertainties in this coupled system and to provide evidence for what will – or won’t – work to simultaneously end hunger and stabilize earth’s climate. She previously served on the faculty at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She holds a PhD in Physics from Stanford University and completed postdoctoral fellowships in food security and climate science.
Associate Professor at the University of Maryland
Jing Cai is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland. Her research areas are development economics and household finance. Her current research examines the growth of micro-enterprises and SMEs, impacts of tax incentives on firm behavior, and diffusion and impacts of financial innovations in developing countries. Jing is a Co-Chair of the firm sector of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J PAL), a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a fellow of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD). She currently serves as an associate editor of the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the Journal of Development Economics, and the Economic Development and Cultural Change. She holds a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley.
Managing Director for the Social Sciences Group and Professor of Economics at Wageningen University & Research
Joost de Laat is Managing Director for the Social Sciences Group and Professor of Economics at Wageningen University & Research. Joost is an applied microeconomist (PhD, Brown University) with a trans- and interdisciplinary research and teaching focus on poverty and sustainability in low- and middle-income countries with publications in leading academic journals. Joost worked at Harvard University and the University of Quebec at Montreal before joining the World Bank, where he managed its Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund, and Porticus, a global philanthropy. Between 2018 and 2024, Joost was Professor of Economics at Utrecht University and director of the Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges.
Executive Director of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) and a Professor in the Department of Economics at PUC-Rio.
Juliano Assunção is the Executive Director of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC Rio) and a Professor in the Department of Economics at PUC-Rio. Since 2011, he has been with CPI/PUC-Rio, working to improve climate policies in Brazil through research and engagement with policymakers and civil society. He provides strategic direction to CPI/PUC-Rio’s research and projects, focusing on land use efficiency, Forest Code compliance, the relationship between productivity and natural resource protection, and Brazil’s participation in the carbon market as a means of Amazon conservation. Juliano also coordinates the Amazon 2030 project, which aims to develop a sustainable development plan for the Brazilian Amazon by 2030. In 2024, during Brazil’s G20 presidency, he became the Technical Coordinator of the Expert Group of the G20 Task Force for Global Mobilization against Climate Change (TF-CLIMA). He holds a PhD in Economics from PUC-Rio, an MA in economics from the University of Minas Gerais.
Associate Professor of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management
Namrata Kala is an Associate Professor of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management. Her research focuses on the intersection of economics, strategy, and organizations, with a particular emphasis on how firms and households learn about and adapt to environmental change and regulation. She explores topics such as the dynamics of competition, the role of technological change, and the management of knowledge and innovation within organizations. Namrata was a Prize Fellow in Economics, History, and Politics at Harvard University and a Postdoctoral Fellow at J-PAL. She received her PhD in Environmental Economics from Yale University in 2015. She also holds a BA (Honors) in economics from Delhi University, and an MA in international and development economics from Yale University.
Assistant Professor of Economics at Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
Raissa Fabregas is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a development economist with broad interests in understanding barriers to human capital accumulation and learning in LMICs, as well as effective scaling of policy solutions. She is particularly interested in questions of external validity, barriers to scaling up programs, and the role of evidence in policymaking. Raissa’s research examines the role of information, incentives, and social factors in shaping individual behavior and economic opportunities. Her work includes studies on the effectiveness of digital agricultural interventions for smallholder farmers, the use of television to expand education in rural communities, and the economic impacts of increased access to mobile money. As part of this work, she has engaged in policy discussions on program implementation with private, public, and NGO partners in Puerto Rico, Mexico, India, Kenya, and other developing countries. Dr. Fabregas holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB)
Shilpa Aggarwal is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Her ongoing research is focused on agricultural supply chains in India and East Africa. She also works on issues pertaining to domestic trade, microfinance, and food policy. She uses a variety of methodologies, including field experiments, quasi-experimental methods, and structural modeling, to understand and evaluate the effectiveness of policy interventions. Shilpa is actively engaged in policy discussions and often collaborates with governments and NGOs to translate her findings into practical solutions. Aggarwal holds a PhD in Economics from University of California, Santa Cruz and is also an affiliate of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Gothenburg
and the Director of Academic Programs at the Environment for Development (EfD)
initiative
Yonas Alem is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Gothenburg and the Director of Academic Programs at the Environment for Development (EfD) initiative. His research lies at the intersection of development microeconomics, behavioral and experimental economics, and environmental economics, with a particular focus on developing regions in Africa and South Asia. Yonas’ work explores a range of development issues, often employing experimental and behavioral approaches. His research interests include topics such as natural resource management, agricultural economics, poverty reduction, and the impact of environmental policies on livelihoods. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in developing countries, generating valuable insights into the complex challenges facing these regions. He is a researcher at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Gothenburg.
Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit at IFPRI
Agnes Quisumbing is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit at IFPRI, where she co-leads a research program examining the impact of gender asset inequality on development outcomes. Her current work focuses on evaluating agricultural development programs in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, particularly their effects on closing the gap in men’s and women’s asset ownership and control. Agnes’s research interests include poverty, gender, property rights, and economic mobility. Her past work at IFPRI analyzed the factors contributing to long-term poverty reduction and how intrahousehold resource allocation affects development policy design and outcomes. She has led studies on intrahousehold allocation in several countries and has conducted research on women’s land rights. Agnes joined IFPRI in 1995 after working at various institutions including the University of the Philippines, the World Bank, Yale University, and the International Rice Research Institute. She holds a PhD and MA in Economics from the University of the Philippines.
Project Study and Development Specialist
International Affairs Office,
UAE Presidential Court
Staff Member
International Affairs Office,
UAE Presidential Court
Senior Program Officer
Gates Foundation
Senior Program Officer
Gates Foundation
Chair – Technical Panel
Assistant Professor at Harris Public Policy at the University of Chicago
Amir Jina is an Assistant Professor at Harris Public Policy at the University of Chicago and a Senior Fellow at the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC). His research in environmental and development economics explores the influence of the environment on societal development. He combines economic analysis with methods from climate science and remote sensing to understand the impacts of climate change in both developed and developing nations. Amir’s work has involved fieldwork on climate change adaptation with communities in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Uganda. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, he was a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, contributing to the Risky Business initiative’s economic analysis. He is a founding member of the Climate Impact Lab and was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the University of Chicago’s Economics Department. He holds a PhD in Sustainable Development and an MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University, BAs in Mathematics and Theoretical Physics from Trinity College, Dublin, and has experience working with the Red Cross/Red Crescent in South Asia.
Erin Coughlan de Perez is the CBF Professor at Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University. She directs the Center for Climate and Health glObal Research on Disasters (CORD), global consortium on climate, health, and Anticipatory Action. Erin’s research bridges the gap between climate science, policy, and practice, focusing on the ability to anticipate and manage disasters, including droughts, floods, and heatwaves, before they occur. She researches adoption and effectiveness of adaptation measures in the face of climate change.
Previously Erin was at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, where she established a global climate science team and pioneered Forecast-based Financing pilots. She maintains a senior advisor role there, ensuring strong ties to global humanitarian efforts. Erin is also a lead author for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, for the chapter: Decision-Making Options for Managing Risk. Additionally, she serves as an academic editor for the journal PLOS Climate and serves on the Council of the American Meteorological Society. She holds a Ph.D. from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a M.A. from Columbia University.
Acting director general of African Center of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD)
Ousmane Ndiaye is the acting director general of African Center of meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD), prior to that he was leading Senegalese meteorological service at the Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM). He has interest in climate prediction and its application in a broad sense: user engagement and ownership, tailoring climate information, private partnership, communication.
Ousmane has worked many years with partners (NGOs, research, extension services, end-users) on how to deliver climate information services from end to end. He is a contributing author of the 6th IPCC report (Working Group I) and a board member of the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN). Ousmane holds a PhD from Columbia University in New York.
Associate Professor at the Department of Geophysical Sciences, the Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics, and the Data Science Institute, at the University of Chicago
Sebastian Grey is a Scientific Officer for Agrometeorology in the Applied Climate Services Section (ACS) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). His work focuses on enhancing the application of climate services in the agriculture sector, ensuring that climate services are tailored to and meet the needs of the different users in the sector. Over his career, Sebastian has worked in various international organizations supporting climate resilience in the agriculture sector, including the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), where he coordinated agricultural climate risk profiling activities; The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) where he provided technical support to the implementation of climate-smart agriculture programmes and projects in Eastern Africa; and Oxfam GB in Zimbabwe where he supported the design, monitoring and implementation of agricultural adaptation projects. He holds a Master of Science in Agricultural Meteorology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography.
Monica Petri is an agronomist with over 25 years of experience, mainly at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, as well as the other UN agencies and the CGIAR. She is an expert on land management and rehabilitation and adaptation to climate change at the territorial level. Her work experience spans Latin and Central America, Africa, and Asia. She has long experience in digital agriculture, especially in digital public infrastructures. She recently joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, where she is responsible for the development of Agri Stack in India, for the partnership with AIM for Scale. Monica holds a PhD in Agriculture at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.
Neil Hausmann serves as a Senior Program Officer in the Agricultural Development portfolio at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this capacity, he directs targeted investments towards research teams focused on developing and deploying interventions that enhance the agricultural income and nutritional status of smallholder farmers. Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Neil spent 15 years at Pioneer Hi-Bred and Corteva Agriscience, where he gained extensive experience in breeding, digital agriculture, field phenotyping, and modeling. This background provides him with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in agricultural development. Niel holds a PHD from University of California, Berkeley.
Romina Ordonez is a Senior Specialist in Rural Development at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) based in Chile, where she leads the development and implementation of agriculture and rural development projects in Chile and other countries in Latin America. Her expertise spans the design, supervision, and evaluation of development projects, with a focus on sustainable rural development. Previously, Romina worked as an economist at IDB Invest, concentrating on the agribusiness and tourism sectors. Her work included measuring the development impact of private sector operations, designing and implementing advisory services and impact evaluations. She holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, a Master in Public Policy, a bachelor’s degree in Economics, and a technical degree in Journalism.