Fellows Program

Rob Johnson is a former TechnoServe Fellow who worked in Haiti in 2011 performing a poultry value chain assessment. After his time as a Fellow, Rob returned to serve as a program manager in the TechnoServe Haiti Office. He then launched a social enterprise in Haiti called Acceso, which works to improve smallholder farmer income through inclusive value chains. In this Q&A, Rob shares how TechnoServe played a foundational role in his life and social enterprise career.

Progress Chisenga is a former TechnoServe Fellow who worked in Mozambique in late 2019 through early 2020, where she worked on a project supporting rice and vegetable farmers in Mozambique. In this Q&A, Progress shares her thoughts about the experience and the future.

Ariana Day Yuen is a former TechnoServe Fellow who served in Ethiopia in 2015. After her time as a Fellow, she stayed on with the TechnoServe Ethiopia team for nearly three years. Today, she is the founder of an agroforestry enterprise that partners with smallholder farmers – starting in Ethiopia – to sustainably grow, process, and market premium forest-based products.

Robin Merl worked as a TechnoServe Fellow in Zambia in 2019. His work centered around strategies for decreasing malnutrition and stunting in the most affected areas of Zambia. Before joining TechnoServe, Robin worked with McKinsey & Company in Hamburg, Germany. Currently, he is working for the Freetown City Council and mayor’s office in Sierra Leone.

Caroline Lundberg has been a member of the Global Advisory Council since 2010. In this Q&A, she shares how she got involved, why she supports TechnoServe, and how seeing the organization's work firsthand changed her perceptions of development.

Ashish Heda, a TechnoServe Fellow, discusses his experience working with food processors through the MSIKA program, a collaboration between TechnoServe and Land O' Lakes International Development.

After 20 years of supporting business solutions to poverty, the Volunteer Consultant Program is now the TechnoServe Fellows Program. Program alumni share highlights and insights from their Fellows experience.

Rene Reinsberg, a TechnoServe Fellow, supports local entrepreneurs in Guatemala. At the time, my wife Lisa, a human rights lawyer, was offered a Fulbright fellowship and we decided to move to Latin America for one year. I had been structuring hybrid bonds and derivatives at Morgan Stanley in London,…

Moritz Steinle, TechnoServe Fellow, supports farmers’ cooperatives in Uganda. How can I help these farmers without any previous experience in agriculture? Will I really have an impact? How long will it take me to adjust to the local culture? How will it be to travel across the country in…

TechnoServe’s Volunteer Consultant Program (now the TechnoServe Fellows Program) celebrates 20 years and lasting impact for volunteers and communities alike.