Dr. Lourdes Martinez Romero is an agricultural economist in the Bureau for Food Security specializing in enabling environment for trade, private sector investment, and inclusive food system development. Before joining USAID, she worked in Africa, Asia, and Latin America looking at regulatory constraints to expand market access for small-scale producers, and inclusive value chain and business development. She has a PhD and MS from Michigan State University.

Laura Harwig is Director of Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation, a USAID-funded program implemented by Fintrac Inc., that builds partnerships with agribusinesses to help them commercialize new products and services for the benefit of smallholder farmers in emerging markets. Prior to joining Partnering for Innovation, she served as Fintrac Inc.’s Vice President of Field Activities and oversaw implementation of market systems and value chain development programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Adam Keatts is an agricultural economist who has managed market development projects, analytical assignments, and capacity building initiatives across more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia. He is currently the Chief of Party of the EEFS project, and Director of Food Analytics for Fintrac Inc, where his work supports evidence-based decision making for public and private sector actors in the field of agricultural market system development.

Mr. Keatts, Dr. de Matos, and Mr. Klissas co-authored The Enabling Environment for Food Traceability System Success: Assessing Factors that Support Food Safety, Quality and Integrity.

Katherine Oliviera de Matos holds a Ph.D. in food engineering and has 17 years’ experience in food safety in the private and non-profit sectors. She serves as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization, SIG Combibloc, and EEFS. Dr. De Matos also holds the position of Science and Technology Director for The Good Food Institute in Brazil.

Nick Klissas is an attorney and legal/regulatory specialist with over 25 years’ experience in international development. Now a consultant for the EEFS project, he has worked in various capacities at USAID in trade and regulatory reform, most recently as a Senior Digital Economy Advisor. 

Kate Granger is an experienced leader and expert in agricultural technology commercialization and private sector engagement with almost 20 years’ experience in small- and large-scale project management. She is currently a Senior Consultant with The Development Practice, a consulting firm and network of international development practitioners, providing leadership and management expertise to economic growth programs worldwide in areas such as private sector engagement, strategic program design, grant selection and management, and project monitoring and evaluation, and is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's School for International & Public Affairs.

Ms. Granger authored Funding Traceability Technology: Lessons Learned for Commercializing Traceability Software in Emerging Markets.

Rob Johnson is a proven social entrepreneur with over a decade of experience building and scaling innovative, market-driven solutions to impact smallholder farmers around the globe. Rob is currently Chief Operating Officer at Acceso, a pioneering social business builder that brings entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. While at Acceso, Rob has led building and scaling of numerous smallholder-sourced agribusinesses in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as led Acceso’s acquisition of Extensio, the digital field agent. Prior to Acceso, Rob managed assessments, strategy development and programs in multiple value chains at TechnoServe in Haiti. Rob holds an MBA (Honors) and a Master of Science in Sustainable Development (Honors) from HEC Paris and a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Robert Berlin is the Head of Agriservices and digital delivery at the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture. Robert joined the Foundation in 2011 and has many years of experience in sustainable agriculture and market development. He has supported and advised partners on market development issues in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia, where he fostered links between the private sector and development organizations. He has been involved in developing digital agronomy solutions that works for smallholders since 2012 and is a strong believer that these technologies will have the potential to improve the smallholder’s lives.