Ngo Diplomacy Conf Program Bios

Conference on Non-Governmental Diplomacy Thursday, December 11, 2008  •  9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. Sponsors Mortara Center for International Studies Georgetown University

Photo Courtesy of Jon Warren

PROGRAM

8:30–9:00 Registration and Breakfast 9:00–9:30 Opening Keynote Address (Hemisphere A) Henrietta H. Fore  Director, U.S. Foreign Assistance Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development Introduced by H.E. Pierre Vimont  Ambassador of France to the United States 9:30–10:30 Perspectives on Non-Governmental Diplomacy (Hemisphere A) Carol Lancaster  Director, Mortara Center for International Studies, Georgetown University Henri Rouillé d’Orfeuil  President, Coordination SUD Michel Doucin  Ambassador of France for Corporate Social Responsibility and Bioethics Sam Worthington  President & CEO, InterAction Moderated by H.E. Pierre Vimont  Ambassador of France to the United States 10:30–10:45 Coffee/Tea Break (Meridian C & Meridian DE Foyer) 10:45–12:15 Non-Governmental Diplomacy: Lessons from Past Experiences (Concurrent Breakout Sessions) Elimination of Landmines - Facilitated Discussion A (Meridian C) Case Presenter: Luciano Loïacono-Clouet, Deputy Director, Institutional Relations, Handicap International Commenter: Anne Witkowsky, Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies Facilitator: Sarah Holewinski, Executive Director, CIVIC – Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment - Facilitated Discussion B (Meridian DE) Case Presenter: Clare Dougherty, Senior Public Policy Officer, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Commenter: John D. Hassell, Washington Director, UNAIDS Facilitator: Smita Baruah, Director, Government Relations, Global Health Council 12:15–12:30 Break

Conference on Non-Governmental Diplomacy PROGRAM (continued)

12:30–2:00 A Conversation with World Bank & IMF Leadership on Non-Governmental Diplomacy (Hemisphere A) Marwan Muasher  Vice President, External Affairs, The World Bank Antoinette Sayeh  Director, Africa Department, International Monetary Fund Moderated by Sarah Newhall  President and CEO, PACT 2:00–2:15

Break

2:15–3:45 Non-Governmental Diplomacy: New Challenges (Concurrent Breakout Sessions) The Food Price Crisis - Facilitated Discussion C (Meridian C) Case Presenter: Bénédicte Hermelin, Director, GRET – Solidarity and International Cooperation Association Commenter: Saliou Sarr, Coordinator, ROPPA – Network of Peasant Organizations and Producers in West Africa Facilitator: Jim McDonald, Vice President, Policy & Programs, World Vision Climate Change - Facilitated Discussion D (Meridian DE) Case Presenter: David Hess, Vice President, Philippines, Indo-Burma and China Programs, Conservation International Commenter: J. Timmons Roberts, Professor, Sociology & Director, Environmental Science and Policy, The College of William and Mary Facilitator: Daphne Whysham, Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies; Director, Sustainable Energy & Economy Network; Co-host, Earthbeat Radio 3:45–4:00

Coffee/Tea Break (Hemisphere A Foyer)

4:00–5:00 Closing Insights (Hemisphere A) Lisa Jordan  Deputy Director, Governance and Civil Society Program, The Ford Foundation Martin Viélajus  Co-Director, Institute for Research & Debate on Governance Carol Lancaster  Director, Mortara Center for International Studies, Georgetown University Henri Rouillé d’Orfeuil  President, Coordination SUD Moderated by Sam Worthington  President & CEO, InterAction 6:00–8:00 Reception at the Maison Française On the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Hosted by: Embassy of France to the United States  4101 Reservoir Rd., NW, Washington, D.C. Sponsors Mortara Center for International Studies Georgetown University

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS

Smita Baruah is the Director of Government Relations for the Global Health Council, the world’s largest alliance of organizations and individuals engaged with global health issues. In this capacity, Ms. Baruah is responsible for overall guidance and direction on global health legislative and policy issues. Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Baruah served as the lead policy advisor and advocate on issues related to global HIV/AIDS and health systems for the Global Health Council. She chairs the Global AIDS Roundtable (the largest U.S. based working group on global AIDS issues), the HIV Implementers Roundtable (the only U.S. based working group of HIV implementing organizations), and the Health Systems Roundtable. Ms. Baruah successfully led the global AIDS advocacy and implementing communities through the process of drafting and passing H.R. 5501, Lantos/Hyde Leadership Against AIDS, TB, Malaria Act of 2008, reauthorizing U.S. global AIDS, TB, and malaria programs. Prior to joining the Global Health Council, she served as the principal government relations advisor for Physicians for Human Rights, focusing on a range of issues, including HIV/AIDS, global health workforce, torture and Sudan. She was also with InterAction for nearly six years where she led policy and advocacy around U.S. appropriations for international development and humanitarian assistance. During her years at InterAction she was also responsible for advocacy work on humanitarian crises issues such as Liberia, Sudan, and Afghanistan. Michel Doucin , former French Ambassador at large for Human Rights, recently assumed the post of Ambassador of France for Bioethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. For many years Ambassador Doucin, a specialist in non-governmental diplomacy, has worked at the heart of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before being named to his first ambassadorial post, Ambassador Doucin served in a number of distinguished roles with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Advisor to the Ministry’s Director for Economic and Financial Affairs, Head of the Liaison Mission with Non-Governmental Organizations in the Department of Political Affairs, and as Secretary General of the High Council for International Cooperation in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister. For many years, Ambassador Doucin has taught at a range of institutes specializing political studies, including the Institute for Political Sciences and the National Institute for Agronomy in France. Among Ambassador Doucin’s publications are, notably, Les ONG – le contrepouvoir? (NGOs – a counterbalance?) and Les diplomats, négocier dans un monde chaotique (Diplomats: Negotiating in a chaotic world). Ambassador Doucin holds a PhD in Political Science and a Masters in Economics. Clare Dowling Dougherty is the Senior Public Policy Officer at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation where she advocates for Foundation priorities at both the national and global levels. Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Dougherty worked for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids where she managed their work on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first ever global health treaty. Ms. Dougherty has also worked overseas as a consultant for the National Democratic Institute in Macedonia and served as a senior staff member for Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA) and Rick Larsen (D-WA). Henrieta H. Fore currently serves as the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and is the first woman Administrator of USAID. Appointed in November 2007, she is responsible for providing strategic direction and guidance to all other foreign assistance programs delivered through the various agencies and entities of the U.S. government, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. Ms. Fore also was a Presidential appointee at USAID from 19891993, first as Assistant Administrator for Private Enterprise and then Assistant Administrator for Asia. During this period she founded and served as the first Chairperson of the United States Asia Environmental Partnership, a coalition of business, government, and community organizations in the United States and 31 Asian nations. Prior to her most recent appointment, she served as the Director of the United States Mint in the Department of Treasury, where she received the Department’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award. Earlier in her career, Ms. Fore successfully ran her own company and has sat on boards of numerous public corporations. Additionally, she held leadership positions in international non-profit organizations such as the Center of Strategic and International Studies, the Aspen Institute, and the Asia Foundation. Ms. Fore is a keen sailor and collector of antique Holsman Automobiles.

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS (CONTINUED)

John Hassell is the Washington Director for the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Appointed in December 2006, he is responsible for leading UNAIDS efforts within the U.S. policy environment including the engagement of and provision of support to key stakeholders in the U.S. government, the private sector, the advocacy community and the media. Mr. Hassell has served on the Northwest AIDS Foundation board of directors; the Pierce County Washington Community AIDS Partnership; the Santa Clara County, California AIDS Commission and the University of California at San Francisco AIDS Research Institute’s leadership council. Prior to UNAIDS, he was Director of Federal Government Affairs for the Hewlett-Packard Company. He managed a team of lobbyists and public policy experts in shaping U.S.-based international, federal and state public policy that directly affected the interests of HP. Mr. Hassell was previously employed as California public affairs manager for FMC Corporation’s Defense Systems Group and governmental affairs representative for Caterpillar, Inc. Active in government affairs, he has been affiliated with Human Rights Campaign’s business council, American Electronics Association, Business Roundtable, Electronic Industries Alliance, Information Technology Industry Council, Technology CEO Council, and TechNet. A native of Newport News, Virginia, John is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. Bénédicte Hermelin is the Director General of GRET (Groupe de recherche et d’échanges technologiques). An Agricultural Engineer, Ms. Hermelin taught in her field for a number of years. She was also a Coordinator with the Confédération Paysanne, where she worked from 1989 - 2000 before rejoining the international NGO community, first with Solagral (2000 – 2003) before moving to GRET. In doing so, Ms. Hermelin focused on issues of agricultural politics, bi- and multi-lateral commercial negotiations, and food security. In this role, Ms. Hermelin has completed a number of studies on developing countries for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission. She has also provided capacity support for developing country governments and civil society in the context of commercial negotiations (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia, CEMAC, CEDEAO, Congo, Cameroon, Vietnam and Cambodia) and has organized conferences and meetings to prepare for international conferences (Cancun, 2003; EU-Africa Forum on Cotton, 2004; Hong Kong, 2005). Ms. Hermelin has provided support to the European Commission on questions of food security, as well as leading Coordination SUD’s Food and Agriculture Commission. David W. Hess is Vice President for the East/Southeast Asia Field Division at Conservation International (CI) in Washington, D.C. He joined CI in April, 2006 after retiring from 26 years work with USAID in the Foreign Service. He served in Africa, South America, and India as well as Washington, D.C. His positions covered many sectors and roles including Deputy Mission Director in Mozambique, Director of the Office of Natural Resources Management in Washington, and Energy and Environment Officer in India. Dr. Hess earned a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a dissertation on cultural ecology and the frontier settlements of eastern Bolivia. Sarah Holewinski is the Executive Director of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), a group that advocates for civilians caught in the crossfire of war. Ms. Holewinski was a member of The White House AIDS Policy team from 1997 - 2001 and later joined a group of former presidential speechwriters at West Wing Writers in Washington. She has worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch and with the William J. Clinton Foundation in Rwanda to combat HIV in Africa. Ms. Holewinski holds a Masters degree in Security Policy from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in political theory from Georgetown University. She is also serving as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Lisa Jordan is Deputy Director of the Global and Civil Society Unit at the Ford Foundation. Ms. Jordan graduated cum laude in 1992 with a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. She has acted as a consultant for numerous foundations both in the fields of development and environment and has published articles in Dutch, English and Spanish on changes in the field of development, the phenomena of non-governmental organizations and on the multilateral development banks. Previous positions included directing the U.S. component of the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), an environmental exchange program for parliamentarians; acting as a legislative assistant to Congressman Jim Scheuer, who served the people of the 8th district in New York; directing the multilateral development bank program of BothEnds, a non-profit in the Netherlands; and directing the Bank Information Center, a non-profit in Washington D.C.

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS (CONTINUED)

Carol Lancaster is a professor of politics and Director of the Mortara Center for International Studies. She has been a Carnegie Scholar and has been a visiting fellow at the Institute for International Economics, the Center for Global Development and the Overseas Development Council, as well as a Congressional Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar. She has also served in a variety of government positions, including Deputy Administrator of USAID (1993-96) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (1980-81). She serves on the boards of a number of non-governmental organizations and has been a member of the UN Secretary General’s Panel on International Support for NEPAD. She is the author of numerous books and articles on foreign aid, foreign policy and development, including Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development, Domestic Politics (2006) and George Bush’s Foreign Aid: Revolution or Chaos? (2008). Luciano Loïacono-Clouet’s career in humanitarian aid and development began in 1989. In charge of internal communication and coordination of institutional relations for the Executive Director’s office at Handicap International, Mr. Loïacono-Clouet oversees the linkage of local and national authorities with international organizations. From 2004 to 2006, he supervised the merging of Handicap International and Atlas Logistique. His extensive career in the humanitarian aid sector includes serving as director of rehabilitation programs for those affected by conflict and poverty in Cambodia. While serving in Handicap International’s head office in Lyons, France, he conducted feasibility studies and launched numerous projects on behalf of the organization’s Programmes Management division. Mr. Loïacono-Clouet has also coordinated the production of thematic works and policy documents on disability, victim assistance, the international fight against landmines, humanitarian witness-bearing and advocacy. Mr. Loïacono-Clouet is associated with various working groups looking into United Nations reforms, aid standardization and quality assurance processes, and the independence of humanitarian aid. Rev. James L. McDonald is Bread for the World's vice president for policy and programs. As vice president, Rev. McDonald manages the organization’s work on policy issues and their programs of advocacy, education and social change. Before assuming his duties as vice president in 2000, Rev. McDonald was an international policy analyst and led Bread for the World’s effort to secure debt relief for the world's poorest countries. Previously Rev. McDonald served as director of the Humphrey Fellowship Program at American University, and taught courses in world politics, U.S. foreign policy, and the international relations of Latin America at George Washington University and American University. As a Presbyterian minister, he served congregations in Bloomington, IN, Philadelphia, PA, and in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Rev. McDonald holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from American University, an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York, and a B.A. from Princeton University. Marwan Muasher joined the World Bank as Senior Vice President of External Affairs on March 16, 2007, from his most recent position in the Senate of Jordan. His career has spanned the areas of development, diplomacy, civil society, and communications. Mr. Muasher began his career as a journalist for the Jordan Times, and then served from 1985 to 1990 at the Ministry of Planning in charge of development strategies. Subsequently, he served as Director for the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington, building understanding and support in Congress, the press, and civil society. In 1995, Mr. Muasher worked to open Jordan's first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 became Minister of Information and spokesman for the Jordanian government. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as Ambassador, negotiating the first free trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. After returning to Jordan to serve as Foreign Minister, he was deeply involved in the peace process. In 2004, Mr. Muasher became Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Reform and Government Performance, and led the effort to produce a ten-year Development Strategy that included, among other topics, major recommendations on economic, financial services and fiscal reforms, employment, education and training.

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS (CONTINUED)

Sarah Newhall joined Pact in 1992 serving as Country Representative in Cambodia, then Director of Programs and Executive Vice President. In June 2000 she became president and CEO and has overseen a period of rapid expansion for Pact in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Pact is considered a premier global capacity building organization known for innovation in institutional strengthening and establishing alliances and partnerships with local NGOs, governments and corporations. Ms. Newhall has championed WORTH, Pact’s women’s village banking, literacy and empowerment program, which has the goal of reaching one million women and their families by 2010, and the Impact Alliance, a dynamic global network of north-south capacity building organizations sparking new ways of collaborating and growing capacity building as a profession. Prior to joining Pact Ms. Newhall participated in Thailand's successful war on HIV/AIDS and designed and implemented the South-to-South Global Innovations Program of the Population Community Development Association, the largest NGO in Thailand. She also served as Asia regional coordinator for Ashoka, Innovators for the Public, an international fellowship that provides financial resources to change agents known as social entrepreneurs. Ms. Newhall has served on the InterAction board as co-chair for the Commission for the Advancement of Women and as chairperson of the Membership and Standards Committee for Interaction. Timmons Roberts is Chancellor Professor of Sociology and Research Fellow at the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations at the College of William and Mary, in Virginia. He is one of the directors of the Project-Level Aid (PLAID) research project, which is attempting to assemble a full historical record of all official development assistance--foreign aid--from all donors and to all recipient nations. His research focuses on global inequality and the difficulty in negotiating a solution to climate change, and the role of the climate justice movement. He has over 60 published articles and six books, including "A Climate of Injustice: Global Inequality, North-South Politics, and Climate Policy" (MIT Press 2007), and "Greening Aid? Understanding the Environmental Impact of Development Assistance" ( Oxford University Press 2008). During 2006-2007 he was a fellow at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, examining the issues of funding climate change adaptation and mitigation, and the role of civil society. Henri Rouillé d'Orfeuil was appointed Chairman of Coordination Sud, a coalition of 120 French international aid and development NGOs in October 2001. Since 2000, Mr. Rouilléd’Orfeuil, an agricultural engineer and doctor of economics, has been adviser to the scientific department of the International Centre for Agronomical Research for Development (CIRAD). His professional career began at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where from 1973 to 1980 he worked as an agricultural adviser to the Department of Cultural, Scientific and Technical Relations, before becoming technical adviser to the Ministry of Cooperation. Between 1989 and 1994, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he held the post of Deputy Director of Development and Scientific, Technical and Educational Cooperation. Subsequently, Mr. Rouilléd’Orfeuil was an adviser at the World Bank before becoming director of external relations at the CIRAD. Throughout his career, Mr. Rouillé d'Orfeuil has shared his experience, teaching at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris–VIII University, as well as at the Sorbonne's Institut d'études du développement économique et social. In addition to being the author of articles and books on development and NGO-related issues, Mr. Rouillé d'Orfeuil has been a member of the National Council for Sustainable Development since January 2003 and a Citizen of Honour of the city of Rio de Janeiro since 2002. He was a member of the High Council for International Cooperation (HCCI); Chairman of the association Finansol- Finance et solidarité (1998-2004); and founder and chairman of the Group for Research and Technological Exchange (GRET). Saliou Sarr is the Coordinator of ROPPA, the Network of Farmers’and Agricultural Producers’Organizations of West Africa. He is in direct connection with the peasant platforms of the ten country members of ROPPA: Benin, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. Mr. Sarr is in charge of strengthening the capacity of members on policy issues and promoting ROPPA’s positions vis-à-vis regional and international governmental bodies on sub-regional integration, decentralization and globalization.

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS (CONTINUED)

Martin Viélajus is Co-Director of the Institute for Research & Debate on Governance. Since October 2006, he has taught, and been a part of the teaching executive, at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). Mr. Viélajus’s primary fields of study concern civil society participation in public policy and governance assessment models. His contributions to publications in the field of governance notably include: La gouvernance démocratique, un nouveau paradigme pour le développement? (Kartala/French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2008) and Towards a Local Governance and Development Agenda: Lessons and Challenges (UNDP, 2007). Mr. Viélajus has been involved in a number of intercultural programs at UNESCO. He also collaborated on the writing of the book L’intelligence de l’autre (ECLM, 2007). Mr. Viélajus holds a degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po. Ambassador Pierre Vimont was appointed Ambassador of France to the United States by President Nicolas Sarkozy on August 1, 2007. Prior to his present appointment, Ambassador Vimont was chief of staff to the minister of foreign affairs, a position he had held since 2002.He has previously served as ambassador and permanent representative of France to the European Union from 1999 to 2002. After joining the Foreign Service in 1977, Ambassador Vimont first posted to London where he was first secretary from 1978 to 1981. He then spent the next four years with the Press and Information Office at the Quai d’Orsay. From 1985 to 1986 he was seconded to the Institute for East-West Security in New York. Returning to Europe, Ambassador Vimont served as second counselor with the Permanent Representation of France to the European Communities in Brussels, and was subsequently chief of staff to the minister delegate for European affairs from 1990 to 1993. He went on to serve as director for development and scientific, technical and educational cooperation and then for cultural, scientific and technical relations. Ambassador Vimont was deputy director general of the entire Cultural, Scientific and Technical Relations Department from 1996 to 1997 and then director of European Cooperation from 1997 to 1999. He holds a degree in law and is a graduate of the Institute of Political Studies and the National School of Administration (ENA). Anne Witkowsky was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2000-2007. At CSIS, she led and contributed to a wide range of major projects. Under the guidance of a senior level commission, she directed the 2006-2007 CSIS Embassy of the Future study, which recommended ways to make the U.S. overseas presence more effective; served as a member of the CSIS Beyond Goldwater-Nichols study, which examined how to enhance unity of effort within the government; and directed the 2005 CSIS “Steadfast Resolve”exercise on crisis decision making at the cabinet level. She also directed the 2000-2002 CSIS Commission on Science and Security. Ms. Witkowsky is currently a non-resident CSIS Senior Associate. In the past, she has served as a Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council staff. Prior to taking her position on the NSC, Ms. Witkowsky served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, within the Office of Russian, Ukraine, and Eurasian Affairs and the Office of European Security Negotiations, and as a Presidential Management Intern. She received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service in 2000. In additions to many publications, Ms. Witkowsky is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and previously served on the Executive Board of Women in International Security. She holds a B.A. in Russian and East European studies from Yale University. She holds an M.P.A. with a concentration in international security from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Sam Worthington assumed the position of President and CEO of InterAction in October 2006. Previously he had served, since 1994, as CEO of Plan USA, a 62-country child-focused development organization and an InterAction member organization. In this position, Sam served as Vice Chair of InterAction’s Board of Directors, and was chair of InterAction’s PVO Standards and Membership committee, as well as co-chair of its Commission on the Advancement of Women. Sam is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the Advisory Committee for Voluntary Foreign Assistance at USAID, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee at the United Nations, sits on the Boards of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and The Alliance to End Hunger, and is an International Trustee of Religions for Peace. His numerous leadership roles include chairing the global NGO Impact Initiative on behalf of the office of the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, and he is a founder of the Hope for African Children Initiative. Sam has a Masters degree with distinction from Monterey Institute of International Studies, a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont, was a Fulbright Scholar, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Rhode Island College.

CONFERENCE ON NON-G0VERNMENTAL DIPLOMACY SPEAKERS (CONTINUED)

Daphne Wysham is a Fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies, and co-host and co-founder of Earthbeat Radio, a weekly radio show on the climate crisis that is syndicated on 54 radio stations across the U.S. and Canada reaching over 2 million listeners. She is the founder and director of the Sustainable Energy & Economy Network (SEEN), a project of IPS. SEEN conducted the initial research that drew attention to the disproportionate ratio of fossil fuel investments by international financial institutions, including the World Bank, and their role in fueling climate change. Translated into numerous languages, these studies resulted in former World Bank President James Wolfensohn calling for an independent study of the poverty impacts of the Bank’s investments in extractive industries (EIR) which, in 2004, called for the World Bank to phase out of fossil fuels immediately, and rapidly phase in renewable energy. SEEN’s research was the foundation of a lawsuit filed by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and several U.S. cities against U.S. Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corporation, charging these banks with violations of NEPA regulations. Other SEEN research has been cited in U.S. Senate investigations of Enron. Ms. Wysham is a contributor to numerous books and publications, and has produced radio commentary for Marketplace, NPR, BBC and other outlets. She graduated with high honors from Princeton University in1983. She was born and raised in India, where she lived for eight years, and lived in Greece for one year.