| Margie Brand |
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Initiator & Board Member
Margie Brand is Initiator and Board Member of EcoVentures International and also currently acts as Project Director for the USAID/DCOF STRIVE program, managed through AED, exploring economic strengthening initiatives for the benefit of vulnerable children and youth in Africa and Asia.
With over 15 years of experience in the field of microenterprise, small business and sustainable development, she has supported the integration of effective practice into the design and implementation of training and program strategies. Margie has worked on economic, market development, youth, and sustainable development projects in over 25 countries through such organizations as EVI, the SEEP Network, AED, QED Group, Save the Children, Triple Trust Organization, ACDI/VOCA, and Making Cents. A highly experienced trainer and curricula developer, she has, as part of a team and independently, developed entrepreneurship, sustainable business and value chain training curricula now used in over 45 countries around the world. She has run training-of-trainer programs for a number of international consulting firms, donors and non-profits including such clients as DAI, Nathan and Associates, and IBM Global. She also consults as Senior Technical Training, Curriculum Design & Knowledge Management Specialist for several USAID projects.
Margie has managed many high-level, collaborative, participative processes and facilitated multi-stakeholder strategic planning workshops for USAID offices, Multi-donor Working Groups, Environmental Enterprise Development Initiatives, various Country MicroFinance Associations, and various Value Chain Actor stakeholder meetings. Most recently Margie is spearheading several environmental enterprise market development and green business initiatives throughout the US and in Africa.
Within the United States, Margie has been invited to present her experiences for the past 9 years at the microenterprise development industry association, Association of Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) and has worked with and run trainings with the majority of their members. Internationally, Margie regularly speaks at the SEEP Network microenterprise association conference to share learning and experience within the international enterprise and sustainable development context, and has presented at a number of international conferences.
Margie acts as a Board Member for Centronia, a large education and community development non-profit working in Washington DC and Maryland. She is a member of the inter-organizational Technical Advisory Group exploring economic development program impacts on vulnerable children. Margie was co-founder of Making Cents and is one of the founding members of the Global Children Youth and Economic Strengthening (CYES) Network. Born and raised in South Africa, her regional experience spans across North America, Africa, Central & Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Central and East Asia, and the Middle East
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