Ben Powell -- Founder and Managing Partner

Ben became convinced of the power of small business to transform poor communities as an entrepreneur in Mexico, where he co-founded CityGolf: Puebla, an ongoing family entertainment park. Prior to starting Agora Partnerships Ben worked as a Presidential Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget. Ben has an MBA from Columbia Business School, an MS in Foreign Service with distinction from Georgetown, and a BA with high honors from Haverford College. Ben has been recognized as a development innovator by Dalberg, the Social Venture Network, and the BMW Foundation. He is a Draper Richards Fellow and an Ashoka Fellow.

Liz Sessler -- Director of Business Development

Prior to joining Agora Partnerships Liz worked at Calvert Foundation. As a Senior Marketing Associate there she worked on web-based marketing, donor development and social impact metrics. Liz graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Public Policy Analysis and minors in Spanish and Environmental Studies.

Agora Partnerships Nicaragua

Ricardo Terán Terán -- Co-founder and Managing Partner

Prior to co-founding Agora Partnerships, Ricardo started a number of successful businesses including Teranet, a satellite communications company, Portal Americas, the country’s first web portal and the Nicaraguan operations of LOLITA, a women’s clothing store franchise. Ricardo is founder of the Nicaraguan Young Entrepreneurs Association and has worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. In addition, Ricardo is an Aspen Institute Fellow for the Central American Leadership Initiative an was a finalists for the Aspen's Institute's McNulty Prize. He holds a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Paul Davidson -- Operations Manager

Paul spent nine years in manufacturing and marketing in the United States and France before turning his attention to small and medium-sized enterprise development in Nicaragua in 1997. He has also carried out shorter development missions in Senegal, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Paul has worked for General Electric, the U.S. Peace Corps and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University and an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Alejandro Solís -- Finance Manager / Enterprise Development Manager

Alejandro graduated from the University of Essex in England where he obtained a Masters degree in General Economics and has extensive experience in finance. Before joining Agora Nicaragua, Alejandro was the Finance Manager at Lácteos Centroamérica and the Finance Director of the Nicaraguan Customs Service.

Lissette Cuadra -- Business Services Coordinator

Lissette graduated from the Catholic University (UNICA), where she obtained a degree in Business Administration with concentration in Marketing and has taken specialized courses in this area.  She has two years of experience in logistic, operations, marketing and organizational management working as Administrative Assistant for LOLITA of Nicaragua, a franchise of boutiques focused on women clothing and also worked for Mercadeo Empresarial, S.A., a regional project initiative that unites the national universities with the private companies in Nicaragua.

Terioska Guillen -- Executive Assistant

Terioska graduated from the Nicaraguan National Autonomous University (UNAN-León), from Management of Touristic Enterprises. She also has post-graduate studies in Tourism and Sustainable Development. She worked for 5 years in the León’s City Hall as Coordinator of various projects in touristic development and strategic planning with the Cordoba, Spain, state City Hall. Before joining Agora, she worked for Leon 2000 Foundation in a Local Employment Initiative as a Marketing Monitoring Technique from the local Barcelona Project.

For a list of summer associates and interns, please click here