CID Graduate Student Lunch Seminar

"Milestones and Measurement: Assessing the Social Performance of Microfinance Institutions"

Speaker: Katie Torrington, Research Coordinator, Policy and Technical Assistance Department, FINCA International

Friday, 2 February 2007
11:45 AM - 1:00 PM, Lunch served
Perkins Room, 4th Floor, Rubenstein Building, KSG

Biography:

Working within the Executive Department, Katherine Torrington serves as Research and Customer Relationship Manager at FINCA International (the Foundation for International Community Assistance). Ms. Torrington is responsible for overall management and supervision of program outreach, assessment, and the use of client data to improve product design at FINCA’s Washington, DC Headquarters and 21 country programs. She also supports field initiatives on social performance and customer relationship management. Ms. Torrington organizes FINCA’s annual From Field to Function research symposium which recognizes outstanding graduate research in the area of microfinance. She serves on the SEEP Network’s Poverty Outreach Working Group and is a member of CGAP’s Social Performance Task Force.

Prior to joining FINCA, Ms. Torrington worked with the Caribbean Project to develop trade networks, technical capacity and marketing materials among micro-entrepreneurs in Haiti and the Windward Islands. An Alumnus of FINCA’s Client Assessment Fellowship, she spent the summer of 2005 conducting interviews with FINCA clients in Guatemala and Nicaragua. Ms. Torrington has also worked extensively with FINCA’s programs in Tanzania and Mexico. She holds a Masters degree in International Development from American University (with an emphasis in Management and Microfinance) where her thesis focused on the empowerment of microfinance clients. In addition to her graduate work, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Redlands with a minor in Race and Ethnic Studies.