Clara Lipson has 20+ years experience in financial services, international development and nonprofit management. Following a career in corporate banking, Clara worked on financial sector reform in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as microenterprise development in Nepal and Mongolia, and designed a microloan program in Malawi. She has worked at USAID and UNDP. More recently Clara has been consulting to community development organizations in the NY area and currently sits on the Advisory Board of Pro Mujer and on the Steering Committee of WAM-NY. Through her work and travels, Clara has experienced the dire living conditions of the world's poor and is passionate about microfinance as a means of offering critical support to these populations in order to survive and thrive.