Sylvia Mathews Burwell
President, Global Development Program

As president of the Global Development Program, Sylvia Mathews Burwell leads four areas of grantmaking: Global Libraries, Financial Services for the Poor, Agricultural Development, and Special Initiatives. Burwell also oversees advocacy activities for the Global Development Program. Burwell is part of the executive management team. She joined the foundation in 2001 as executive vice president and served as chief operating officer and executive director from 2002 to April 2006.

Before joining the foundation, Burwell served in the Clinton administration as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, assistant to the president, deputy chief of staff to the president, and chief of staff to secretary of the treasury, Robert E. Rubin. Before joining the federal government, Burwell worked for McKinsey and Company, a management consulting firm, where she focused on consulting for financial institutions. Burwell is a graduate of Harvard University and is a Rhodes Scholar. She serves on the Board of Directors for MetLife Inc. and the Governing Council of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. She hails from Hinton, West Virginia.

Bob Christen
Director, Financial Services for the Poor

Bob Christen is director of the foundation's Financial Services for the Poor initiative. For 25 years, Christen provided microfinance services in 40 countries. He organized several microfinance institutions and has served as an advisor to commercial banks, governments, and international organizations.

Christen founded and remains president of the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, which serves 2500 alumni from more than 135 countries. He also founded the MicroBanking Bulletin, which reports on the performance of 200 microfinance institutions.

Before joining the Boulder Institute of Microfinance, Christen worked for the World Bank for six years as senior advisor to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest.

Christen received his bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Beloit College and later obtained a certificate of graduate studies in regional planning from Syracuse University. He also holds a master's degree in agricultural economics and development finance from Ohio State University.

Charles Lyons
Director of Special Initiatives, Global Development

Charles (Chip) Lyons is director of special initiatives in the foundation's Global Development Program. Prior to joining the foundation, Lyons held several positions for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), including program officer, UNICEF Mozambique, chief of staff at UNICEF headquarters, and president and chief executive operating officer of the U.S. Fund.

Lyons has worked closely with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and served on the board and executive committee of the GAVI Fund, chairing the executive committee from 2004 to 2006.

Lyons is a member of the HIV Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch and was a co-chair of the Board of Rugmark, USA. He studied political economy at the New School for Social Research in New York and holds a bachelor's degree from Carleton College in Minnesota.

Rajiv J. Shah, M.D.
Director, Agricultural Development

Dr. Rajiv Shah manages the foundation's Agricultural Development program, including grantmaking portfolios in science and technology, agricultural productivity, market access, and policy and statistics. Shah previously served as the foundation's director of Strategic Opportunities and as deputy director of policy and finance for the Global Health Program. In these roles, he helped develop and launch the foundation's Global Development Program and the International Finance Facility for Immunization—an effort that raised more than $5 billion for child immunization.

Prior to joining the foundation in 2001, Shah was the health care policy advisor on the Gore 2000 presidential campaign and a member of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's transition committee on health. He is the co-founder of Health Systems Analytics and Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans. In addition, he has served as a policy aide in the British Parliament and worked at the World Health Organization. Currently, Shah serves on the boards of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Community College District.

Shah earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his M.S. in health economics at the Wharton School of Business. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the London School of Economics and has published articles on health policy and global development. In 2007, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Mark Suzman
Director of Policy and Advocacy, Global Development Program

Mark Suzman serves as director of policy and advocacy for the foundation's Global Development Program. From 2005 to 2007, Suzman was the senior advisor for Policy and Strategic Communications in the Office of the Secretary General at the United Nations (U.N.). From 2000 to 2005, Suzman served within the United Nations Development Program as policy director in the Office of the Administrator. Prior to working for the U.N., he was a correspondent for the Financial Times in Johannesburg, London, and Washington, D.C.

Suzman holds a doctorate in International Relations from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He earned his bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) from Harvard University. Suzman is a citizen of South Africa.