Obama to nominate Mensah for undersecretary for rural development
May 08, 2014 | 08:36 PM
President Barack Obama today announced his intention to nominate Lisa Mensah as Agriculture undersecretary for rural development.
Mensah is the executive director of the Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute, a position she has held since December 2002.
Earlier, she worked at the Ford Foundation in a variety of roles, including deputy director of the Economic Development Unit from 1996 to 2002, deputy director of the Rural Poverty and Resources Program from 1991 to 1996, and program officer from 1989 to 1991.
Lisa Mensah
According to her biographical entry on the Aspen Institute website, Mensah “is an expert in using financial tools to improve the economic security of the working poor” and “leads a team of financial security experts who study the financial products and public policy solutions that help build wealth from birth to retirement for America's working families.”
According to another Aspen Institute entry, Mensah “founded Aspen IFS in 2003 and recruited an advisory board of corporate CEOs and economic development experts to design non-partisan recommendations for expanding savings incentives and developing new financial products. In 2009, Mensah moved Aspen IFS from New York City to Washington, D.C., and has established Aspen IFS as the central convener of top stakeholders on retirement security, financial reform, tax reform, and fiscal reform issues.”
“Under Mensah’s leadership, Aspen IFS leads high-level meetings, congressional briefings, roundtables, and off-sites that frame critical topics, examine new evidence, propose innovative ideas, and reveal areas of consensus and discord to play an unparalleled role in transforming national policy discussions.”
“Mensah also has testified before Congress, writes publications and briefs senior-level policymakers, financial industry executives, consumer advocates, and the media on policy developments that encourage particularly lower- and middle-income Americans to build wealth.”
At Ford, according to the Aspen Institute website, Mensah “led the foundation’s work in microfinance and women’s economic development. She became the leading national funder of individual development accounts (IDAs) — an innovative savings account structured with matching incentives and personal financial training used to finance homeownership, entrepreneurship and education.”
“Under Ms. Mensah’s leadership, IDAs grew from an experiment at a handful of sites to become a tool used by hundreds of community organizations in all 50 states."”
She is board chair of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a board member of the Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund, in Allston, Mass., and of HOPE Enterprise Corporation, in Jackson, Miss.
From 1986 to 1989, she was a Citibank North America account officer in the corporate finance analysis division and assistant manager in the Europe/Middle East/Africa banking group.
She was an economics teacher and assistant to the directors of the Governor’s School of New Jersey on public issues from 1985 to 1986.
Mensah received a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University and an master of arts degree from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.
Mensah, if confirmed, would succeed Dallas Tonsager, who resigned last year.
Mensah is the executive director of the Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute, a position she has held since December 2002.
Earlier, she worked at the Ford Foundation in a variety of roles, including deputy director of the Economic Development Unit from 1996 to 2002, deputy director of the Rural Poverty and Resources Program from 1991 to 1996, and program officer from 1989 to 1991.
According to her biographical entry on the Aspen Institute website, Mensah “is an expert in using financial tools to improve the economic security of the working poor” and “leads a team of financial security experts who study the financial products and public policy solutions that help build wealth from birth to retirement for America's working families.”
According to another Aspen Institute entry, Mensah “founded Aspen IFS in 2003 and recruited an advisory board of corporate CEOs and economic development experts to design non-partisan recommendations for expanding savings incentives and developing new financial products. In 2009, Mensah moved Aspen IFS from New York City to Washington, D.C., and has established Aspen IFS as the central convener of top stakeholders on retirement security, financial reform, tax reform, and fiscal reform issues.”
“Under Mensah’s leadership, Aspen IFS leads high-level meetings, congressional briefings, roundtables, and off-sites that frame critical topics, examine new evidence, propose innovative ideas, and reveal areas of consensus and discord to play an unparalleled role in transforming national policy discussions.”
“Mensah also has testified before Congress, writes publications and briefs senior-level policymakers, financial industry executives, consumer advocates, and the media on policy developments that encourage particularly lower- and middle-income Americans to build wealth.”
At Ford, according to the Aspen Institute website, Mensah “led the foundation’s work in microfinance and women’s economic development. She became the leading national funder of individual development accounts (IDAs) — an innovative savings account structured with matching incentives and personal financial training used to finance homeownership, entrepreneurship and education.”
“Under Ms. Mensah’s leadership, IDAs grew from an experiment at a handful of sites to become a tool used by hundreds of community organizations in all 50 states."”
She is board chair of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a board member of the Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund, in Allston, Mass., and of HOPE Enterprise Corporation, in Jackson, Miss.
From 1986 to 1989, she was a Citibank North America account officer in the corporate finance analysis division and assistant manager in the Europe/Middle East/Africa banking group.
She was an economics teacher and assistant to the directors of the Governor’s School of New Jersey on public issues from 1985 to 1986.
Mensah received a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University and an master of arts degree from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University.
Mensah, if confirmed, would succeed Dallas Tonsager, who resigned last year.
