October 3, 2024 (WASHINGTON) – The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) is excited to announce the selection of Lori Groves Rowley, Managing Member of LGR Strategies, LLC, as its new Co-Chair, and Colin Christensen, Global Policy Director of the One Acre Fund, as its new Policy Working Group Co-Chair.
Rowley will be replacing Lester Munson, a Principal in International Practice at BGR Group, who is stepping down as Co-Chair after serving two three-year terms. She joins Larry Nowels and Ritu Sharma as the other two Co-Chairs.
Lori is a long-time and active member of MFAN. Prior to her new role as Co-Chair, Lori served as one of three Co-Chairs of the Policy Working Group, where she chairs MFAN’s Accountability and Transparency Subgroup. Lori has nearly 20 years of senior leadership and committee experience on Capitol Hill, including as a Senior Professional Staff Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under the leadership of Ranking Member Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). Following the Senator’s departure from Congress in 2013, Lori joined him in opening The Lugar Center, where she served as the Director of its Foreign Aid Effectiveness and Global Food Security programs. Earlier in her career, she also served as the Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Chairman to Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), who chaired two House Appropriations Subcommittees. Lori holds a degree in International Politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and served as a Stennis Fellow on Capitol Hill.
Colin Christensen, One Acre Fund’s Global Policy Director, will assume Lori’s role as Working Group Co-Chair. He joins Jenny Russell, Senior Director of Development Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children, and Justin Fugle, Head of Policy at Plan International, as the other Co-Chairs.
Colin has spent his career with organizations committed to innovative, impact-focused approaches to international development. He has worked at One Acre Fund since 2015, first leading the Government Relations department based out of Kigali. In 2019, Colin assumed the role of Global Policy Director, tasked with helping to ensure that the pressing needs of Africa’s smallholder farmers are addressed comprehensively in policy and funding conversations outside the continent. Earlier in his career, Colin directed government relations for Bridge International Academies, which runs low-cost private schools in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Liberia. Additionally, he served as the Country Director for Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA) in Kenya. Colin holds a master’s degree in international development from Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas at Austin.
“It is a true honor to have been selected by MFAN’s members to serve as their new Co-Chair” said Rowley. “I continue to be inspired by their commitment to greater accountability, effectiveness, and sustainability of U.S. foreign assistance. I especially appreciate the work of my predecessors in this position including Les Munson and my former colleague and friend, Connie Veillette, whose vision for U.S. foreign aid leadership have helped guide me. At this time of multiple humanitarian and development challenges across the globe, I look forward to being a part of MFAN’s solutions for building more resilient societies with the greatest impact of U.S. taxpayer dollars,”
“The work of MFAN has never been more important,” Christensen said. “U.S. foreign assistance must be adapted to meet the pressing needs of this era, and support communities and partner governments around the world thrive despite a growing set of challenges. It's been a real privilege to represent One Acre Fund within MFAN for the last few years, exploring policy solutions to achieve this goal. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve in this new role and looking forward to working more with the other Co-Chairs and all of MFAN to advance our important mission over the coming years."
“Lori brings a tremendous amount of policy and political expertise to MFAN from her time working in senior positions in the House and Senate,” said Tod Preston, MFAN’s Executive Director. “She has been a key advisor and member of MFAN for several years, and I’m delighted she will be providing even more leadership in her new role as Co-Chair. I’m also very excited that Colin is taking on this leadership role with MFAN’s policy work. The One Acre Fund is a relatively new member of our coalition, but in that time Colin’s deep expertise and thought leadership has been a fantastic addition to our coalition.”
“I also want to thank Les Munson for helping lead MFAN over the last several years; MFAN is indebted to the many contributions Les has provided our coalition as co-chair,” Preston added. “Like Lori, his background in senior position on Capitol Hill has been incredibly valuable; I’m glad he will continue to be involved as a member of MFAN.”
MFAN is a bipartisan reform coalition composed of international development and foreign policy practitioners, policy advocates, and experts from the U.S. and Global South. It promotes more effective and accountable U.S. foreign assistance that advances American interests, delivering greater results for people in need and U.S. taxpayers.
