Our People
Alison Thornburn
Alison worked for fifteen years in banking and financial services in the UK and Australia, before transitioning to a career in international development, specialising in in GEDSI (Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion) and financial inclusion. She managed a 4-year project by Good Return and Chamroeun Microfinance Plc to advance access to finance for people with disabilities in Cambodia.
Her experience also includes acting CFO and advisor for AMK Microfinance PLC, financial management mentor to the Persons With Disabilities Foundation, and a number of independent consultancies in Cambodia. Alison holds a BSC in Management Studies and a Master of Development Studies.
Clara has been working in the development and humanitarian NGO sector in Luxembourg for over ten years. Starting off at ADA Luxembourg in 2011, she spent 7 years working on capacity-building for microfinance associations and networks, on topics such as financial transparency, social performance and risk management in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.
She then went on to work as a desk officer managing humanitarian projects at the Luxembourg Red Cross. In 2021, she joined Handicap International Luxembourg, working mostly on projects focused on improving the lives of people with disabilities.
Clara Bretin
Paul Surreaux
Paul has held multiple positions in the financial inclusion sector since 2009, from project manager, investment officer and trainer at ADA Luxembourg to Head of Credit Plus at Chamroeun Microfinance Plc in Cambodia, a business unit addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.
Since 2017 he has contributed to the design and implementation of projects to advance people with disabilities’ access to financial services in Cambodia and Myanmar. Paul holds a master’s degree from the European Microfinance Program at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He is based in El Salvador and is fluent in English, Spanish and French.
Shashaank is the co-founder of v-shesh, an award-winning impact enterprise listed on Global Diversity List (supported by The Economist) and recipient of the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities by the President of India. Shashaank has also co-founded Ally Venture Capital, which has launched a unique venture capital fund focussed on disability inclusion in Asia and Africa. He has served as a member of the committee for inclusive education policy at National Institute of Open Schooling, India and is also a visiting faculty and member of ethics review committee at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM).
Shashaank Awasthi