Mercy Corps Welcomes Four New Board Directors

PORTLAND, Ore.  —  The global organization Mercy Corps has welcomed four new Board Directors to help oversee and guide the organization’s strategic direction and overall activities. Together Mercy Corps’ Global, Europe and Netherlands Boards ensure the nonprofit organization adheres to its charitable purposes and mission, guide major strategic decisions and policies, and provide accountability and proper management. 

The four new Directors will succeed seven Directors leaving the Mercy Corps Board: Debu Purkayastha, Mark Gordon, Roberto Bocca, David Mahoney, Tom Murray, Allen S. Grossman and Linda Mason.

“I am thrilled to welcome four new Board Directors who bring a wealth of experience and diverse perspectives from vastly different backgrounds and regions,” says Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corps. “I am also incredibly grateful for our seven departing Board Directors for their years of service and dedication to help Mercy Corps achieve our mission to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.”

Joining Mercy Corps’ Global Board of Directors:

• Melanie Armstrong is a retired PwC partner with 18 years of experience at the partner and C-Suite level, and led PwC’s (now Guidehouse’s) U.S. International Development practice focused on social impact. She began her career as an auditor and is the founder and owner of ThroughLine Consultants, where she uses genetic genealogy to generate investigative leads that help law enforcement close cold cases. Melanie is a CPA and holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.  

Joining Mercy Corps’ Europe Board of Directors:

• Kendi Ntwiga is the Country Leader at Microsoft Kenya and has over 16 years of experience crafting, leading and implementing business strategies for technology companies across Sub-Saharan Africa, including HP, Oracle, Intel and Check Point. She is the founder of She-Goes-Tech, an initiative that started in Kenya and encourages girls to pursue careers in STEM. Kendi has a degree in International Business Management from Africa Nazarene University, is a Santander African Women Foundation Fellow and studied entrepreneurial leadership at Babson College.
• Lesley Ndlovu is the CEO of the African Risk Capacity “ARC” Ltd., a specialist insurance company that provides insurance coverage to African countries for extreme weather events and natural disasters. Lesley has held senior management roles in insurance and asset management with the AXA Group in London, Paris and Singapore, including as CEO of a Lloyd’s of London insurance syndicate, Head of Corporate Development for AXA Global Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer for AXA Singapore. He is a graduate of Christ Church, University of Oxford in England and INSEAD in France.
• Alan Hartley is a chartered accountant and spent over 30 years working with KPMG, including 20 years as a partner. He is currently chairman of Mactaggart & Mickel Ltd, a Scottish house building and property owning group, and is also a member of the audit and risk committees of several local and national charities in Scotland as well as chairman of two defined benefit pension schemes. He has been a professional motorcycle racer and also holds UK and U.S. pilot licenses.