As a director on the beneficial technology team, Thea leads policy, advocacy, and investments that support digital forms of identification including privacy, user value and control, and security.
She brings 18 years of experience to the firm as a development practitioner in inclusive economies, market development, and thought leadership, with a focus on frontier and fragile markets.
Prior to joining Omidyar Network, Thea worked at Mercy Corps, where she last served as global lead for frontier finance, working to accelerate the delivery of viable business models to reach forcibly displaced populations through inclusive digital economies. During her seven years at Mercy Corps, she also served as director for financial inclusion and senior advisor for economic and market systems development working across East Africa, West Africa, Middle East, and South East Asia with a focus on conflict-affected and politically complex environments.
Prior to Mercy Corps, Thea worked at the Development Innovations Group as an associate director. Based in Lebanon, she led the financial services for the poor initiative across the Middle East and East Africa. She began her career at Global Communities, including two years in Iraq launching economic development and financial services initiatives.
Thea earned an MBA from University of Oxford with distinction and a Master of Education from Harvard University in international policy. She received her B.A. from Guilford College in anthropology and women’s studies.