We are a coalition of disruptors focused on bringing our unique specialties together to create a thriving world.
We know we can’t do the work alone - that’s why our team includes our marketplace partners, interns, board of directors, partner non-profits, donors, volunteers, and community leaders.
Our team
Our team is the catalyst that orchestrates the good brought by our broader coalition. We are a passionate group who have centered our lives on solving the world's biggest problems. Our decades of combined international experience working in startups, government, corporate philanthropy, international development, strategic communications, and higher education uniquely allow us to serve as original innovators in the anti-poverty space and unifiers of our talented network of highly specialized partners.
Mike Mannina
Co-Founder & CEO
Lara Lynn Sturgess
VP of Operations
Jonathan Dreiling
Director of Latin America Programs
Melissa Dessaigne
Strategic Advisor
Christophe Dessaigne
Strategic Advisor
Gabriela Ureña Valverde
Community Relations & Logistics
Costa Rica
Franklin Tórrez-Ruiz
Country Manager
Costa Rica
Devin Forbus
Creative Advisor
Claire DeCastro
Innovation Fellow
Scott Ashmore
Communications
Carrie Escamilla
Bookkeeper
Board of directors
Michael Jones
Founder & CEO, Thrive Farmers
Ken Lander
Founder & CSO, Thrive Farmers
Jay Hein
President, The Sagamore Institute
Mike Mannina
Co-Founder & CEO, ThriveWorx
Interns
Our interns are part of our family. They propel us forward, and we in turn develop, train, teach, and propel them forward in their careers. Once a member of the family, always family - no matter where the world may take them.
We are
Purposeful
Innovative
Thoughtful
Implementors
Strategists
Connectors
Synergists
We stand for
Human flourishing
Collective impact
Local empowerment
Sustainable solutions
Inclusive economies
Integrated development
We avoid
Prescribed solutions
Inefficiencies
Silos
Mediocrity
Our structure
We're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit private operating foundation with an intentionally small, multi-disciplined team focused on designing poverty solutions and harnessing the talents of stakeholders to fulfill the mission. By leveraging the reach of others, we remain streamlined and only require minimal resources.
Disrupt with us
Do you get excited about solving the world's biggest problems? Are you passionate about helping the world's poorest populations? Do you want to be part of a movement that's truly changing the world? If this sounds like you, you should become a disruptor.