Maryanna Abdo is the Managing Director of CEI. Mary has lived in Asia since 2012, supporting organisations to develop strategies and capture innovations that maximise impact across more than 25 countries. Her clients have included governments, foundations, impact investors, non-profits, multilateral donors, and educational institutions.

Previously, Mary was with global strategy house L.E.K. Consulting, where she was a Senior Manager and founding member of the firm’s global education practice. She was previously Vice President at EY-Parthenon. In both institutions she led the education team’s work with public and social impact clients, while also developing thought leadership initiatives, authoring major reports for USAID, DFID, World Bank Group, Qatar Foundation, and Jacobs Foundation, among others.

Before joining Parthenon in Mumbai in 2012, Mary was a manager at the Young Foundation, a social innovation think-and-do-tank in London. She holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she was a Pforzheimer Fellow in Non-Profit Management, and a Master from the College of Europe, which she attended as a Fulbright Fellow. She has a Bachelor degree summa cum laude from the University of Southern California, which she attended as a Trustee Scholar.

In her role with CEI, Mary supports clients to maximise the impact of the programs they fund. She leads strategic projects within CEI that enable the organisation’s growth and impact.

Vanessa Rose, PhD, is a research psychologist with substantial experience developing and evaluating evidence-based programs implemented within health and human services. She previously led a program of work at the University of NSW focused on improving the lives of children, families and communities facing adversity, establishing a community-based research centre to bridge the gap between research-practice and research-users. Vanessa has also led work in NSW government developing an evidence-informed framework to establish shared outcomes across agencies and improve the wellbeing of vulnerable populations. Her background includes child psychological assessment, managing a community health centre and teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in health inequalities, health promotion and research methodology.

In her role with CEI, Vanessa is responsible for a portfolio of evaluation projects. These include large-scale, whole-sector evaluations using robust methodologies to measure outcomes and assist government and other policy agencies in decision-making for future investment.