Steering Committee

Dr. Idah Sithole-Niang
Chair, representing Southern Africa
Dr. Sithole-Niang is a Professor of Molecular Biology and Virology at the University of Zimbabwe. She serves as the Technical Advisor for sub-Saharan Africa in the Program for Biosafety Systems, and co-coordinates the Network for Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa. She is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, and a member of the Rhodes Scholarships Selection Committee, the Partnership to End Hunger in Africa, and the Research Council of Zimbabwe. Dr. Sithole-Niang holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Michigan State University.

Dr. Samuel Bruce-Oliver, Vice Chair
representing CGIAR
Dr. Bruce-Oliver is Advisor to the Director General of the Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice), providing administrative and research management backstopping and advice. He brings more than 25 years of combined experience in agricultural research and development, and science and technology. As a National Agriculture Research System Senior Visiting Fellow at the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, Dr. Bruce-Oliver was responsible for strategic thinking and advocacy in opening national agricultural research systems to participation of other partners. From 1997 to 2002, he served as Director General of the National Agricultural Research Institute of the Gambia, providing leadership in agricultural research and development nationally and in the sub-region. He has also served as Vice-Chair of CORAF/WECARD and a Board member of the International Trypanotolerance Centre. Dr. Bruce-Oliver holds a PhD and an M.S. in Entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Florida, Gainesville, U.S.A.

Dr. Segenet Kelemu
representing East Africa
Dr. Kelemu, an Ethiopian citizen, has served since August 2007 as the Director of Biosciences eastern central Africa (BecA), which is hosted and managed by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. She is a molecular plant pathologist with extensive experience in molecular determinants of host-pathogen interactions; development of novel strategies for controlling plant disease, including transgenics and biopesticides; pathogen population genetics and dynamics; and endophytic microbes and their role in plant development. Dr. Kelemu is a natural teacher and has supervised and mentored numerous BSc, MSc, and PhD students. Prior to joining the BecA-ILRI hub, she worked with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture as the leader of Crop and Agroecosystem Health Management. Through her leadership, she is helping to foster the next generation’s scientific community in eastern and central Africa, and beyond. Dr. Kelemu holds a PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology from Kansas State University.


Haven D. Ley
representing Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Ms. Ley is a Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and oversees its relations with AWARD.  Haven previously worked for the Environmental and Social Assessment group at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where she helped to develop and implement the comprehensive and lauded MCC Gender Policy. She also worked on several gender, rural development, and economic competitiveness USAID programs with Chemonics International, notably in Albania, Mongolia, and southern Africa. Ms. Ley holds an MSc in Gender and Economic Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.


Dr. Peter Matlon
serving as Senior Advisor
Until recently, Dr. Matlon was Managing Director for the Rockefeller Foundation, based in Kenya, providing oversight and support to the foundation’s agriculture, education, and health initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. He has extensive senior leadership experience in agricultural development, and served as Interim President of Programs for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Prior, he was at the United Nations Development Program in New York and Director of Research at the West Africa Rice Development Association in Côte d’Ivoire. Dr. Matlon holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.

Dr. Zenda Ofir
Expert Advisor to the Steering Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation
Dr. Ofir, a South African citizen, provides expert oversight and guidance to AWARD’s M&E activities. She was formerly the Director of Research at the University of Pretoria and has been a full-time international development evaluation specialist for the past decade. She has worked in more than 40 countries in Africa and Asia for more than 30 major national, bilateral, and multilateral clients. Dr. Ofir is a past President of the African Evaluation Association and was the first member of the Board of the American Evaluation Association living outside the U.S.A. She has also served as an expert on many international evaluation advisory committees of organizations and institutions, including CGIAR, IFAD, GAVI, UNEG/OECD, DAC, NONIE, and the Rockefeller Foundation.



Dr. Meredith Soule
representing United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Dr. Soule is the Acting Director of Research at USAID’s Food Security Bureau. She supports USAID’s work in agriculture and food security, with an emphasis on agricultural research and the work of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Much of her work focuses on Africa and issues of gender in agriculture. She previously worked as an agricultural economist at the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya and at the USDA’s Economic Research Service. She helped develop the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program for Women in Science. Dr. Soule holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.


Vicki Wilde
serving as Steering Committee secretary
Vicki is Director of the CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program and AWARD. She is known internationally for her expertise in gender and diversity issues in agricultural development. Before joining the CGIAR in 1999, she worked with local communities in Asia and Africa for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Vicki holds an MA in Environmental Psychology from the City University of New York, and a BA in Social Ecology from the University of California.

Dr. Stella Williams
representing West Africa
Dr. Williams is a retired Professor of Agricultural Economics at Obafemi-Awolowo University in Nigeria, and an experienced and internationally respected educator, activist, and social scientist. As a fisheries economist with expertise in agricultural development and policy, she has been involved in major initiatives on fisheries and poverty reduction in Africa. She has advocated fisheries and aquaculture policy initiatives for the poor at the highest levels of policy making. Dr. Williams holds a PhD in Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture from Auburn University and is a former Fulbright Scholar.