CATALPA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Software Engineer / Product Lead
Carlito is the official driver at our Timor-Leste office in Dili. When he's not driving people and materials around town so we can deliver our projects, he's busy using his quick thinking and life skills to deal with our mechanical messes. Just ask Minerva, who has had Carlito save her when her car broke down. She even got him to check her new car before she bought it, because he is the real deal when it comes to cars.
Along with Tetun, his native language, he is fluent in Bahasa and can hold a basic conversation in English. Especially if it is about cars.
Job Titles:
- Software Engineer
- Backend Engineer
Ona brings more than 15 years of experience in marketing, communication and knowledge management across the ICT, road infrastructure and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sectors.
She has worked for large organisations including Fiji Roads Authority and the Australia Pacific Training Coalition and oversees Catalpa's business development pipeline, seeking and facilitating opportunities to deliver positive impact through thoughtful, digitally-enabled programs.
Outside of work, Ona takes pleasure in the simple life and finds joy in reading, cooking, and spending time with her family. She speaks English, Fijian and Fiji Hindi, and is based in Suva.
One half of the original Catalpa start-up, David has over 15 years experience shaping and delivering programs that leverage design and technology to create lasting change. In fact, one of the earliest Catalpian programs David worked on has now seen more than 100,000 Timorese women connected with health professionals while pregnant.
David is passionate about locally embedded programs designed for long term sustainability, and as a result, has led the growth of the organisation to 70+ staff working out of 11 countries.
He frequently speaks about the value of leveraging creative approaches to solve complex development challenges. You can get a taste (and a new perspective on potato peelers) in his TEDx talk.
Paula coordinates Liga Inan, a program connecting women with health professionals for safer childbirth in Timor-Leste. Hers is a multifaceted role which involves maintaining close partnerships with government and health organisations, as well as program planning, management, training and reporting.
She is qualified in computer science, has worked in telecommunications and as a lecturer in multimedia and graphic design.
She speaks English, Tetun, Bahasa, and Fataluku, which is a language spoken by the Fataluku ethnic group in the eastern areas of Timor-Leste. On top of all that, she's a dedicated mum to three young kids.
Andrew is an expert in using edtech to create impact in development contexts. He has over 14 years experience in tech-for-development and has worked on projects across the Asia-Pacific including in Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, PNG, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. At Catalpa, he develops the training materials used on our learning platform Bero. On top of English, Andrew speaks Bislam, Tok Pisin, and a little French and Burmese. Outside of work he loves to scuba dive and bikepack, which is all-terrain cycling with a backpack full of all the gear one needs to survive. He once cycled from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.
Job Titles:
- Team Leader
- Education Specialist
Artila is an education specialist with over 15 years of experience in the sector. She is passionate about using technology to improve teaching and learning, and building impactful partnerships to drive change in developing education systems.
Paulo is a data analyst, ICT leader and system engineer. He has led successful projects in international development, non-profit, public administration and private sector including a number of digital transformation and data driven projects with various ministries of the Timor-Leste Government.
As Catalpa's Data Analyst, Paulo works across programs to surface and understand relevant information to drive informed decision making, and ultimately drive greater positive impact for our partners.
Paulo is based in Dili, and speaks Portuguese, English, Tetum and Spanish. When he's not transforming digital systems and understanding complex data, he applies his analytical skills to board game battles with his family.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator
Bri manages our District Information Management System program with the PNG Government. He works closely with government staff to manage data transfer and management within our custom built platform. He's also kept busy managing trips across the length and breadth of PNG as we work to roll out the platform to all 118 electoral districts in the country. Impressively, Bri speaks five languages: English, Tok Pisin, Bahasa, Motu - spoken by the Motuan ethnic group in PNG - and Hula, spoken in the village he is from. Outside of work, he is an international cricket umpire and has umpired in nine different countries so far!
Mose Mose is an information and communication technology professional passionate about what technology can do within the education and development sectors.
At Catalpa, Mose is our Samoa-based eLearning Specialist on the Pacific eLearning Program. He works with Samoan schools to implement technology which will assist with science learning for year 10 students.
When not at work, his tech skills are under demand - he offers his services as the sound technician of his church. His number one rule in life is simple, "If you're not enjoying what you're doing, STOP and try something else, because otherwise you're wasting your time".
Brian is a man of many talents, overseeing Catalpa's finances, operations, and human resources. He brings experience from huge development organisations including UNDP, World Vision, USAID and the Peace Corps, which have taken him across four continents and given him the opportunity to live in a range of locations including Ecuador, Uganda, and Vietnam. These days he lives and works in Timor-Leste. He is a native English speaker who also speaks Bahasa and just enough Solomon Island Pijin to get him in (or out of) trouble.
A woman of many talents, Rebekah has held roles ranging from environmental advisor to edtech start-up co-founder, to now Catalpa's elearning and country advisor in Papua New Guinea.
She is passionate about education for practical purposes and career building, especially for young people.
In her spare time she coaches women-led small businesses in PNG. She gets great satisfaction from seeing talented women succeed and provide more admirable examples for young girls in the country.
Job Titles:
- Team Leader, Bilum Program
17 years ago, a young Anders mused about the possibilities of digital technologies for improving lives. From a two-person start-up, he has overseen Catalpa's expansion across the Asia Pacific, working on programs that aim to create positive change through health, education, aid transparency, social protection and infrastructure project management.
Job Titles:
- ICT Consultant, Cook Islands
Pauna is a project officer with a demonstrated history of working in the civic and social organisation sectors.
As project officer on the DIRD program, Pauna works closely with our GoPNG partners to introduce, manage and administer the Service Improvement Program Management System and a District Information Management System (SIPMS & DIMS).
Pauna has a Bachelor of Sustainable Development and is driven by a desire to contribute to meaningful, long term nation building. He is based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Dan supports Cook Island schools and teachers participating in the Pacific eLearning Program through resourcing, training and tech know-how.
He has a background in project management (professionally and finely honed from parenting 3 small children) and desktop support in New Zealand and Cook Islands.
When he's not working, you'll find Dan in the pristine waters of Rarotonga. He loves anything to do with the water (especially sailing and diving) and in his own words, "I'm never lost, just adventuring."
Sonia leads the Hamahon project which helps victims of gender-based violence access support services in Timor-Leste.
She has extensive experience working on international development programs and in 2019 completed her Masters in Education and International Development, for which she received the Chevening scholarship.
Outside of work, she volunteers as the President of the Korean Government Scholarship Alumni Association, and supports the community where needed. In fact, Sonia and two colleagues raised $52,000 USD to support families during the 2021 floods in Timor-Leste.
Joana has over 10 years experience in information and communications technology and the telecommunications industry in both technical and administrative roles. As eLearning Specialist on the Pacific eLearning Program, Joana works with the Vanuatu Government and schools to implement the program that aims to change the way science is taught in the Pacific. Outside of work she loves to play tennis, watch movies, and to get her hands dirty in the garden. She is also passionate about almond ice cream, and wouldn't be TOO upset if it was the last food available on earth. She speaks English, Bislama and Raga (which is spoken on her home island).
Tanya makes sure things run smoothly in our Papua New Guinea office. She manages finance and logistics for the growing PNG team as they travel around the country implementing the District Information Management System program across all 111 electoral districts in the country.
She has previously worked in development program implementation and other administrative roles.
Tanya speaks English and Tok Pisin and loves music and singing. We also found out she is a big follower of Australian rugby league and a die hard Melbourne Storms fan!
Juliana oversees Catalpa's tech products used for programs, ensuring iterative improvements are filtered across projects, and that innovation remains a constant. Before Catalpa, she co-founded a music platform Musikki where she managed a creative team and honed her skills in product development, human centred design, and operations. After working in Spain and Portugal, Juliana moved to Timor to volunteer with a local NGO that supports entrepreneurship for women in remote areas. She loves to work in multicultural, challenging environments where she can learn from others. When she's not thinking tech, she's admiring the underwater world (she's a divemaster), driving a boat (also a boat skipper), or getting creative (...and has illustrated several children's books).
Vanessa is an experienced project officer supporting health and gender-based violence (GBV) programs in Timor-Leste.
As part of her role, she coordinates GBV training for health professionals. This training equips frontline workers to support and refer patients to the appropriate services in a timely and appropriate manner.
Vanessa has a naturally curious mind and enjoys sharing experiences and learning about others - which is probably what makes her so good at her job!
She has worked in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, where she is currently based. She speaks Tetum, English, and Indonesian.
As Product Lead, Junior drives best practice processes in tech product design, development and management. He coordinates our engineers, designers, project staff and external partners in the product development process. He is an experienced software engineer skilled in software architecture, management, databases, server administration and configuration and web technologies. Originating from Brazil, Junior moved to Timor-Leste in 2003 where he is now based. Though, true to his roots, his favourite food is still churrasco (Brazilian barbecue).
Job Titles:
- Head of Education & Gender
Kara's career has centred around technology in education with a particular focus on inequitable access to education and the gender gap in digital skills. Before joining Catalpa, she was a senior director at the New York City Department of Education where she led work with teacher training providers, universities, industry, and the community to achieve the ambitious goal of scaling computer science education to all 1.1 million NYC students by training 5,000 teachers. Kara's is known for her open and empathetic leadership style, and for placing focus on individualised professional and personal development for her team.
Keren is a highly experienced HR leader who has worked across the Pacific region including New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
She works closely with Catalpians to provide development opportunities, as well as attract and engage new colleagues for our passionate, kind, skilled team.
As Catalpa continues to grow, Keren will support the scaling of our great culture. She's driven by the opportunity to make people's working life better, even in small ways.
Outside of work, she's an enthusiastic All Blacks supporter with a green thumb. In between ferrying kids to extracurricular activities she helps coordinate a community food co-op.
Job Titles:
- Partnerships & Growth Manager
Grasinda is the administrative maestro of our Dili office, and has a special place in the Timor-Leste teams' hearts for always ensuring an ample supply of coffee is on hand.
When she's not working, Grasinda can be found with a book in hand and has become known for her deep love of reading. Among the many things she picks up from her books, she is using her passion for the written word to help her learn English. This will become her fourth spoken language, after Tetun, Bahasa and Mambae, the language spoken by the second largest ethnic group in Timor-Leste.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Program Manager, International Development
Mário joined Catalpa as a junior developer intern in 2015. He now provides critical tech support on the Liga Inan program, which connects pregnant women with health professionals for safer births in Timor-Leste.
He is involved in the development and testing of technology, training and capacity building of partner organisations and health providers, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
Mário speaks Tetun, Bahasa and English. He likes to balance learning and the lighter side of life, spending his spare time listening to motivational talks or chilling with a good comedy film.
Job Titles:
- HR Leader
- People & Culture Manager
Job Titles:
- Education Technology Manager
Ligia is a long standing Catalpian and has been integral to the smooth running of a number of our Timor-Leste based programs including Hamutuk and Eskola. Her background is in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and environmental management, though these days she's focused on the power of technology to make an impact in education and schools. She speaks native Tetun and Bahasa, as well as English and (almost fluent) Portuguese. In addition to improving education using innovation, she is passionate about reading, travelling, and providing a great life to her three children.
Noah works collaboratively to support the implementation and ongoing development of the Bilum Program and platform, a SIP-MS & DIMS in Papua New Guinea.
With a background in monitoring and evaluation and capacity development, he supports the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DIRD) through the development of competency frameworks and regular capacity building and skills development workshops.
M&E and capacity building are priority areas for the Bilum program as the program expands. It will eventually capture project and service data across all 118 electorates (22 provinces and 96 districts), totalling an estimated A$650 million per year.
Noah has worked with a range of sectors across international non-government organisations, UN agencies and government partners.
Lindon is our Vanuatu ICT Consultant on the Pacific eLearning Program, a project aiming to change the way science is taught in the Pacific. In this role Lindon delivers training, technology and learning content support to participating schools, and works closely with the Ministry of Education (which is great because he used to work there!). Lindon speaks English and Bislama. Outside of work he loves making music, eating ice cream, and hunting - though presumably not all at the same time!
Mose Mose is an information and communication technology professional passionate about what technology can do within the education and development sectors.
At Catalpa, Mose is our Samoa-based eLearning Specialist on the Pacific eLearning Program. He works with Samoan schools to implement technology which will assist with science learning for year 10 students.
When not at work, his tech skills are under demand - he offers his services as the sound technician of his church. His number one rule in life is simple, "If you're not enjoying what you're doing, STOP and try something else, because otherwise you're wasting your time".
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Coordinator
Amjad is a skilled software engineer with a background in designing and building measurement control and data acquisition systems. At Catalpa, he builds and maintains APIs and database models for the Jerasuan Foun project.
He has worked in Spain and Syria, and speaks Arabic, English and Spanish (and bits and pieces of French and Japanese). He holds a PhD in experimental physics.
Outside of his highly analytical work, he designs and builds furniture and lovingly cares for his five cats.
Known for her outstanding communications skills, Isabel is an experienced project coordinator and professional translator.
In her first program at Catalpa, she supported the delivery of a social protection program that delivered >$62million within 30 days, to more than 312,000 Timor-Leste households. She facilitated collaboration and effective ways of working between the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion and our product team as we worked together to develop a payment tracking system.
Outside of work Isabel has a penchant for good food and drink (in particular Manadonese cuisine, Argentinian wine and Timor-Leste's finest coffee).
Dickri is a frontend engineer based in Java, Indonesia. At Catalpa he uses his skills to build, test and deliver frontend applications, and is currently focused on the design and development of a new Management Information System (MIS) to support rural development in Timor-Leste.
With over 30 years experience in international program management across Australia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific, Karen is well equipped to work with our partners to increase the positive impact Catalpa can make in the region.
Karen has worked in health, community development, rural development and food security; water, sanitation and hygiene; education; gender equality; disability; law and justice; governance; civil society; child protection; child rights and humanitarian and emergency assistance.
Job Titles:
- Production Manager
- Specialist
Pedro is a specialist in production workflows with extensive experience in management, start-ups and technology. He works across all programs to ensure we are delivering our work efficiently.
Bringing more than 10 years experience in software development, Joshua is an expert in designing and building platforms to manage and visualise complex data. He has been key to the development of Openly - Catalpa's Aid Information Management System - which has been used to improve transparency and monitoring of the aid sector in Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, and Uzbekistan (so far).
As Operations Manager for the Pacific eLearning Program, Ruwel drives operational performance while maintaining a diligent overview of the programs' finances.
He has 14 years experience in accounting and finance, managing grants, financial reporting and working with international institutions including United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and SPC. He has supported operations and finance for initiatives in Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), The Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
Ruwel speaks English, Hindi and Fijian. He loves travelling and exploring new places to engage with different people. His sense of curiosity, adventure and connection makes him a great fit for Catalpa's diverse and dynamic team.
Nicole is a seasoned communicator with a background in journalism, media training and dispute resolution. She has 15 years experience in the humanitarian and development sector, having worked across Southern Africa, MENA and Southeast Asia.
Rosalinda is a communications specialist skilled in written, visual and verbal communication. Her ability to write and refine impactful messages and short form content contributes to engaging microlearning, mobile learning courses through our platform, Bero.
As eLearning Officer, Rosalinda works closely with our education program teams and supports product design, feedback, and documentation, learning design and content creation and learner support.In another life, she would have pursued a career as an electrician, or a dancer - showing the true range of her skills and interests! Rosalinda is based in Brisbane, Australia.
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist
- ELearning Officer
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager
- Operations Manager for the Pacific ELearning Program
Roberto has over 30 years experience in information technology. This wealth of experience means he has seen more than most, which might also be why he is so passionate about inbuilding robust software development lifecycle practises and contingency planning for when unexpected things happen.
He currently works primarily on Catalpa's Liga Inan mHealth project, which connects pregnant women with health professionals for safer births.
When he's not coding, he likes to explore and build machine learning tools (sounds relaxing, doesn't it!). He speaks Italian, English and is learning Japanese.
A qualified accountant, Sara plays the important role of managing finances at Catalpa both internally and for our programs across the Asia Pacific region. She has worked within the development sector for over 5 years, and prior worked for Deloitte, one of the world's largest accounting firms. Sara speaks native Tetun and English, and is a talented home baker (to which those in the Timor -Leste office can attest). She enjoys staying active with regular Zumba classes.
Before moving into the development sector in 2021, Christine held senior PNG Government roles with the Department of Provincial and Local Government Affairs under the Provincial & Local Level Services Monitoring Authority (PLLSMA) Secretariat.
This experience with coordination and oversight of service delivery to various levels of government equips her for her role overseeing the delivery of the DIRD program throughout Papua New Guinea's 118 electorates.
She's passionate about translating government policies and strategies into programs and projects with targeted tangible results.
A keen gardener and mother of four, Christine has a future dream of developing a children's holiday program that combines farm life with early childhood learning to assist young children to learn good principles, morals and values.
Sharon supports the ongoing development and strengthening of our programs with a focus on improved quality systems and processes for program management.
She brings 15+ years experience in international development and humanitarian aid across a wide range of contexts, predominantly related to protracted displacement in the Middle East and Africa, and the agriculture sector in Papua New Guinea.
Sarah has over 15 years experience in international education and development specialising in the implementation of complex, multi-country development projects. As Team Leader in Education Sarah leads a number of education initiatives at Catalpa including ACIAR Learn and Kumul Helt Skul. Prior to joining us, she held a number of leadership roles on Australia Awards investments in South and West Asia, the Pacific and Mongolia. As well as English she can find her way around in French - importantly, she knows how to ask for the nearest chocolate shop. Sarah will always have a book recommendation handy for anyone she meets - get in touch and ask her!
Juliet is an edtech professional, who previously worked as webmaster and moodle administrator for Solomon Islands National University.
Her skills, together with a passion for the development of her Solomon Islands home, make her one of our outstanding eLearning Specialists on the Pacific eLearning Program, a project aimed at changing the way science is taught in the Pacific.
Juliet loves her family and describes her favourite pastime as having a good laugh! If you need her, you'll find her hanging out with friends cracking jokes. She speaks English, Solomon Islands Pidgin and Cheke Holo, her mother tongue.
As a Software Engineer and Product Lead at Catalpa, Alessandro applies his technical skills to create products focused on creating social impact. He is currently leading the product design and development for Hamahon, a program and mobile app designed to help victims of gender-based violence access essential services .
Sérgio is a front-end engineer, which means he works hard to ensure Catalpa's technology solutions have interfaces that are intuitive, beautiful, and meet the specific needs of the user. He has worked on a huge number of Catalpa programs across governance and transparency, health, education and nutrition sectors. He has experience in Portugal, United Kingdom and Timor-Leste, where he is currently based. Impressively, he speaks his native Portuguese, as well as fluent English, Spanish and Tetun.
Renon is an experienced and passionate IT professional who, prior to joining us, worked with Samoa's Ministry of Finance for 14 years. She says taking the leap into remote working with an international not-for-profit was a bit scary, but a risk she's so glad she took (we couldn't agree more!).
At Catalpa, she is our Samoan ICT Consultant on the Pacific eLearning Program, which aims to change the way science is taught in the Pacific. She works closely with the Ministry of Education, and delivers training, technology and learning content support to schools.
In recent years she's grown to love soccer thanks to her children. These days, most of her free time is spent managing the Premier Women's Team for Lupe o le Soaga Soccer Club.
Peter leads all things engineering and software development at Catalpa. He has over 15 years experience in global organisations including Microsoft and Lionhead Studios, and wrote much of the original code for Openly, Catalpa's powerful information management system.
Peter sets the standard for how we build technology solutions for social good. He works across all programs managing and mentoring our diverse software development team spread across a number of continents.
Peter is now based in Timor-Leste, and has also worked in Myanmar, Uzbekistan and the UK. He speaks English and Tetun.
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Operations Officer
Kate is a seasoned leader with over 15 years experience implementing, designing and evaluating large international development programs in the Asia Pacific region - including senior management roles on the A$60 million Solomon Islands Resource Facility (SIRF), A$60 million Cambodia Australia Agricultural Value Chain Program and A$96 Million RAMSI Governance Support Facility.
As Catalpa's Program Manager she supports implementing program teams, as well as supporting effective program management, continuous improvement and standardisation across our portfolio of projects.
Kate has worked in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Vanuatu, Timor Leste, Myanmar, Mongolia, Vietnam and Australia. These days she's based in Perth, Western Australia where she spends her down time in and around the ocean.
Job Titles:
- Project Officer
- Gender Based Violence Project Officer
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Software Engineer
- Expert
Wicher is an expert software engineer who, since joining the team in 2016, has worked to extend Catalpa's technology portfolio.
Niko joined Catalpa in 2015 as a junior developer intern. Two years on, he joined our Timor-Leste team full time and since then has supported programs spanning education, health, cash transfer and roads management.
In addition to his coding skills, Niko has developed user manuals, training materials and provided training for our programs, all of which contribute to the ongoing sustainability and maintenance of programs.
Niko speaks Tetun, English, Bahasa, and a number of programming languages. He loves to stay fit and active, and often heads away for weekends with friends.