President & CEO CEDPA
Yolonda C. Richardson

Board Members
Cheri Alexander is the President of General Motors University and Executive Director of Global Human Resources for General Motors Corporation. She oversees training and development as well as the functional HR processes and systems that are used across the world. In her thirty one years of successful HR management and labor relations experience, Cheri has lived and worked in four countries and on three continents and has been responsible for all personnel outside of North America, visiting operations in 41 countries. Her work is highlighted in two books. In collaboration with her union counterpart, she authored the first European-wide Corporate Code of Conduct, based on the Global Sullivan Principles, protecting worker's health and safety and preventing the exploitation of children. A native of Detroit, MI she received her Bachelors in Zoology and Physiological Acoustics and her Masters in Industrial Health Engineering (Industrial Hygiene) from the University of Michigan. Thereafter, Ms. Alexander won the Alfred P. Sloan fellowship and completed her Masters in Business Administration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her thesis concentrated on the relocation of dislocated automobile workers.

The Honorable Phoebe M. Asiyo is the Commissioner of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, the Chairperson of Kenya’s Women’s Political Caucus, a member of Parliamentarians for Global Action and serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Hon. Asiyo served as a member of parliament in Kenya representing Karachuonyo from 1979 to 1997. During her tenure, she was a vocal and ardent supporter of the extension of rights to women and advocated for full political participation for women. From 1970 to 1975, she was appointed as a delegate by the government of Kenya to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. From 1970 to 1979, she served as Chief Executive Officer of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya and as UNICEF’s Coordinator for the “Year of the Child” in Kenya. From 1966 to 1971, she was a delegate from Kenya to the United Nations General Assembly’s Committee on Human Rights. Hon. Asiyo is an alumna of CEDPA’s Women in Management workshop, CEDPA’s flagship training workshop with a 23-year history of preparing women to lead development.

Susan Marie Benton has been Partner at the nation’s oldest and largest national law firm, Winston & Strawn LLP, since 2000. The firm’s clients range from multinational corporations to small and midsize organizations in various industries and include long-term relationships with leading companies including General Electric Company, American Airlines, Philip Morris USA, Abbott Laboratories, Exelon Corporation, Motorola, Inc., Deutsche Bank A.G., Barr Laboratories, Bank One, N.S., Gateway, Inc., Lear Corporation and Smurfit-Stone Container. Her practice concentration is in labor relations, employment litigation and counseling. She is a member of the American Bar Association, and a Fellow of the College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. She is currently the Chairperson for the Winston & Strawn Foundation. Ms. Benton obtained both a B.A. in Psychology, her M.B.A. at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and ultimately her Juris Doctorate from Boston University. She lives Evanston, Illinois and works out of the Winston & Strawn offices in Chicago.

Barie Carmichael is senior counselor at APCO Worldwide, with more than 25 years of experience in corporate communication. Ms. Carmichael has managed strategic communication in a variety of industries involving regulator issues, corporate branding, media relations, litigation, employee/member communication and restructuring. She served for 12 years with Dow Corning Corporation as their vice president and chief communications officer. During this time, she helped guide the company through the breast implant crisis, including devising a turn-around strategy that obtained positive, sustained, page-one coverage in The New York Times, numerous favorable Wall Street Journal editorials, supportive editorials in all major national and regional newspapers, and supportive features on 60 Minutes, the BBC, and Frontline (PBS). Ms. Carmichael has also held the position of partner at The Brunswick Group and served as VISA USA’s executive vice president of corporate relations. She has been recently appointed a Batten Fellow at The University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate Business School and is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society. Ms. Carmichael received her undergraduate degree from Carleton College and her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.

Paul Isenman is a seasoned expert on development policy and aid effectiveness. He is now a consultant on aid effectiveness for the World Bank and other international organizations, specializing in aid architecture, health and education, global programs, and fragile states. He most recently directed the division responsible for aid effectiveness in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, and led strategy, policy, and grant-making efforts at the United Nations Foundation before then. His extensive programmatic experience was garnered from 22 years with World Bank wherein he was director dealing with countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. He also held several senior level policy and economic posts throughout his years with World Bank. Mr. Isenman has a BA and MBA from Harvard University and has published in the areas of human development, aid allocations, food aid, and purchasing power parities. He lives in France and is fluent in French.

Prudence Mabele is a South African activist working to promote the rights of people living with AIDS. In 1996, she found the Positive Women’s Network, a not-for-profit organization working to empower HIV-positive women. She was also instrumental in the formation of the South Africa branch of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa and is currently its Coordinator. Prudence has worked extensively with grassroots groups and communities as well as regional, national and international organizations of people living with HIV/AIDS. Ms. Mabele is an alumna of CEDPA’s 2001 Women in Management training. She is a recognized expert in counseling, human rights, gender/empowerment, HIV/AIDS prevention/care and support, networking, capacity building, NGO issues, research and advocacy and a sought after speaker nationally and internationally. She holds a diploma in engineering and psychology from institutions in South Africa.