Simon Chuchu joined the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as field coordinator-Feed the Future Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) project’s livestock component in April 2016. He will coordinate field activities and the establishment and management of stakeholder’s relationship, ensuring timely implementation of project activities and supporting project monitoring activities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine and is a master’s degree in business administration from Kenyatta University. He has eight years’ experience implementing humanitarian activities in Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.

Amos Nkaiwatei was appointed program management officer- Feed the Future Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD)  in April 2016. He has 10 years’ experience in management of donor funded projects having worked with USAID, the European Commission’s Humanitarian aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), World Bank and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-funded projects. Prior to joining ILRI, he was working with Plan International as a senior grants officer and previously worked for Broadreach Healthcare, LLC as senior finance associate. Nkaiwatei holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in accounting from the University of Nairobi, a ’s degree business management (Finance) from Moi University among other professional qualifications.

Nelson Saya joined ILRI in April 2016 as a field research assistant under the Livestock Systems and Environment (LSE) program. He will be responsible for conducting scientific demonstrations and collecting data. He is based at Kakamega, Kenya. He holds a diploma in agriculture and biotechnology.

Esther Omosa joined ILRI in April 2016 as senior nutrition specialist in the Feed the Future AVCD program. Her role is to ensure coordination, synergy and effectiveness of the nutrition component of the program, working closely with other nutrition specialists. She holds a master’s degree in public health and epidemiology and a BSc in foods, nutrition and dietetics. She is currently pursuing a PhD in health policies and has as over 10 years’ experience in nutrition programing and capacity development. She has served in various capacities in NGOs, and as a nutrition consultant with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Previously she worked as research scientist at the National Museums of Kenya.

Daniel Kangogo joined ILRI as research associate-gender in the Livelihoods, Gender and Impact (LGI) program effective 1 April 2016. Prior to joining ILRI, Kangogo worked at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) as a research award recipient working on household dynamics, food security and resilience in semi-arid areas of Kenya. He holds an MSc degree in agricultural and applied economics and a BSc degree in agricultural economics from Egerton University, Kenya.

 Arnold Magoto joined ILRI as accountant in April 2016. Previously, he worked with Kendy Holdings Limited, a financial service company that deals with remittances across Africa. He has also worked with Standard Chartered Bank and CfC Stanbic Bank Limited. Magoto holds a BSc degree in statistics from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya and currently pursuing his MSc in finance.

Linus Kiprotich joined ILRI in April 2016 as technical officer in the LSE program. He will be based in Kakamega County, Kenya. Prior to his appointment, he worked as technologist at the Kabete field station of the University of Nairobi. He holds a diploma in animal health from Egerton University.

Charles Kagure joined ILRI as farm technical officer in April 2016. Prior to joining ILRI, Kagure worked as finance assistant at the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). He has also worked for Mumias Sugar Company as farmer services manager.  He has experience in smallholder farmer training and extension service provision, planning, organizing and supervising field activities, budgeting and budget implementation. He holds a BSc in agricultural economics from University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing an MBA from the same institution. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

George Wanjuki joined ILRI as ICT customer support technician in April 2016. His role is to provide technical support, diagnose and resolve hardware and software incidents, across a range of software applications. He has BSc in computer science from Jomo Kenyatta University. Wanjuki has more than three years’ experience in ICT technical support, configuration of applications, networks and telecoms infrastructure management and information technology service management and customer support.

Joan Mahinda joined ILRI as ICT customer support technician in April 2016. Her role is to provide technical support, diagnose and resolve hardware and software incidents, across a range of software applications. She  has BSc in computer science from Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Joan has more than three years’ experience in ICT technical support and configuration of applications. Prior to joining ILRI, she previously worked for the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) as a temporary ICT Service Desk technician.

Caroline Muraguri was appointed as senior administrative assistant in the Feed the Future AVCD program in May 2016. Caroline holds a BA degree in social sciences from The Catholic University of Eastern Africa. Prior to joining ILRI, she was working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kenya as a senior administrator.

Vincent Njung’e joined ILRI as research associate in the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA)-ILRI Hub effective May 2016. He will be in the capacity building team and will provide high -evel, comprehensive technical support and bench supervision to scientists and research fellows. Prior to this appointment, Njung’e was working at the genomics lab of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) for the east and southern Africa region. He holds a BSc in biotechnology from Kenyatta University and and MSc in agriculture from the University of South Africa.

Christine Mosoti joined ILRI in May 2016 as project manager for the ZooLink suite of projects. Her main role includes managing several aspects of the project including budgets, logistics and general co-ordination of the project on behalf of the principle investigators. She is a veterinarian by profession, and holds a MSc degree in public health. She is a pork value chain expert and has previously worked in the value chain as a commercial unit manager at Farmers choice Ltd, for over six years.

Fredrick  Ng’ang’a joined ILRI as an analytical chemist (research associate) in the mycology and nutrition platform of the BecA-ILRI Hub in June 2016. He previously worked at the hub between June 2014 and July 2015. He offers technical support to visiting and hosted scientist in the screening and quantification of various mycotoxins in food and feed stuff through ELISA, fluorometry and Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in addition to profiling various bio-active ingredients in food. Ng’ang’a holds a BSc degree in chemistry and an MSc degree in chemistry from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).