Executive Director, African Development Solutions
Degan is a highly experienced Executive Director who has demonstrated the ability to lead diverse teams of professionals to new levels of success in a highly competitive and fast-paced environment. She has strong professional qualifications with an impressive track record of more than 20 years of hands-on experience in strategic planning, organizational development, program management, and business development strategies. The organization she leads is an African development and humanitarian organization that is changing the way people think about and deliver aid in Africa by empowering communities to be agents of change and using new and innovative aid delivery methods. Among other things, in 2003, Degan designed and oversaw the delivery of the first large-scale cash aid distribution program in Africa implemented by a NGO rather than a government agency. Under Degan’s leadership, Adeso has pioneered and championed market based and dignified solutions to aid - globally allowing cash transfers to become a standard type of aid response.
Degan is a regular commentator on humanitarian action. She is not afraid to speak her mind when lives are at stake, speaking on a variety of issues such as food and nutrition security information, the Somalia Famine response, cash programming, and the importance of supporting private sector driven remittances. She has also been a Contributing Writer to articles for the Overseas Development Institute/Humanitarian Policy Group and the Global Food Security Journal
