The GlobalAgRisk staff draw on a wide range of experiences and specialized knowledge, assisting with ongoing research and development including product design; publications in refereed journals; and development of conference keynote addresses, workshops, special courses, and presentations. Along with a number of strategic professionals, when required, GlobalAgRisk can call on independent consultants for specialized services. By drawing upon trusted service providers, including one of the leading accounting firms in the U.S. Midwest, GlobalAgRisk is able to manage all aspects of project implementation, including back office operations to administer large projects.

Dr. Skees has a unique career that blends experience in academia, government, and the private sector. He is the H.B. Price Professor of Agricultural Policy and Risk in the department of agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky and recipient of several outstanding teaching and research awards. His academic research and service on the U.S. Congressional Commission for the Improvement of the Crop Insurance Program in 1989 led to his role in developing the first area-yield index insurance in the United States in 1992. Dr. Skees has established himself as an innovator in weather risk management, and as a result has worked throughout the world with governments, donors, reinsurers, insurers, agribusinesses, banks, and MFIs to enhance rural financial services.
jerry@globalagrisk.com

Ms. Murphy joined GlobalAgRisk in 2003 and is responsible for managing GlobalAgRisk office operations, including proposal development, project administration, and educational outreach. She has worked in Africa, Asia, South America, and most recently, as a consultant on projects in Mongolia and Peru. Ms. Murphy holds an MS in agricultural economics, a BA in anthropology, and is proficient in Spanish.
anne@globalagrisk.com

Mr. Hartell is the team leader for the GlobalAgRisk activity in Vietnam and Indonesia, and has been involved with activities in Africa and elsewhere in Asia. Mr. Hartell is a PhD candidate in agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky, focusing on impact analysis of index-based risk transfer mechanisms in project evaluation.
jason@globalagrisk.com

Mr. Cárdenas has over 10 years of experience in risk management for governments of developing economies, multilateral financial organizations, and private organizations. He was team leader and co-architect of the first and second CAT-bond issued by a government of a developing economy (Mexico). He has developed risk management schemes for natural catastrophes in Latin America and Africa, as well as designed schemes for the risk due to climate change in developing economies. His expertise focuses on financial risk management strategies that combine structured insurance products with capital market instruments such as options, swaps, and insurance-linked securities (ILS). Currently, Mr. Cárdenas supports GlobalAgRisk in several multi-sector projects (public and private) in Peru, promoting risk-financing strategies for El Niño risk. Mr. Cárdenas holds an MS in finance from the IE Business School in Spain, and a BA in economics from the Autonomous Technology Institute of Mexico (ITAM).
victor@globalagrisk.com

Mr. Collier’s primary current project for GlobalAgRisk is building capacity among key stakeholders in northern Peru (e.g., banks, agricultural value chain members, farmer associations, NGOs, and the regional government) to manage severe weather risk, especially extreme El Niño risk, more efficiently through insurance. Collier is in the doctoral program for agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky. His dissertation research involves estimating the exposure of those banks in Peru to extreme El Niño and demonstrating a role for index insurance as a component of their risk management strategies. Another GlobalAgRisk project is advancing a State of Knowledge Report regarding the data requirements for developing and supporting an index insurance product. His professional interests include implementing innovations that reduce transaction costs for rural finance.
benjamin@globalagrisk.com

Ms. Nikolova holds an MPA from the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky.
nadezda@globalagrisk.com

Mr. Cavanaugh is a doctoral student in agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky.
grant@globalagrisk.com

Agricultural policy and risk management specialist, professor in the department of agricultural economics, Mississippi State University, and president of Acacia Economic Consulting, United States
acaciaeconomic@gmail.com

Legal and regulatory specialist in insurance and financial services sectors in lower income countries, United Kingdom
r.carpenter@btinternet.com

Weather and climate modeling specialist, professor of environmental engineering at Columbia University and president of consulting firm, Vidya, Inc., United States

Microinsurance specialist focused on health and life insurance, and bundled financial services, director of the MicroInsurance Centre, United States
mjmccord@microinsurancecentre.org

Computational economics and agricultural finance and risk management specialist, Andersons Professor of Agriculture Risk Management, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, United States
miranda.4@osu.edu

Local project consultant and facilitator to stakeholders in northern Peru
maricarmen@globalagrisk.com