Barbara Shaw, Executive Director, Maasai Girls Education Fund

Ms. Shaw is the Executive Director of the Maasai Girls Education Fund, a nonprofit organization established in 2000 to improve the lives of Maasai women through education. Working in partnership with a Community Based Organization in Kajiado Kenya, the organization sponsors the education of 55 Maasai girls who would otherwise not be able to go to school, builds knowledge and skills of rural Maasai women in areas of health, nutrition and agriculture, and micro business, and provides shelter for Maasai girls who flee home to avoid forced marriages. Ms. Shaw is additionally Co-Founder and Director, of the Maasai Girls Education Fund, Kajiado, Kenya, MGEF's partner organization in the Kenya.

Ms. Shaw was a founding officer of CIEL, and was the organization's Vice President for Finance and Administration until January 1st, 1999. Ms. Shaw managed the finances and operations of CIEL, wrote the annual report, and worked with the President on all matters related to the business of CIEL, including fundraising and strategic planning.

Ms. Shaw also served as a Trustee and Corporate Secretary for CIEL from 1998 through 2000, where she reviewed quarterly financial statements and consulted with the organization's President and Director of Finance on financial matters and pension benefits in addition to preparing Minutes of Board and committee meetings.

Prior to joining CIEL, Ms. Shaw was Treasurer of a publicly traded venture capital investment company. She has also worked as editor of several environmental publications. Ms. Shaw has a B.A. in English and French from the University of Maryland and an M.B.A. from Simmons College Graduate School of Management.