Central America & Caribbean
Director, ECHO Central America & Caribbean
Katalina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a Master’s degree in Fundamentals and Practices of Sustainability from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland).
She has worked in Bolivia, Colombia, and Angola, focusing on research, environmental education, and the promotion of sustainable agri-food practices with local institutions and peasant communities.
Between 2019 and 2021, she implemented a Participatory Action Research project to strengthen agroecological production and commercialization in a rural municipality in the mesothermal valleys of Bolivia. In 2021, she visited farmer associations in the municipality of Apia in Colombia to systematize their good agricultural, commercial, and organizational practices to be shared with associations in gestation in Caribbean countries. Between 2022 and 2024, she was a consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Angola, in charge of two missions to strengthen the resilience of agro-pastoral communities through the promotion of agroecology and ecosystem conservation. In parallel, since 2019, together with her family, she implemented an agroecological farm in Bolivia as a model for teaching and raising awareness among the inhabitants of the Municipality of Vallegrande.
East Africa
Director, ECHO East Africa Impact Center
Charei Munene is a dedicated advocate for farmers and a leader in Agroecology and Ecological Organic Agriculture, with over 10 years of experience in African agriculture. He holds a B.Sc. in Botany and Zoology and an M.Sc. in Plant Pathology. His career spans international project management in agricultural development, where he has made impactful contributions.
Charei has also served as a tutorial fellow at Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology, Egerton University, and the Technical University of Kenya, mentoring hundreds of undergraduate students. His skills encompass project management, research implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
As an international consultant, he has worked on business development with Rootooba Limited and Biovision Africa Trust and managed crop protection projects at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Kenya. Additionally, as a volunteer mentor scientist with The World Food Forum, he has guided young agroecology scientists in Senegal and Cameroon to develop innovative farming technologies to address global hunger. Recently, he led Biovision Africa Trust programs focused on advancing and sharing farmer-centered Agroecology solutions.
Chief of Staff
Daniela “DJ” Riley is the Chief of Staff at ECHO, where she brings two decades of
leadership experience in multicultural environments and a deep commitment to
supporting the organization’s mission and global operations. In her role, DJ provides
strategic administrative leadership, strengthens organizational alignment, and supports
effective cross-functional collaboration across teams.
Her work sits at the intersection of organizational learning, partnerships, and systems
thinking, with a focus on helping ECHO deliver lasting impact for smallholder farmers
worldwide. With a background in PR/advertising from Texas Christian University and an
International MBA from Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand, she holds extensive
experience working in diverse international contexts, blending practical operational
insight with a people-centered leadership approach.
DJ is motivated by work that values context, culture, and long-term sustainability.
Outside of her core responsibilities, she enjoys staying connected with past and current
partners and staff around the world to better understand ECHO’s field work and
strengthen relationships across the organization. Now based in Phoenix, Arizona USA
(after nearly 20 years in Asia), she enjoys trail running, playing guitar and bass at her
church, and spending time with family.
Chief Operating Officer
Charles Mathews has spent the last two decades leading humanitarian and development initiatives around the world, working alongside local churches and nonprofit partners in some of the most challenging environments imaginable. As COO of ECHO, he focuses on strategy, operations, and helping teams thrive across cultures and continents. He’s especially passionate about leadership development, thoughtful collaboration, and finding practical solutions to complicated problems… preferably before another meeting gets scheduled.
Chief Development Officer
Leah Wenger brings more than 15 years of executive leadership experience to her role as Chief Development Officer at ECHO, where she leads global Advancement and Engagement efforts to grow strategic partnerships, mobilize generosity, and connect supporters to ECHO’s mission.
Before joining ECHO, Leah served as Executive Pastor at The Vineyard Church of Central Illinois, one of the largest congregations in the region and within the Vineyard movement. There, she developed systems and strategies that helped leaders flourish at every level of the organization while overseeing key operational and ministry initiatives. Her passion for developing people, cultivating vision, and stewarding resources has shaped her career, from founding the Mahomet Community Emergency Fund during COVID-19 to creating Kingdom Finance, a course focused on faith and financial discipleship.
At ECHO, Leah is especially passionate about building meaningful relationships that fuel long-term impact and help move the organization Fully Forward Together in service of smallholder farmers, the global Church, and vulnerable communities around the world.
Leah holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Illinois, a Certificate in Pastoral Studies from the Vineyard Leadership Institute, and an Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University.
Leah and her husband, Ben, live in central Illinois and are the proud (and happily tired) parents of three children: Cohen, Claire, and Gia. When she’s not dreaming about ECHO’s future, you’ll likely find her playing the guitar, attempting sourdough, or searching for the perfect cup of coffee.
West Africa
Director, ECHO West Africa
Robert is the founding director of ECHO West Africa and has led its growth for over a decade. Before joining ECHO, he led ACCEDES, a multi-sectoral development organization in Burkina Faso, for more than 15 years. Mr. Sanou holds a Master’s Degree in Project Management and a Juris Doctorate in Law. A national of Burkina Faso, he is fluent in French and English. He has served on the boards of regional organizations, consulted for European and U.S. entities, and traveled extensively throughout the region and the world.
Asia
Patrick is originally from Louisiana, USA, but spent most of his growing-up years overseas in southern Africa. After completing an undergraduate degree in International Development, he returned to Virginia Tech to complete a Master’s degree in Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences and worked on a USAID Feed the Future project in Senegal. Before moving to Asia, Patrick participated in ECHO’s tropical agriculture internship program in Florida as a ‘Tropical Monsoon’ intern. Patrick has worked with the ECHO Asia team in Thailand for the past eight years, first as a Technical Advisor and, more recently, as the Extension Coordinator, before taking on the role of Director in 2023. Patrick has extensive experience throughout the Asia region, having worked on the ground on 200+ farms and project sites within the ECHO network, including the organization of training workshops and conferences, and publication of numerous written materials related to small-scale agricultural systems. Patrick met his wife, Brittaney, in Thailand in 2019, and together they have one daughter, Amelia. Together they love traveling, trying new foods, and serving in their local Thai church.
Global Research and Publications Director
Dr. Motis grew up in Ethiopia and Liberia and served as an agriculturalist in Ethiopia for two years before earning his PhD in Horticulture at the University of Florida. He has been on staff with ECHO since 2003. Currently, he coordinates and builds capacity for research and publication activities across ECHO’s Regional Impact Centers. His team also facilitates responses to ag-related inquiries from our global network.
