In May of 2010, I attended a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where Melanne Verveer, the first-ever U.S. ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues, spoke to the significance of investing in women as a means to drive economic growth in the developing world. Equally as captivating as Ambassador Verveer’s remarks was being in a room filled with hundreds of other people championing for women’s empowerment and taking a stand against injustice.

It was at this lunch that I first learned of Opportunity International from a group of women connected to the organization that were seated next to me. As I listened to Ambassador Verveer’s words and spoke with Opportunity International supporters and staff, I saw a direct parallel between Verveer’s message, Opportunity’s story, and my own philanthropic and professional interests. This was the moment when Opportunity’s mission and work left a lasting impression on me. We know that women represent 70% of the population living below two dollars a day, and they make up 84% of Opportunity’s client base. As was echoed in Ambassador’s Verveer’s remarks, investments in women directly impact the lives of their children and are leveraged to influence the well-being of their entire communities.

Fast-forward nearly two years and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining Opportunity International’s team as a campaign strategist. In this position, I’ll deliver engaging outreach campaigns that offer new ways for you to get involved and partner with us to provide innovative financial services to people throughout the developing world. Through these campaigns and initiatives, we’ll enable our clients to transform their lives, their families and communities. Every day at Opportunity, we provide them with microfinance tools, training and support, and every day I’m sustained by seeing our courageous clients work their way out of poverty and into lives of hope and stability. I’m so excited to be here and I can’t wait to keep you all updated about Opportunity’s outreach campaigns and their impact!

Ally Lynch joined Opportunity-US in early January as our new Outreach Campaign Specialist. Stay tuned to the Opportunity Blog for future posts and updates from Ally.