As Managing Director of BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI), Lindsay leads BRAC’s efforts to eradicate extreme poverty through a focus on the world’s poorest people. Lindsay and her team work to realize SDG 1 and for the uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, development finance agencies, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and microfinance institutions. The Graduation approach, developed by BRAC, has been proven to break the poverty trap by addressing the multi-dimensional challenges that ultra-poor households face. After typically two years in the program, ultra-poor families transform their lives: they have a steady income, savings and skills, nourished children that attend school, a support network of peers and neighbors, and confidence in their ability to build a better life for their families. Thus far, UPGI has worked in thirteen countries implementing Graduation programs as well as various large-scale NGO partners operating globally. Lindsay is a sought-after writer and speaker for a range of topics such as sustainable development, social protection, innovation and inclusive economies.
Before joining BRAC, Lindsay was the president of InterAction, where she oversaw management, advocacy and outreach. She served on the Obama administration’s Task Force on Global Poverty, the steering committee of the World Bank Global Partnership for Social Accountability, the executive committee for Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, and the boards of Episcopal Relief and Development, United States Global Leadership Coalition, and Development Gateway. Lindsay began her career practicing civil rights law in various capacities including private practice and in government. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) and the University of Mississippi School of Law and attended the London School of Economics.
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The Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) was established by BRAC to position Graduation as a key contributor to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1: End Poverty in all its forms, everywhere.
Developed by BRAC in 2002, the Graduation approach is a targeted, holistic set of interventions designed to meet the needs of the world’s poorest and hardest-to-reach populations. It is typically a two-year program that breaks down the multiple barriers the poorest face so that they may lift themselves into sustainable livelihoods. Over the last two decades, the approach has reached 14 million people worldwide. It has been rigorously evaluated for its effectiveness in multiple contexts by independent researchers from the LSE, MIT, UCL and beyond.
Recognizing that BRAC cannot eradicate extreme poverty on its own, UPGI works with development actors to support the adoption and scale-up of the Graduation approach. It achieves this by advocating for the uptake of the Graduation approach by policymakers, development finance agencies, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and microfinance institutions. It also delivers technical assistance in support of effective adaptation and implementation of the approach by large-scale government and non-governmental actors in countries around the world. To date, UPGI has supported the governments of Kenya, the Philippines, Rwanda, Lesotho, Pakistan; and World Vision, and the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development in Egypt.