CASE Scholar
Aliza Sitrin has spent the last five years working in global development and impact investing at the intersection of climate finance and financial inclusion.
Prior to Duke, she worked at ACDI/VOCA and its impact investing arm, AV Ventures, supporting four emerging-market investment funds across Africa and Central Asia. Her work spanned fund governance and operations, investment and reporting processes, investor engagement, and business development. She also led the operational implementation of USAID-funded food systems programs totaling more than $197 million across Kenya, Ghana, and Honduras, and helped secure $35 million in new program funding. Her perspective on sustainable finance was also shaped by field experience in Kenya, where she managed grant and operational initiatives that resulted in the construction of 30 WASH infrastructure projects and expanded access to finance for more than 6,000 previously unbanked individuals.
These experiences strengthened her conviction that capital, when paired with effective business models, can be a powerful tool for addressing climate and development challenges at scale. Building on this foundation, Aliza is interested in climate finance and sustainable investing, with a focus on mobilizing capital and scaling commercially viable solutions that generate measurable environmental, social, and financial returns.