Lilian Lehmann

Director at IDinsight

My experience and deep interests:

• International Development

I am based in: Nairobi

My curiosity about how societies evolve, and hopefully prosper, is at the core of my international work.

Born in Switzerland, but raised in Portugal in a Swiss-American household, national boundaries have always been a line on a map to be crossed, and foreign countries have beckoned as places to be explored. Throughout my career I have lived, worked and studied in numerous cultures spread across four continents.

In part it is due to my personal immersion in a multifaceted world that I seek to solve the puzzle of how a successful intervention might be adapted, modified, optimized, and scaled in other circumstances and countries.

I have been based in East Africa for the past seven years, where I first led the international expansion of a rural safe water program that had been proven effective through rigorous evidence. Because organizational models for scaling intrigue me - as do strategies for sustainable supporting development - I then led the monitoring & evaluation of a rapidly growing multi-national vaccines program. My work now focuses more strategically on how better evidence can be used in decision making for improved social impact.

I have a Master in International Affairs from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), a Master in Law & Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts (USA), and a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Haverford College (USA). When not on a plane, I am happiest by a large body of water – preferably an ocean, and ideally in it (swimming or free-diving).