WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 16, 2007 "“ Grameen Foundation has appointed Julia C. Wilson as Executive Director of Development, West Coast.

A seasoned fundraiser and marketing executive, Wilson will help to deepen and expand Grameen Foundation's relationships with companies and philanthropists on the West Coast who share the foundation's commitment to eradicating poverty through microfinance and technology. She will be based in San Diego.

"It is great to have someone of Julia's caliber and experience managing a critical part of our growing development program," said Alex Counts, Grameen Foundation's president and CEO. "Grameen Foundation already has a strong presence in Seattle through our Technology Center, and her knowledge of the technology community will be invaluable in helping us build awareness and support for our global microfinance efforts down the coast of California and throughout the west coast."

"After meeting with women borrowers in a remote village in Chiapas, Mexico, the economic impact of providing micro-loans to the poor became so evident to me that I was hooked," said Wilson. "Empowering women to improve their living situation and provide for their children through entrepreneurship is a wonderful feeling, and I feel privileged to be part of this global solution to alleviating poverty.

Wilson has more than 20 years of experience in fundraising and operations management for trade organizations and universities. Before coming to Grameen Foundation, she was vice president for development at RocketTalk, a start-up mobile software company in San Diego. She also served as CEO of COMMNEXUS, a communications trade association, and directed fundraising campaigns at San Diego State University and Arizona State University.

Wilson holds masters degrees in health services administration and child psychology, both from Arizona State University, and a bachelors in biology and medical technology from Anderson University (Indiana).

About Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of partners in 22 countries that has impacted an estimated 16 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. Grameen Foundation was founded by Alex Counts, who began his work in microfinance with Grameen Bank founder, and recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Dr. Yunus is a founding and current member of Grameen Foundation's board of directors. For more information on Grameen Foundation, please visit www.grameenfoundation.org.

Grameen Foundation USA

Grameen Foundation USA

Based in Washington, D.C., Grameen Foundation is a global non-profit organization that combines microfinance, technology, and innovation to empower the world's poorest people to escape poverty. It has established a global network of 52 partners in 22 countries that has impacted an estimated 11 million lives in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East. The Foundation was created in 1997, inspired by the work of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Its Growth Guarantee Program, initially capitalized at $31 million when it was launched in late 2005, is a collaboration with Citigroup that projects leveraging more than $180 million in local currency financing for MFIs globally over the next five years.

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