Who We Are / Our Team /
Our Team Members


SHF is designed to be a lean and agile entity. Our team cover the core technical and professional functions needed to implement the SHF business model. It comprises of experts from varied backgrounds, including the private sector, impact investing, impact assessments, modeling and research, and both the WASH sector and the broader global development context. SHF has a presence in Geneva and its country portfolio team is based in Nairobi.

 

Meet Our Team

Image Rucha Naware

Rucha Naware

Communications Specialist
Read more

Rucha Naware leads on communications for the SHF. Working in communications on humanitarian and development issues for 15 years across NGOs and the UN, Rucha is passionate about building compelling narratives to engage different audiences.

At the SHF, Rucha draws upon her experience with WWF, the UN World Food Programme and CRY - Child Rights & You to lead audience-focused media and digital efforts to mobilize awareness, action and impact on the global sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health crisis. 

Originally from India, Rucha has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Sciences Po, Paris and has lived and worked across India, France, Singapore and Belgium.

 

Read less
Image Aline Sylvie Pawele

Aline Sylvie Pawele

Country Fund Portfolio Manager
Read more
Aline works with the SHF Country Fund Portfolio team to advise and guide our financing strategy across our activities and projects in country. 
 

Aline joins the SHF with nearly two decades of experience in global health and international development, having worked in various organizations including the Global Fund, German Development Cooperation, WHO, UNAIDS, USAID, UN Women, UNFPA, and Oxfam GB. She has worked and led on supporting programs and policy implementation at local, national, and global levels.  

 

Originally from Rwanda and Togo, Aline holds a Master of Science in Project Management and speaks multiple languages including Kinyarwanda, English, French, and recently Kiswahili. She is excited to be a part of the SHF, an organisation where disruptive leadership is practiced, and boldness displayed, and hopes to contribute to a cleaner, safer and healthier environment, and future for all.
Read less
Image Jacob Said

Jacob Said

Governance Officer
Read more

Jacob has been serving the UN across the development, humanitarian and peacebuilding fields for over a decade, including UNDP, UNRWA and the UN Secretariat through its Special Political Mission in Guinea-Bissau.

Working closely with our Board, Jacob ensures that the SHF governance frameworks are robust, fully functional, and contributing towards the achievement of SHF’s mission, in compliance with our corporate policies.

As a Chevening scholar, Jacob holds a MSc in International Development from The University of Edinburgh. 

Read less
Dietske

Dietske Simons

Head of Impact
Read more

Dietske is the Head of Impact at SHF.

Prior to joining SHF in May 2024, Dietske worked at FMO, the Dutch Development Bank, as Director Finance, Impact and Data, and before that in various other capacities in FMO. She started her career at the Dutch Central Bank. She is co-founder of the Joint Impact Model foundation, a not-for-profit organization aimed at harmonizing and making accessible impact measurement tools.

Dietske is a strong believer in the power of partnering for impact. By bringing together the public and private sector, national and global actors, development and more commercial investors she aims to contribute to transformational solutions with SHF.

Read less