Meet the Kivans: Field Experts Jomay and David

In the last installment of our series Meet the Kivans, we're excited to introduce you to Jomay and David. These two work closely with our partners in the field and have great insights on Kiva's work around the world.

Q&A with Jomay Lui, Kiva's Senior Knowledge Manager

What do you do at Kiva?
I work on the Partnerships team, which is the team that finds, vets, trains and monitors our vast network of amazing Field Partners all over the world. I'm responsible for defining, standardizing, and documenting our processes and policies, so that we're all on the same page and working efficiently as a team. I also develop materials that help our Field Partners understand how to work with Kiva, such as training videos, manuals, and help articles.

What part of your job do you enjoy most?
I was a big fan of Kiva before I worked here (lender since 2007), so I love getting into the nuts and bolts of how Kiva actually operates on the ground. The nerdy side of me also loves turning chaos into order -- creating processes that hum smoothly and laying it all out in clear documentation for the Partnerships team and for our Field Partners.

What was the hardest project you’ve worked on at Kiva?
Just getting my role off the ground at Kiva was a pretty big undertaking. I was Kiva's first Knowledge Manager, so there was no existing blueprint for my job. When I joined the team, I spent a lot of time getting information out of people's heads, out of their emails, and off of their hard drives, and then figuring out what was really critical to "institutionalize," and developing a central framework to manage it and improve upon it over time.

What’s one of your favorite memories that involves Kiva?
My first trip to the field was a definite highlight. I traveled to Tanzania and Kenya with some members of our Africa team and got to visit a diverse range of Field Partners, including one of our oldest microfinance institution (MFI) partners, one of our newest non-MFI partners, and even a Kiva Zip trustee. It was really cool to see Kiva come to life in all of these different contexts.

Q&A with David Kitusa, a Kiva Portfolio Manager based in Kenya

What do you do at Kiva?
As the Regional Representative, I am responsible for driving Kiva’s regional expansion and growth strategy. I do this by exploring new partner relationships, working and strengthening the existing ones, and building Kiva’s regional presence.

What part of your job do you enjoy most?
The role that I most enjoy is business development - I love recruiting new partners. This year, the partner that I most proud of bringing on is Smallscale Livestock and Livelihood Program.

What was the hardest project you’ve worked on at Kiva?
Setting up the Nairobi office with a seriously limited budget! I had to have patience even when things were not working and engageHQ through out the process. Getting the former VP HR Britt to visit Nairobi and experience the challenges first hand helped quite a lot.

What’s one of your favorite memories that involves Kiva?
The day some of my friends took me for a Bay to Breakers event in San Francisco! I will never forget that!