Meet the Team

Lawrence Yanovitch is the President of the GSMA Foundation. He formulates and implements goals and objectives to advance the Foundation’s long term plans.

Lawrence was previously an officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he managed a portfolio of investments in financial services for the unbanked. Prior to that, Lawrence has a long career in microfinance and philanthropy. He is a former member of the management team at FINCA and of the faculty of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Sarah manages the Foundation team and runs the Ambassadors programme. The Ambassadors Programme positions highly respected individuals from the mobile sector and beyond to raise awareness about the role of mobile technology in sustainable development, inspiring tangible actions to connect everyone for a better future. Sarah joined GSMA from Save the Children International where she was Head of Communications. At Save the Children she managed communications on humanitarian issues, acting as spokesperson and producing media and communications content in emergencies.

Sarah holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

As Director of UN Relations, Anoush cultivates strategic alliances and relationships between United Nations agencies and offices, experts from the broader sustainable development community, and leaders from the mobile technology sector. Anoush comes to the GSMA Foundation from United Nations headquarters in New York where she served as Strategic Communications Officer for Global Pulse, an innovation initiative of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. Anoush managed partnerships and advocacy strategy, advancing the global ‘data philanthropy’ movement, in which big data and data science are applied to development and humanitarian challenges.

Anoush holds a Bachelor’s degree in Government/International Relations from the College of William & Mary, and a Master’s degree in Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California.

Anne works with GSMA member organisations to drive responsible business models and practices. Responsive leadership is needed if businesses are to incorporate the SDGs into their core growth strategies, value chain operations and policy positions. Anne comes to the GSMA Foundation from spending over 10 years in sustainability consultancy. During this time, she worked with major international companies on developing responsible business strategies that are aligned to corporate purpose and core business objectives. Her work covered performance strategies and programmes (human rights, climate change, supply chain, bribery & corruption), stakeholder engagement, benchmarking and communications.

Anne holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Business, and a Master’s degree in Corporate Social Responsibility from Nottingham University.

As the Foundation’s department manager, Emma provides a critical link between the Foundation and other teams at the GSMA, allowing co-ordination of common goals and activities. She also provides support to Foundation stakeholders at industry events. Emma joined the GSMA in 2013, having previously worked in private equity, specialising in sustainable, green energy projects in Europe, and investment banking. Prior to this, she had a long career in sports journalism and marketing.

Michael joined the GSMA Foundation in 2016 with 5+ years of state government and private sector experience, specialising in financial reporting, budgeting, comprehensive accounting analysis, and finance.

In his previous role, Michael was a Financial Reporting Analyst at the State Accounting Office where he assisted in the preparation of the financial statements/footnotes of the Comprehensive Annual Report (CAFR) and provided analytical support for key financial reporting decision making.

Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Georgia.

As Finance & Compliance Business Partner, Elizabeth supports the GSMA Mobile for Development programmes, providing advisory and compliance oversight in areas of procurement, grant and budget management, and donor reporting.

Prior to joining the GSMA in 2015, Elizabeth worked for Fountain Gate, a not-for-profit mental health clinic and therapeutic agricultural centre in Atlanta, where she was responsible for leading the organization in areas of finance, HR, development, and compliance. She brings over 10 years of experience in finance and compliance leadership for non-profit and social service agencies.

Elizabeth has a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a concentration in International Affairs from Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from Shorter University in Rome, Georgia.

Lorena joined the GSMA in 2012 and is currently leading the Finance and Compliance team for the Foundation. Lorena and her team manage a portfolio of ten programmes funded by seven donors including the US, UK and Swedish government in addition to from public and private Foundations.

In her previous role, Lorena was the Chief Business Officer at EARTH University Foundation Inc. where she handled the compliance of the whole portfolio of donors including US Government, Public and Private Foundations.

Originally from Caracas Venezuela, Lorena moved to the US and into the Not for Profit world focusing on Finance and Compliance of grants with a significant focus on US government grants from USAID, ASHA and Department of Energy.

Lorena has a bachelor degree in Business & Social Sciences – Finance / Accounting from The Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas Venezuela.

Lorena enjoys volunteering in her spare time and she recently accepted to be part of the Board of Directors at The Children’s Heart Foundation – Georgia Chapter as Treasurer.