Meet the team

Federica Alfani joined FAO in 2010, managing household level data and conducting applied microeconomic research on economic efficiency, social protection and poverty. She holds a degree in Economics and a Masters in Development Economics and International Co-operation. She is finalizing a PhD in Economics at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”.

Solomon Asfaw is an Economist at FAO since 2010, specializing on impact evaluation, social protection, climate-smart agriculture and adaptation to climate change. He has also worked as Regional Scientist for ICRISAT Regional Office in Eastern and Southern Africa. He holds a PhD in Economics from Leibniz University of Hannover.

Silvio Daidone has been an Econometrician at FAO since 2012. He was Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics at University of York, UK. He holds a PhD in Econometrics and Empirical Economics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He is specialized in impact evaluation, productivity and efficiency analysis.

Benjamin Davis is a Senior Economist with FAO and team leader of PtoP. He has served as Social Policy Advisor for the UNICEF Regional Office in Eastern and Southern Africa and as a Research and Post Doctoral Fellow at IFPRI. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from UC Berkeley.

Ana Paula de la O is a Policy Analyst in the areas of gender, social protection and rural transformations. She started working with FAO in 2007 as an econometrician specializing in rural labor and households’ income strategies. Currently, she manages the gender and land rights database and leads several research projects related to social and gender inequalities in rural areas. 

Marco d’Errico is an Economist/Econometrician; he joined FAO in September 2009 and the PtoP team in September 2011. He has expertise in impact evaluation, resilience analysis, and social protection. He holds a PhD in Development Economics from University Alma Mater Studiorum of Bologna. 

Josh Dewbre joined FAO in 2010 after a brief stint at the International Food Policy Research Institute. His research interests include the design and evaluation of interventions aimed at reducing poverty in developing countries. He holds an MA in Development Economics from the American University in Washington DC.

Daniela Farinelli is the PtoP team assistant. She joined FAO 29 years ago, first working with the radio and TV section, later with the investment center and statistics division. Holds a diploma as translator and interpreter (English/French).

Carina Glendening is team assistant and joined the PtoP team in 2011.
She takes care of contracts, organizes workshops and missions for the team members and also updates the website. Contact her and she will be enthusiastic to assist.

Marco Knowles started working with FAO in 1997, more recently specializing on country-level food security policy assistance and on the linkages between social protection and agriculture. He also has expertise in programme co-ordination and has worked with the World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Netherlands Development Organization. 

Pamela Pozarny is a Rural Sociologist for the Africa Service in FAO's Investment Centre and member of the PtoP team leading the qualitative research. She has worked and lived in Africa for 18 years, most recently in the FAO Regional Office for Africa/Ghana, as well as UNDP, USAID, and NGOs. She holds a PhD in anthropology, focusing on rural farming systems and tropical agriculture.

Alessandro Romeo is an Economist with FAO and a member of PtoP. Before joining FAO, Alessandro worked as a consultant with EDI Ltd. and the World Bank on data collection methodologies and poverty analysis using LSMS type surveys. He holds a Masters degree in development economics from University of Rome Tor Vergata. 

Nyasha Tirivayi has been a Social Protection Specialist in the PtoP team since 2012. She has worked as a consultant for the WFP, World Bank, GIZ and IDRC Canada and was a Post Doctoral Fellow at Maastricht University (Netherlands). Nyasha holds a PhD in Public Policy from Maastricht University.

Paul Winters is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at American University in Washington DC. He has previously worked at the International Potato Center in Peru, the University of New England in Australia and with international development agencies He has his PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Berkeley.