Meet the Team.
Maria Kasparian is the VP of Strategic Partnerships, overseeing advocacy, government relations, R&D and Sales/Ops Planning, PlumpyField and other partnerships. Maria has been with Edesia since the founding in 2009, and has also worn many hats, including serving as our Executive Director for the past 8.5 years.
Maria works closely with many international institutions and NGOs involved in nutrition programming and has followed shipments to Guatemala, Haiti, Niger, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. She has a passion for both the positive effects of social enterprise in the United States, as well as the importance of drawing more attention to the issues of malnutrition and the life-long impact in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
Ms. Kasparian has been with Edesia since its inception in February 2009. Previously Director of Operations, she became the Executive Director in 2015. Her prior experience includes ecology/conservation work in Madagascar with the School for International Training (SIT); education and public health-focused Peace Corps service in Bangladesh; and capacity-building at a rural development NGO (Street Survivors India) in West Bengal, India, as a William J. Clinton Fellow with the American India Foundation. Ms. Kasparian holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations from Brown University and a Master's Degree in Public Administration, focused on International Public Service and Development, from Rutgers University.
Andrew Kamara is the VP of Operations, where he manages the manufacturing side of Edesia, overseeing manufacturing, quality and logistics/warehouse. Andrew has been with Edesia for 13 years and has served in many different positions across the organization.
Prior to Edesia, Andrew spent two years working for Coca Cola Enterprises as a mid-level Distribution Resource overseeing deliveries, storage and distribution of a wide range of bottled soft drinks. Andrew also spent six years working for United Natural Foods as a Quality Assurance Specialist and a grocery/ repackaging Supervisor.
Andrew studied Political Science & International relations from the University of Connecticut and has an Advance Diploma in Electronics from NIIT Accra, Ghana.