Ly Verveld - Nguyen
Public Health-turned Climate Impact & Learning Professional
Haarlem
Summary
Seasoned impact and learning professional with more than 17 years of experience with 2 philanthropic foundations (IKEA and Children Investment Fund Foundation), UNICEF (HQNY and Zambia CO) and non-profit organizations. Passionate about and experienced in driving organizational learning and using MEL as enabler for impacts. Experienced in commissioning and leading evaluations in climate change, refugee livelihoods, health and public health. Trained and experienced in applying various methodologies for assessing systemic changes such as social return on investment (SROI), blue marble, rubrics. Lived and worked in low-resource settings in East, Southern Africa and South-east Asia.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
5
5
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Monitoring, Evaluation Learning Manager
IKEA Foundation
12.2016 - Current
- Drive MLE Innovation at the Foundation: As the first MEL hire, spearheaded the establishment of the MEL function, strategically embedded MEL principles into the foundation's governance and grant-making cycle. In 2024, with the foundation strategy refresh, led the commission of an independent review of the foundation MEL strategy. Findings from this review outlined evolved approaches for the foundation MEL function to be better fit for the system change orientation and fit for the time.
- Provide Strategic Insights for Impactful Portfolios: Led comprehensive analyses of portfolios and evidence reviews that were critical input in the foundation's strategy refresh in 2017. Curated learning sessions with sector experts to inform new portfolios in the development of their theories of change and ensured alignment between funding and intended outcomes. Led and managed independent evaluations of the foundation investments in livelihoods and climate mitigation to inform learning and management decisions. Presented findings from evaluations at professional conferences.
- Provide Leadership in Climate Action MEL: supported partners in increasing their MEL capabilities and resources. Also developed emergent learning initiatives.
- Develop Innovative Performance Management Solution: Led the development of a PowerBI and Flux-based grant performance management system that incorporated performance dashboard and critical issue tracking, providing leadership with actionable insights to enhance grant impact and enable strategic course corrections.
- Foster Strategic Collaborations for Learning: Led collaboration efforts among climate funders on MEL, actively fostered partnerships with professional networks namely Climate SMILE, EES, Evaluation Academy and the EvalNet .Part of the Reimagine reporting Initiative that gets all philanthropic foundations in climate to rethink approach to engagement with grantees and reporting requirements.
- Commit to Transparency: Collaborated closely with the communications team to ensure that evaluation reports funded by the foundation are publicly accessible. Actively identified fora to disseminate lesson learned.
Evidence, Measurement and Evaluation Manager
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
3 2015 - 12.2016
- Promote the Culture of Evidence Utilisation within CIFF and its Partners: Acted as an advisor to CIFF programmatic staff and partners throughout the investment cycle, guiding them on evidence and measurement needs. Commissioned and managed a portfolio of evidence-driven grants totaling $10 million across critical areas, including newborn health, adolescent reproductive health, pediatric AIDS, child slavery and sexual exploitation, and climate mitigation. Designed and implemented learning agendas that enabled the health portfolio to adapt and refine its investment strategies.
- Disseminate Evidence to Broader field: Presented findings from CIFF commissioned evaluations at professional fora namely "What works summit" in London 2016 and IDEAS conference Bangkok 2015
- Enhance Transparency and Quality in Evaluation: Played an important role in elevating the transparency, quality, and influence of CIFF's evaluation and learning outputs. Contributed to positioning CIFF as a leader in philanthropy in terms of evidence generating and evidence use.
Health Specialist (Monitoring and Evaluation)
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
1 2014 - 2 2015
- Provide Strategic M&E Leadership: Served as the M&E Technical Lead for a transformative €48.5 million grant from the European Union to UNICEF Zambia, driving efforts to accelerate national goals for maternal, neonatal, child health, and nutrition. Designed and implemented a robust M&E framework that guided the project’s strategic direction. Managed a detailed M&E work plan that ensured all activities were on track and effectively contributing to measurable health outcomes. Led the commissioning and management of population and health facility-based surveys, providing critical data insights that informed program adjustments and enhanced service delivery in maternal and child health
- Spearhead Knowledge Management: Acted as the Knowledge Management Lead for the Health and Nutrition section, driving initiatives that captured, disseminated, and utilized critical knowledge to enhance program effectiveness and stakeholder engagement.
- Contribute to M&E Systems Strengthening: Developed a comprehensive plan for the M&E systems strengthening component of the grant, valued at €7 million. This plan encompassed projections for human resources, training strategies, and capacity-building initiatives, ensuring that stakeholders were equipped to effectively utilize data.
- Enhance Data Infrastructure and Culture: Implemented support for IT infrastructure improvements to enhance data collection and transmission processes. Championed a culture of data use among maternal, neonatal, child health, and nutrition stakeholders, fostering an environment where data-driven decision-making is the norm.
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, HIV/AIDS Section
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
11.2010 - 12.2013
- Foster collaboration amongst 10 UN agencies on young people & AIDS: Served as the Secretariat for the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Young People and HIV
- Commission Research Initiatives to Inform Polices: Commissioned and managed a five-country operational research initiative that provided critical evidence on the effectiveness of cash transfer schemes in enhancing HIV prevention and treatment outcomes for children and adolescents. This research has informed policy and programmatic decisions at multiple levels.
- Provide Technical Support for various UNICEF country offices: This support ensured that programs were data-driven and aligned with evidence of good practices.
- Managing Pediatric HIV Care Initiatives funded by MAC AIDS Fund in BRICS countries: ensured effective program implementation and ensured alignment with strategic health objectives.
- Impact Measurement of Communications interventions: Supported three country teams in Sub-Saharan Africa in measuring the impact of a radio-based HIV prevention communication initiative on adolescents’ uptake of counseling and testing services.
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Advisor
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)
07.2009 - 11.2010
- Provide Insights from M&E to Enhance Impacts of PMTCT programmes: Developed tools and systems to collect, analyse and make sense of perfomance data of PMTCT programmes. Acted as MEL backstop for 3 EGPAF country programmes. Trained nurses and field MEL staff on data collection and analyses
- Contribute to Business Development Efforts: Co-authored a successful $35 million proposal for Uganda PMTCT program
- Provide M&E Technical Leadership": Led 2 areas of work namely community-based information system and data quality audit (for accountability with US Government funded programme.
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Technical Advisor for Southeast Asia
MEASURE Evaluation UNC-Chapel Hill
05.2007 - 07.2009
- Be an Evaluator on the ground: Co-Principal Investigator in an evaluation study of a 'prevention for positives' program, leading study conceptualization, instrument design, analysis, write-up, and results dissemination. Provided technical assistance to USAID/Vietnam and regional partners on monitoring and evaluation best practices for national HIV/AIDS programs.
- Provide M&E Capacity Development in Vietnam and Thailand: Developed capacity development plans, writing training curricula, and delivering training to staff. Facilitated data utilization by conducting workshops for policymakers at national and sub-national levels.
Education
Introduction to Sustainable Finance Course -
University of Oxford
09.2022 - 10.2022
Masters of Science in Public Health -
University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
08.2005 - 05.2007
Bachelor of Arts - Health Promotion and Health Services Management
University of Western Sydney
01.2000 - 12.2002
Skills
Adaptive Learning
Facilitation skills
Relationship Building
Project Management
Presentation Skills
Problem-solving aptitude
Knowledge management
Affiliations
Friends of the International Evaluation Academy
American Evaluation Association
Climate SMILE
Timeline
Introduction to Sustainable Finance Course -
University of Oxford
09.2022 - 10.2022
Monitoring, Evaluation Learning Manager
IKEA Foundation
12.2016 - Current
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, HIV/AIDS Section
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
11.2010 - 12.2013
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Advisor
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)
07.2009 - 11.2010
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Technical Advisor for Southeast Asia
MEASURE Evaluation UNC-Chapel Hill
05.2007 - 07.2009
Masters of Science in Public Health -
University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
08.2005 - 05.2007
Bachelor of Arts - Health Promotion and Health Services Management
University of Western Sydney
01.2000 - 12.2002
Evidence, Measurement and Evaluation Manager
The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF)
3 2015 - 12.2016
Health Specialist (Monitoring and Evaluation)
United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)
1 2014 - 2 2015
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