Richenda van leeuwen biography

Richenda is the Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).
Richenda Van Leeuwen is an energy access expert who led Energy Access at the UN Foundation and with the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
As a 10 year old girl, Richenda Van Leeuwen saw a solar panel at the Centre of Alternative Technology on a rainy day in Wales.

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Background: This conversation took place by telephone on September 14, 2012 between Michael Bodakowski and Richenda Van Leeuwen. Ms. Van Leeuwen described her work at the intersection of development, finance, coordination, and energy access, which includes leadership in forming the UNF’s Energy Access Practitioner Network, a coordinating body for more than 750 companies and organizations involved in delivering rural energy services in developing countries. She focused on the current and potential roles of faith-inspired theologies, actors, organizations, and coordinating networks as contributors to energy access initiatives. She highlighted examples of successful programs for replication, such as incorporating energy access into child sponsorship programs, and areas where faith networks can leverage their capacity and skills to expand access to energy significantly. Ms. Van Leeuwen also touched upon the links between sustainable energy access, and gender, climate change, and economic considerations.

What path took you to a career working on energy issues?

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Richenda is the Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). She previously served as Managing Director for Empowering Clean Economies at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and previously as Chair, International Institutions at the Global LPG Partnership where she worked on climate and clean energy solutions in developing economies. She was also a member of the World Bank’s Energy Program’s (ESMAP) Technical Advisory Group from 2016-2019. From 2010-2016 she was Executive Director of Energy Access at the United Nations Foundation, working on the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, and leading a 2,300 member global off-grid renewable energy practitioner network. She previously served for nearly five years as CEO of Trickle Up, a global microenterprise development organization. Richenda has previously worked in private equity and impact investing in emerging markets as well as in post-conflict settings. She is a board director of SELCO India and Energy 4 Impact, and an Emeritus founding U.S. Women’s “Clean Energy AmbassadorR

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A Life of Energy Access and Inclusion - Ep20: Richenda Van Leeuwen

As a 10 year old girl, Richenda Van Leeuwen saw a solar panel at the Centre of Alternative Technology on a rainy day in Wales. This would serve as her first point of inspiration for the career ahead of her. Now, she is the Executive Director of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. In the 20th episode of Cleaning Up, Michael and Richenda cover gender balance in the energy sector, the crucial role electricity access plays in providing healthcare in the Global South as well as ways to ensure that local economies are the beneficiaries of growth in emerging markets. Bio Richenda joined the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) as Executive Director after serving as Managing Director for Empowering Clean Economies at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and previously chairing the International Institutions at the Global LPG Partnership where she led work on clean cooking energy solutions in developing economies. She was also a member of the World Bank’s Energy Program’s (ESMAP) Technical Advisory Group from