Inveneo Staff Archives
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on March 9, 2015 in the categories: Education, News
UNESCO and UN Women’s recent Mobile Learning Week conference in Paris was an ICT-focused event that brought together over 1,000 participants from more than 70 countries. As a participant representing Inveneo, Media Manager Jana Melpolder traveled to Paris to determine best practices on using technology to educate and empower girls and women around the world. She was pleased to run into several key ICTworks’ authors at the event, including Linda Raftree and Jim Teicher.
Ms. Raftree made a presentation titled “10 Myths About Mobile Learning and Girls’ Empowerment”, and it made a big impact in the way she thought about how mobiles affect girls. Several of her key myths of mobile ownership included:
- Cost being the largest barrier to owning a phone (which is not always true due to family pressures or societal norms that prohibit a girl from easily owning a phone)
- Mobile phones can’t address the real needs of girls (when in reality mobile phones can address important issues such as domestic violence, information for rape victims, and more)
- Vulnerable girls don’t have access to mobile phones (when in reality a girl may be borrowing a phone from friends, etc.)
Ms. Melpolder appreciate the insights that Linda Raftree and other speakers offered, and there were many terrific tech-related resources that were promoted for teachers throughout this event. However, the greater focus at the Mobile Learning Week conference should have been how parents could use technology to empower and educate young girls. Parents are a solid backbone to a girl’s education, and she believes that more technological resources need to become more easily available to them.
Technology that parents already own can be better utilized to push a girl’s education further and better prepare them for modern jobs. For example, since mobile phones are widely used in emerging regions, parents should more often utilize text messages about assignments that are due, or they should receive daily or weekly messages on what children are learning while at school. Additionally, teachers should use mobiles more often to communicate to parents what lessons a young girl is currently working on in school.
Engaged parents are vital to the education and empowerment of young girls everywhere, and resources should be made available to them just as often as they are made available to teachers. She hopes there is a better balance in the future – one where educational tech tools are brought equally to the hands of teachers and parents to make an even greater impact for young girls around the world.
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on March 2, 2015 in the categories: News
UNESCO and UN Women recently held their Mobile Learning Week conference in Paris. Located at the UNESCO headquarters, which is quite close to the Eiffel Tower, the event brought together around 1,000 participants from over 70 countries. Individuals gathered together to discuss how technology is being used to help women and girls gain access to quality education, better job opportunities, and an equal share to ICT tools.
Inveneo’s Media Manager Jana Melpolder traveled to Paris to represent both ICTworks and Inveneo at the event. She was able to meet (in person) the ICTworks writers Linda Raftree and Jim Teicher, in addition to many other inspiring ICT figures. Check out a few of the best photos below from the week-long conference!
Mobile Learning Week was hosted by UNESCO and UN Women.
Outside the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
A panel discussing equitable access on the second day of Mobile Learning Week.
The main UNESCO office located in Paris.
Inveneo’s exhibition booth that was showcased during Mobile Learning Week.
UNESCO is celebrating its 70th anniversary throughout 2015.
A final panel of speakers moderated by ICTworks’ author Linda Raftree (far left). The panel discussed gender sensitive content and pedagogy.
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on March 1, 2015 in the categories: Events
Jana Melpolder, Inveneo’s Media Manager, recently attended the UNESCO and UN Women’s Mobile Learning Week conference held in Paris.
Mobile technology is increasingly becoming a valuable tool that educators around the world are using within their classrooms. When teachers use innovative tools such as a Raspberry Pi, tablets, and mobiles, they can combine them with an offline digital library, such as World Possible’s RACHEL-Pi.
What’s the end result? An incredible wealth of information, lesson plans, educational videos, and articles that can be accessed without the need for a reliable Internet connection.
This solution of creating an offline digital library was the main technological solution that Inveneo offered at the recent UNESCO and UN Women conference called Mobile Learning Week. Taking place in Paris, the event was held to connect organizations together that work to improve the status of women and girls through the use of education and technology. With Inveneo’s experience of 10 years working to connect those who need it most, Inveneo was on board to exhibit its work at the conference.
Jana Melpolder, Inveneo’s Media Manager, led the initiative to attend the conference. She created a display table which exhibited Inveneo’s ICT projects and technological solutions that are offered around the world. Inveneo’s exhibit table, shown below, showcased the team’s ICT projects with a main focus on Haiti, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. Ms. Melpolder also brought a Raspberry Pi, RACHEL-Pi, Asus laptop, Google Nexus 7 tablet, and Surtab tablet to give an example of what an offline digital library looks like and what it can do for classrooms around the world. Overall she was thrilled to meet so many inspiring representatives at the event who came from great organizations like UN Women, Butterfly Works, and 42 Education.
Ms. Melpolder organizes Inveneo’s ever-increasing and dynamic online presence. She previously volunteered with UNICEF USA, where she provided editorial direction to its web team and created its online newsletter for the northwest region of the United States. She is passionate about bringing human rights issues to the forefront through media and technology in the developing world, and she has reported on development programs from several countries including Bolivia, Ghana, Thailand and India. Her writing has been published on the World Vision, Beliefnet, and Twitter blogs. Jana’s educational background includes a B.A. in Anthropology from West Virginia University and a Master of International Development from the University of Pittsburgh.
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on January 28, 2015 in the categories: Jobs, News
Inveneo is accepting applications for a spring internship position to assist in creating an Offline Digital Library Project targeted for small Pacific island schools.
Deadline March 15th, 2014
This internship program is an international development initiative, with the objective of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to foster education in primary schools.
The principal development impacts are anticipated to be:
1) Empowerment of the rural schools and youth through increased and affordable access to information and communication tools
2) Developed leadership and skills in ICT4D
2015 marks the second year of Inveneo’s internship program focused on ICT and the emerging regions of the world. Inveneo is unique in its scope and approach to connecting those who need it most, with ICT4D work carried out in over 30 countries including in Oceania, Haiti, and across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Internship Description
The main work would be focused on improvement to the Rachel Pi server to meet project needs in the Pacific Islands, specifically in the Philippines, Micronesia, and Vanuatu.
Key areas of focus are:
- Porting Rachel Pi software (linux based) from Raspberry Pi hardware to Banana Pi hardware
- Web-based interface for Rachel Pi to add new content
- Program for easy creation of micro SD card with new content by non-computer science people
- Captive portal feature added to Rachel Pi server OS/Web interface
The position will be based in Inveneo’s San Francisco, CA office. The goal will be about four hours per week at the Inveneo office in San Francisco.
Qualifications:
A strong academic record with a minimum of 3.0 GPA
Proven ability in Linux and web server skills
Ability to work effectively independently
Application Details
To apply for this internship, please send a cover letter and resume/CV to Inveneo’s Media Manager Jana Melpolder, and include “Spring Internship” in the subject line.
Selected candidates will be contacted by email to schedule a phone interview.
Deadline for applications is March 15, 2014. Good luck!
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on December 12, 2014 in the categories: News
Inveneo is happy to welcome our newest staff member, Kelly Doley, who recently joined the team as the Project Manager. Kelly brings a wealth of knowledge to the Inveneo environment. 
He previously worked as a Program Officer for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) in South Sudan, where he served on the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) for 8 months following the eruption of conflict in December 2013. In South Sudan, Kelly co-managed USAID/OFDA’s humanitarian assistance portfolio, supporting the relief efforts of over 20 U.N. and NGO partners.
Kelly will be working as Project Manager for the Ebola Response Connectivity Initiative (ERCI) that we recently launched this past week. Our team will be sending several engineers and contractors to Accra, Ghana for several weeks to work in partnership with technicians from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Throughout the next few months we will be creating new Internet connections for medical centers located in Ebola-ridden communities. Kelly will be working with our team to manage the project and take numerous safety measures to ensure that our team and partners are safe and use best health practices to avoid Ebola contamination.
Mr. Doley will also be managing the Internet Now! and Ethiopia READ projects. We are very excited to have him on board and look forward to watching our projects grow in impact with his help and support. Welcome to our newest member, Kelly! We’re so glad you joined the team!
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on November 21, 2014 in the categories: Events
If you are in the San Francisco area and work at Mission*Social, please mark our holiday party on your calendars!
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on November 14, 2014 in the categories: Jobs, News
Job Title: Finance Manager
Supervisor: Bruce Baikie
Department: Accounting & Finance
Start Date: Immediate
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Reply to: hr@inveneo.org
About Inveneo:
Inveneo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to connect and empower rural and underserved communities in the developing world with information and communications technologies (ICTs). We work with and serve organizations that deliver vital education, healthcare, economic development and relief services to some of the poorest communities in the world, enabling these organizations – NGOs, governments and others – to more effectively serve people in need through technology. We partner with local ICT entrepreneurs though our Inveneo Certified ICT Partner (ICIP) program, now active in 24 countries, to deliver and support these solutions locally.
Since 2006, Inveneo and our Inveneo Certified ICT Partners (ICIPs) have delivered innovative solutions reaching more than 3,200,000 people in over 1,800 communities in 31 countries mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Haiti.
Position Summary:
Inveneo is seeking a finance manager to head our financial strategy; report financials to senior managers and board of directors; and perform general accounting duties, including A/P, A/R, and payroll.
Major Responsibilities:
- Responsible for and manages all fiscal operations in a nonprofit social enterprise with a mix of funding that spans public and private grants, government contracts, and private donors
- Accountable for forecasting, general ledger, cash flow, accounts payable, payroll, and accounts receivable of all global programs
- Regularly report financial state of the firm to senior management and board of directors
- Manage and mentor half-time finance assistant in performing general accounting duties
- Partner with program and project managers in developing and managing budgets
- Work with independent auditor and external accountants for 501(c) nonprofits (OMB Circular A-122), including OMB Circular A-133
- Comply with various state, federal and grantor monitoring requirements
- Contribute to business development cost proposals
- Train and familiarize staff on USAID regulations compliance
- Review and update accounting policies and procedures for internal control purposes
- Prepare weekly financial statement analyses and perform monthly and yearly close
- Administer and monitor 401(k) plan for ERISA compliance and form filing
Required Job Skills and Experience:
- Minimum Bachelor’s degree in accounting or business with an accounting emphasis, MBA/CPA highly desirable
- 3+ years of accounting experience; experience in not-for-profit and/or fee-for-service businesses
- Strong self-starter, able to manage many responsibilities with limited guidance in a fast-paced environment
- Adept in budgeting, forecasting, cost analysis and cash flow management at all levels, from project to firm-wide
- Knowledge of GAAP, nonprofit accounting requirements, and Quickbooks
- Strong knowledge of OMB Circulars A-122 and A-133
- Solid knowledge of Excel, including complicated calculations, pivot tables and lookups
- Experience with inventory accounting
- Strong multitasking and analytical/troubleshooting skills.
- Ability to work with people from a wide range of cultural, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds
Highly Desirable Job Skills and Experience:
- Knowledge of governmental cost accounting/reporting requirements
- Understanding of cost allocation methodologies
- Ability in leading, guiding, training, and advising different team members on finance, accounting and audit-related matters
- Experience with Replicon time/expense reporting software and/or Paychex payroll processing
- Experience with Salesforce.com
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Additional Comments:
- Position is full-time but may be flexible, based in San Francisco
- Must play well with others
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to hr@inveneo.org.
- Posted by Jana Melpolder on October 8, 2014 in the categories: Events
YOU’RE INVITED
Inveneo is celebrating 10 years of delivering the tools of technology – sustainable computing and broadband – to those who need it most in the developing world.
Throughout the past 10 years Inveneo’s incredible team has transformed the lives of over 3.2 million people in 31 countries! Thank you for being a part of the team. Whether you worked with us as a partner or staff member, your efforts have helped ensure that those in need have better education, healthcare, economic opportunities and faster emergency relief.
Celebrate with us!
October 23rd, 2014
5:30pm
Please RSVP by October 17th by replying to this email
or by sending an email to Jana, Inveneo’s Media Manager.
Mission Social, 5th Floor
972 Mission Street
San Francisco
