Landesa is excited to introduce three new additions to its Board of Directors.
The new board members, Luciana Aquino-Hagedorn, J.D., Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Columbia University; Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD); and Darshana Shanbhag, M.D., a primary care physician in the Seattle area, add to a diverse and talented team of professionals who advise on our mission to strengthen land rights for women and men in the world’s poorest places.
“Luciana, Wanjiru, and Darshana bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge of inclusive social and economic enterprises from around the world. I’m proud to welcome three leaders of their caliber to our ranks,” said Landesa Board Chair Vikesh Mahendroo.
Terms for the three new board members officially began with Landesa’s March 19 board meeting.
L to R, Luciana Aquino-Hagedorn, JD; Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg; Darshana Shanbhag, MD
Luciana Aquino-Hagedorn, J.D.
Luciana Aquino-Hagedorn, J.D., is a global lawyer and strategic advisor with almost 20 years of combined major law firm and in-house experience. She is a Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Columbia University. Aquino-Hagedorn is passionate about creating positive social and environmental change through innovation, now focused on angel investing and the study of the theory and practice of impact and sustainable investing. She has a J.D. from Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. (full bio)
Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg
Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg is the Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), which works toward inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for Africa by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation. She is a 2018 Tutu Fellow and has received numerous honors, including recognition as a Champion of Change by President Barack Obama. Dr. Kamau-Rutenberg holds a PhD and Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, and a Bachelors in Politics and a Doctorate of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa) from Whitman College. (full bio)
Darshana Shanbhag, M.D.
Darshana Shanbhag, M.D., is a physician practicing Internal Medicine and providing primary care in the Seattle area since 2000. She graduated from medical school in Mumbai, India, and completed residencies in Internal Medicine in Mumbai and in Columbia, Missouri, before starting to work for Northwest Permanente in the Portland area in 1996. Dr. Shanbhag is President and board member of the Seattle chapter of Pratham, which is India’s largest education NGO, working on improving literacy in underprivileged children. She is also a board member at Hedgebrook, a literary nonprofit based in Seattle supporting visionary women writers on a global basis. (full bio)