About Us

We are a dynamic gender and social impact advisory firm, collaborating with purpose-driven funders, investors and leaders to create transformative change.

Vision

Grounded in our feminist DNA, we seek to accelerate progress towards a more just and inclusive world by transforming systems and structures. We strive to create meaningful partnerships, influence the redistribution of resources and shift power.

We envision a future in which all women, girls and people of minority genders exercise power and agency, and are able to claim their rights free from exclusion and prejudice, in order to live fulfilling lives. 

Mission

We’re on a mission to transform the development sector, by providing funders, investors and leaders with a different offering. 
We’re on a mission to transform the development sector, by providing funders

We combine our deep expertise in gender, social inclusion and international development with a passion for impact investing and inspiration from the private sector. We believe that working across sectors generates the ideas, evidence and tools needed to accelerate, deepen and sustain gender and social impact.

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Our Values

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Founders’ Story

Rebecca and Emily set up Kore Global in 2019 with a desire to create a business that is values-driven, puts feminist principles into practice, and delivers cutting-edge gender equality and social inclusion advisory services.

They first met in 2013, when Emily was Director of the Gender Equality team at the Girl Effect (a Nike/DFID partnership at the time), and Rebecca was a Senior Consultant providing technical support to drive more impactful funding and investments to adolescent girls. 

Together they have worked alongside human-centred designers, marketing and advertising experts, investors, social enterprises, and business growth advisors. Through these experiences, they developed a mutual love and appreciation for multi-disciplinary, innovative and creative approaches to solving the hardest development challenges. 

Seeking new opportunities to seed ideas across sectors, reinvigorate and energise leaders committed to gender equality and social inclusion, and scale impact, they founded Kore Global.

‘Kore’ both expresses our belief that striving for gender and social impact should be at the core of all we do, and is a reference to ‘Kore,’ a goddess in Greek mythology who represents new growth, abundance and regeneration. 

Kore Global has grown into a well-respected gender and social impact advisory firm, known for marrying wisdom with innovation, nurturing meaningful and impactful relationships, bringing joyful energy and curiosity to our work, and pushing boundaries in service of transforming lives.

Co-founders, Rebecca Calder and Emily Boost


Social Enterprise

Since Kore Global’s founding in 2019, our mission has been to drive meaningful change—not just for ourselves, but for our clients, team, community, and the world. From the beginning, we’ve committed to measuring our success not only by financial growth, but by the positive impact we create as a company.

In 2023, we took a significant step by becoming a legally registered Benefit Company, formalizing our dedication to making decisions that consider all stakeholders – including our team, clients, and community – and the environment. 

This year, we furthered this commitment by achieving B Corporation certification—an important accountability mechanism that reinforces our dedication to transparency and continuous improvement. While no accreditation is perfect, we’re proud of achieving this milestone on our impact journey. 

As we move forward, Kore Global will continue refining our practices, challenging the status quo, and seeking new ways to deepen our positive impact. Read more about our commitments here.

Our Team

Dharini Bhuvanendra

Consultant
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Emily Boost

Director & Co-Founder
she/her

Federica Busiello

Associate
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Rebecca Calder

Director & Co-Founder
she/her

Louise Fox

Associate
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Kate Grantham

Associate
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Sarah Green

Associate
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Hadeezah Haruna-Usie

Associate

Alice Helliwell

Operations
she/her

Jenny Holden

Principal Consultant
she/her

David Jodrell

Associate
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Inyo Lian

Programme Coordinator
she/her

Borja Marti

Associate
he/him

Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Associate
she/her

Katherine Nichol

Principal Consultant
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Leva Rouhani

Associate
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Becca Smith

Associate

Kari Walton

Analyst
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Becky Zelikson

Analyst
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Dharini Bhuvanendra

Consultant
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Dharini has over 13 years of experience working in the international development sector with organizations across Canada, the UK, Europe, Asia, and Africa. She has specialist expertise in gender analysis and strategy development, as well as providing tailored GESI technical support. Dharini holds an MSc in Development Studies.

Fun fact: Dharini moonlights as a musician, singing in a choir and playing the piano, djembe, and sitar.

Emily Boost

Director & Co-Founder
she/her

Emily has twenty years of experience working on gender and inclusion in both the public and private sectors. She has specialist expertise in designing organizational strategy, multi-country programs, TA facilities, and fund portfolios. Emily holds an MA in Gender and Development.

Fun fact: Emily’s birthday is on International Women’s Day.

Federica Busiello

Associate
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Federica is a gender equality and social inclusion specialist with over 15 years of experience in advisory, research, and evaluation roles. She has expertise in Women’s Economic Empowerment, focusing on gender and inclusion in trade, supply chains, women’s entrepreneurship, and both formal and informal economies. Her regional experience spans East Africa and South Asia, with additional expertise in gender and inclusion in infrastructure, gender-based violence, SRHR, and education. Federica holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Social Research Methods, a Master’s in International Protection of Human Rights, and a Master’s in European Business.

Fun fact: Federica lived in Tanzania for two years and speaks basic Kiswahili. She is currently based in Malta and plans to learn Maltese.

Rebecca Calder

Director & Co-Founder
she/her

Rebecca has over thirty years of experience in gender policy, research, and evaluation in the public and private sectors. She has specialist knowledge in women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion, the care economy, and gender norms. Rebecca holds a PhD in Anthropology.

Fun fact: Rebecca lived in Nepal for almost a decade and speaks Nepali.

Louise Fox

Associate
she/her

Louise is an internationally recognized development economist with extensive expertise in employment creation, economic empowerment, and poverty reduction. She has published widely on inclusive growth, youth employment, gender and women’s economic empowerment, and social protection. Louise holds a PhD in Economics.

Kate Grantham

Associate
she/her

Kate has over 15 years of experience in gender equality research and policy, focusing on feminist, participatory, and qualitative approaches. She has specialist knowledge of women’s economic empowerment, the care economy, climate change, and gender data. Kate holds a PhD in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research.

Fun fact: Kate loves figure skating and was once in an on-ice production of The Wizard of Oz—she played flying monkey #4.

Sarah Green

Associate
she/her

Sarah has 20 years of experience in international human rights and development, including 12 years focused on gender justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and supporting grassroots feminist activism. She has led advocacy, research, and program implementation in Latin America, East and West Africa, South Asia, and with global institutions, including UN agencies and philanthropic and research organizations. Sarah holds an MSc in Development Studies and a BA in Creative Writing. She speaks fluent Spanish.

Fun fact: Despite being a “words” person, Sarah is currently learning to draw—a challenging, inspiring, and sometimes humbling endeavor!

Hadeezah Haruna-Usie

Associate

Hadeezah has twenty years of experience working on gender, inclusion, and safeguarding in both the public and private sectors. She has specialist expertise in organizational and portfolio strategy and design, as well as multi-country programs. Hadeezah holds an MBA in Project Management.

Fun fact: Hadeezah is currently obsessed with K- and C-Dramas!

Alice Helliwell

Operations
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Alice is an operations management professional with over 8 years of experience. Currently working toward her CPHR designation, she is passionate about continuous professional development and improving organizational effectiveness. A dedicated volunteer, Alice has contributed to community initiatives in Canada, Botswana, and the UK.

Jenny Holden

Principal Consultant
she/her

Jenny has over fifteen years of experience working on gender and inclusion-focused research and evaluations. She has specialist skills in women’s economic empowerment (WEE), gender-based violence prevention (GBV), and feminist evaluation approaches. Jenny holds an MA in Medical Anthropology.

Fun fact: Jenny studied Chinese at university and spent a year in Beijing, where she developed a mild dumpling obsession.

David Jodrell

Associate
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David has over fifteen years of experience in research and specializes in impact evaluation design, utilizing experimental and quasi-experimental methodologies, alongside MLE system development. He has extensive experience in gender, sexual and reproductive health, and social inclusion. David holds an MSc in Epidemiology and a BSc in Psychology.

Fun fact: David lived in Malawi for over six years. 

Inyo Lian

Programme Coordinator
she/her

Inyo has over six years of experience in the international development sector. She has specialist expertise in project cycle management, as well as justice, equity, decolonisation, diversity, and inclusion. Inyo is currently completing an MA in Gender and Sexuality in Global Politics.

Fun fact: Despite not being Canadian, Inyo’s colleagues often refer to her as the “quintessential Vancouverite.”

Borja Marti

Associate
he/him

Borja has over ten years of experience as a quantitative and mixed-methods specialist, with expertise in social and reproductive health, gender-based violence, education, and women’s empowerment. He holds an MSc in Economic Development and has published research in sociology and demographics.

Fun fact: Borja is based in Prague, where he spends his free time writing essays and playing live music.

Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Associate
she/her

Zahrah has over 15 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating projects for women, girls, and other marginalized groups. She has specialist knowledge of women’s and girls’ economic rights and empowerment, the care economy, social protection, urban development, and qualitative methodologies. Zahrah holds a PhD in Human Geography and Urban Studies and an MSc in Urbanisation and Development.

Fun fact: Zahrah ran a literary blog for ten years, celebrating the voices and stories of the African continent and the Diaspora.

Katherine Nichol

Principal Consultant
she/her

Katherine has over fifteen years of experience working on gender equality and social inclusion in the international development sector. She has specialist expertise in gender-based violence (GBV), sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and organizational and portfolio strategy and design. Katherine holds an MA in Sociology with a focus on gender equality.

Fun fact: A proud cat lady, Katherine has fostered nearly 20 cats before adopting her two ‘forever cats,’ Lucky and Daisy, while living in Turkey.

Leva Rouhani

Associate
she/her

Leva has over 15 years of experience specializing in women’s economic empowerment, education, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and social norms. She has lived and worked in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, where she collaborated with partners to conduct feminist evaluations, develop monitoring and learning frameworks, and use participatory approaches to amplify marginalized voices. Leva holds a PhD in Education and Gender Studies and a Master’s in International Development.

Fun fact: Leva is a walking language jukebox, fluent in four languages and sometimes switching between them without noticing.

Becca Smith

Associate

Becca has 18 years of international experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, and program design and implementation, with a strong focus on gender and social development. She specializes in social and behaviour change, global health, social norms and harmful practices, and gender lens investing, and enjoys using participatory research methods. Becca holds a Master’s in International Affairs and a Postgraduate Certificate in Data Science, Technology, and Innovation.

Fun fact: Becca is an avid stand-up paddleboarder.

Kari Walton

Analyst
she/her

Kari has over five years of experience conducting academic gender research and more than a year working on gender and inclusion in the international development sector. She has specialist knowledge in the psychology of gender and human sexuality and is currently completing an MA in Gender and Sexuality in Global Politics.

Fun fact: The only thing Kari is more passionate about than feminism is cuddling her dog, Bean.

Becky Zelikson

Analyst
she/her

Becky has over seven years of experience in gender equality and social inclusion in international development. She has specialist expertise in LGBTQ+ inclusion, qualitative and quantitative data analysis and visualization, and knowledge translation. Becky holds a BA in International Development Studies and is currently completing an MA in Gender and Sexuality in Global Politics.

Fun fact: Becky has single-handedly planted over 100,000 trees in northern Ontario.
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