Eloise Duncan

CEO and Founder

Eloise Duncan is CEO and Founder of the non-profit Financial Resilience Institute and a leading global authority on financial health and resilience and financial well-being. A dual Canadian and British national, she has lived and worked in six countries. Eloise is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), a Global Reviewer and Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) on financial health and inclusion measurement for banks, and a Global Reviewer and Partner to the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advocate (UNSGSA), Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the World Bank on financial health and well-being measurement. She has led a dedicated financial health and resilience practice for over 15 years and brings more than 20 years of experience in financial health and resilience research, impact measurement, strategic consulting, inclusive finance, Index creation and social enterprise innovation.

An expert speaker on financial health and resilience, Eloise collaborates with leaders across sectors to drive positive change. She is a recognized expert in Small Business Financial Health and Resilience, Employee Financial Well-Being, and leading initiatives that help non-profit organizations strengthen their financial resilience while delivering greater community impact. She is passionate about advancing financial health and resilience for more vulnerable populations, women and women-led SMEs.

Eloise is the creator of the world-leading, peer-reviewed Financial Resilience Index Model, the Business Financial Health and Resilience Index and other evidence-based measurement instruments. She and her team advise governments, regulators, financial institutions, employers, CEOs, boards and international organizations on financial health and resilience strategy, evidence-based decision-making, and program and policy development. Together, they lead transformational initiatives that advance financial health and resilience and drive lasting systemic change. Her more detailed biography is here.

Katie Sutter

Senior Impact and Engagement Consultant

Katie Sutters leads business development, communications and engagement and impact projects for the Institute. She is a passionate communications and sustainability professional dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations amplify their impact. With a background spanning corporate and nonprofit sectors, she specializes in crafting clear and compelling messaging that strengthens community connections and drives long-lasting change. Beyond her professional work, Katie enjoys traveling, hiking, and exploring new ideas through reading, all of which fuel her passion for sustainability and global awareness.

Kujtim Koci

Senior Statistician and Consultant

Kujtim is Senior Statistician and Consultant at the Institute, where he has worked for eight years. He has led hundreds of market and social research projects, mainly for international donor organizations like the World Bank, UN Agencies, USAID, NATO, European Union and several Canadian FIs. Kujtim is the lead statistician for Financial Resilience Institute and works with a team of statisticians and Associates to support the Institute's projects. As a Fulbright scholar, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing an MBA degree, specializing in Marketing Research.

Shawna Zegarra

Office Manager

Shawna Zegarra is the Office Manager for Financial Resilience Institute, where she supports operations, administration and communications. Shawna also works as a Board, Subscriber and Client liaison and as the Executive Assistant to Eloise Duncan. Her passion lies with helping people who are helping others.

Prof. Suresh Babu

Senior Advisor to the CEO and Founder
Head, Capacity Strengthening and Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

As a research leader on international development, Prof. Babu's contributions to policy advice, capacity development and institutional development in the Global South have resulted in transformative programmatic changes. Prof. Babu supports our CEO and Founder as a Senior Advisor on international dimensions of the Institute’s impact work.

Maggie Baker, PhD

Senior Associate, Money Psychologist

Maggie has been a practicing clinical psychologist for 30 years, specializing in couples, relationship issues, anxiety and depression. Over the last nearly 20 years, Maggie has developed expertise in the psychology of money and financial wellness. Although she still works with other types of issues, her main focus is now on financial therapy, public speaking and doing workshops about her book, Crazy About Money: How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices and What To Do About It, behavioural economics and financial wellness. Maggie partners with Eloise and her team on research and work related to money scripts, financial resilience and wellness and the disconnects between consumer and financial goals and behaviours.

Bardh Ulaj, Bsc

Senior Associate, Brand, Digital Marketing and UX Design

Bardh is a Management & Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design and Multimedia graduate with a diploma from the Rochester Institute of Technology. With a passion for user experience and human-centered design and almost a decade of experience in the industry, he has honed his skills in designing effective and visually appealing digital experiences for users. Bardh's design process is centered around creating designs that not only look great, but also function seamlessly and enhance the user experience.

Ivan Medovikov, PhD, CIM

Senior Consultant, Analytics and Technology

Ivan is a Senior Consultant, Analytics and Technology at Financial Resilience Institute. He has a Ph.D in Financial Econometrics (Data Science) and has a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation, combined with 10+ years’ experience in advanced data modelling and analytics, financial technology, and business leadership. Ivan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Brock University, has led diverse technological and scientific teams to deliver mission-critical custom data modelling solutions for some of the largest clients in the Canadian asset management industry.

Andra Dauti, Bsc.

Senior Associate, Brand Marketing Strategy and Visual Design

Andra is an Industrial Design Engineer with a diploma from the Hague University of Applied Sciences. With a keen eye on detail and understanding of data, Andra is an expert on Data Visualization and Illustration. Andra’s experience includes branding, visual presentation, content creation, social media marketing and management.

Umar Ameen, M.Sc

Digital Marketing & WordPress Specialist

Umar works with passion and dedication to strengthen our non-profit's digital presence, supporting our websites, online platforms and digital engagement initiatives. He has worked with the Institute for over four years.

Anton Shishkin, M.Sc, Microsoft-Certified IT Professional

Senior IT Consultant and Developer

Anton is a Senior IT Consultant and Developer at the Financial Resilience Institute. He has 15+ years’ experience in system administration, cloud computing, programming and building full-stack solutions for large financial services clients. With deep experience in programming and proven skills in database management, network architecture and security protocols, Anton has multiple Microsoft Certifications of Excellence designations, and a fluency in programming in languages like PHP, C#, Python, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. He helps to optimize IT infrastructures, virtualization, and security while delivering leading edge scalable, technology solutions with a human touch.

Elisabeth (Lilli) Graf

Behavioural Finance Consultant

Lilli is a seasoned professional with over fifteen years’ experience working across sectors, and a specialized focus on financial services and fintech. She is an expert at leveraging service and behavioural design to gain profound insights into customer needs, behaviours, and attitudes towards money. Lilli works with the Institute’s team and clients to help design prevention solutions and customer experiences that help people build healthy financial behaviours and their financial and overall resilience. In addition to leading innovation projects, she teaches Design and User Research at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland.

Valentin Davydov

Associate Consultant

Valentin is an Associate Consultant at the Institute. With over a decade of experience across sectors and experience in management consulting for financial services, he translates complex ideas into actionable insights and strategies. Valentin's work combines analytical depth with collaboration. He thrives in helping to build teams, solutions and systems that connect business, technology and drive impact. Valentin holds a Master of Business Economics from Brock University.