About us
An experienced multi-disciplinary team of international consultants, delivering
tailor-made solutions to our clients
Our team of experts have over a decade of experience working at senior levels in international agencies, and national public and private sector organizations. We each bring valuable skills and field experience in a number of key areas to support the development of micro and small businesses: financing, marketing, strategic planning, project design, risk management, and innovation.
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Together, we have worked with a wide range of organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Organization of American States, the United Nations Development Program, Citi Foundation, the European Commission, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Development Bank of Jamaica, local private sector associations and government agencies.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Dr. Winsome Leslie, CEO & Founder
Winsome is CEO and Founder of DevSolutions Consulting LLC. She is an international development specialist with over 25 years' experience in negotiations, strategic planning as well as project analysis, design, and implementation. She is formerly a senior staff member at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) where, as part of the Management Team, she was head of the Strategy and Coordinator for Caribbean programming at the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a grant facility administered by the IDB.
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Winsome has a strong track record in fostering partnerships, facilitating business connections and mobilizing resources to support micro and small business development. She has extensive experience in the identification and development of innovative projects supporting micro and small businesses, with a focus on access to finance, innovation and capacity-building. Most of these projects have been pioneering partnerships and operations in the Caribbean.
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She has held various positions in both the public and private sectors and has acted as advisor to governments in the Caribbean in the areas of foreign assistance and foreign investments. She has also managed multi-million dollar programs fostering project development in the Caribbean and Latin America, and brokered important knowledge exchanges between the two regions.
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Winsome has significant experience in lecturing at the university level on economic and political issues. She has authored and co-authored several publications and blogs on economic development topics in Africa and the Caribbean. She is a graduate of the Aspen Institute’s Executive Seminar, a member of the Advisory Council of the Inter-American Foundation, a member of the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) and a former board member of the Society for International Development. She holds a B.A. in Economics with distinction from Barnard College, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. She is a recipient of the prestigious Antonio Ortiz Mena award from the IDB for her contribution to the institution's work in the Caribbean.
Affiliations
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Graduate of Executive Seminar, Aspen Institute
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Former Vice President for Chapter Affairs and Board Member, Society for International Development – former Vice President for Chapter Affairs. Launched and chaired Caribbean Working Group
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Member, Maryland Economic Development Association
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Member, Investment and Diversity Committees, Board of Directors, Maryvale Preparatory School, Luthervillle, MD
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Member, Advisory Council, Inter-American Foundation, Washington D.C.
Honors
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2012 Antonio Ortiz Mena award (Inter-American Development Bank) for contribution to the organization in increasing engagement and raising the profile of the MIF/IDB in the Caribbean
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Caribbean Microfinance Alliance award for contribution to region’s microfinance sector
RECENT APPEARANCES
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Winsome interviewing David Mullings, Chairman and CEO, Blue Mahoe Capital on what investors look for in early stage companies
Winsome Leslie as a speaker on an"Access to Finance" discussion for Let's Get Down to Business IKTV program, organized by the St. Vincent Chamber of Commerce
OUR TEAM
Dr. Ruth C. Shoge
ASSOCIATE FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING & RESEARCH
Wayne Beecher
ASSOCIATE FOR DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION
Dr. Ruth Shoge has over 20 years of dynamic leadership and management experience in the field of Education. She is currently an independent consultant specializing in strategic planning and research and is affiliated with DevSolutions Consulting as an Associate. Previously, she was the Dean of Library and Academic Technology and a valued member of the President’s Senior Staff at Washington College, with primary responsibility for strategic planning of the library and academic technology, and as a team member helping to chart the future of the College in general.
Dr. Shoge has years of experience in strategic planning, as well as budget preparation, personnel management, facilities management, and the development, delivery, and assessment of user services and resources in an ever-changing information landscape and student/faculty expectations. She led the US$9-million renovation of the College library, a project that represented the transition from a traditional style library to the current 21st-century technology-rich space that is used for study, research, quiet contemplation, and social gatherings.
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In 2013, she received the President’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding leadership and service to Washington College. She is Associate Professor Emerita, Washington College, holds a Masters and Doctorate degrees from Columbia University, School of Library Service. She is currently the 1st vice president, with responsibility for strategic planning, on the Board of Directors, Sumner Hall, a small African American Museum.
Wayne has more than twenty years of senior management experience spanning the public and private sector, where he has developed expertise in strategy, innovation, project management, and technology application. He is the founder and CEO of alt^Catalyst, a professional service firm whose mission is to identify, inspire, and catalyze the next generation of human-centered design innovators.
His most recent assignment was the management of a portfolio of development innovations for the Multilateral Investment Fund - the Innovation Lab for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. Since leaving the IDB, he has been applying his energy and skills to seed-stage companies and he has accelerated several innovative entrepreneurial ventures.
He is affiliated with DevSolutions Consulting as an Associate, focusing primarily on entrepreneurship and innovation. He is a certified project management professional, with a degree in Management Studies & Accounting and an MBA.