Dr. BenYishay is a development economist specializing in empirical microeconomics, geospatial impact evaluations, and randomized control trials. He heads AidData’s Research and Evaluation Unit, and oversees the AidData Research Consortium, some 120 academics at 50 universities worldwide. His current research focuses on the impacts of foreign aid programs on agriculture and deforestation as well as human health and social capital. His work has been published in the American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Nature Sustainability, Journal of Development Economics, and many other outlets.

Richard Caldwell is a Senior Program Officer in the Strategic, Planning, and Management initiative of the Agricultural Development team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Richard has over 25 years of experience in agriculture and rural development. He started his career in Senegal as a Foreign Service Officer in USAID and later served as the Director for Africa for the Consortium for International Development. In 1998, he started a development consulting firm (Technical Assistance to Non-Government Organizations, or TANGO) and joined the Foundation in 2011.