Nonprofit Leader Picked for U.S. International-Aid Post

Another nonprofit leader is headed to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Shari Berenbach, chief executive of the Calvert Foundation, has been appointed director of the Office of Microenterprise Development. The position, while a political appointment, does not require Senate confirmation. Ms. Berenbach will start on September 15.

Late last year, the president appointed Rajiv J. Shah, a former official at the Gates Foundation, to head USAID, and earlier this month, the administration nominated Nancy E. Lindborg, president of Mercy Corps, to be assistant administrator at the Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau.

Ms. Berenbach has led the Calvert Foundation — which promotes the idea of doing good through investing — for more than 13 years.

The Bethesda, Md., organization issues low-interest notes, an investment option similar to a certificate of deposit. Investors purchase the notes, and the money is then lent to nonprofit organizations to build low-cost housing, to provide small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries, and for other charitable services. Investors receive the principal back, along with up to 3 percent in interest.

When Ms. Berenbach started in 1997, the foundation had $5-million under management, a figure that now stands at more than $500-million.

Ms. Berenbach says she doesn’t plan to leave her nonprofit background behind when she moves to the new post. “There will be a very intentional strategy to align our work with private philanthropy,” she says.