Adriana Henriquez

Director of Development and Engagement, Center for Independent Thought & Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee

Bio Current as of July 20, 2023

Adriana currently serves as Director of Development and Engagement at the Center for Independent Thought where she manages donor relationships and implements development and fundraising plans to provide for the short- and long-term needs of CIT’s education programs. She also works with CIT’s network of teachers to gather feedback of topics and activities that can be incorporated into their curriculums.

Previously she was Chief Operating Officer of Makeba, a fin-tech company enabling emerging markets to transact securely without credit cards or cash. Makeba built a financial ecosystem that combines point-of-sale payments and money transfers into a platform that is lightning fast, highly secure, and very low-cost.  

Adriana formerly served as Concordia’s Director of Operations, responsible for managing the organization’s financial affairs in liaison with an independent CPA and auditor firm, as well as managing the short-term and long-term planning processes and resource allocation decisions needed as Concordia scales its operations. Additionally, she oversees the implementation of compensation and benefits for employees, the management of contractors, and the talent recruitment process.   

Before joining Concordia, Adriana focused on cross-sector business development initiatives in the nonprofit, telecommunications, energy, and financial industries of the African continent. As a member of multiple founding teams, including Makeba, GoGreenRide, T+, and Malaika, Adriana has gained the operational know-how to scale operations and projects in new markets via strategic innovation, key partnerships, and unique technology solutions.

Adriana holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.