Deborah Drake has over 30 years’ experience in financial inclusion, including investments and corporate governance, assessments and ratings, investor engagement and capacity building, and research in inclusive financial services.  She is the co-author of Corporate Governance for Early-Stage, Innovative Companies: A Practical Resource Guide and the co-editor of The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development.

At Cerise+SPTF, Deborah Drake directs the Financial Inclusion Equity Council (FIEC), a member forum of private entities that make equity investments in financial inclusion in the developing world.  Since FIEC moved its secretariat from Accion to Cerise+SPTF in 2023, Deborah also works closely with Cerise+SPTF’s Social Investor Working Group to further deepen collaboration and discussion among all types of investors.

Outside of her work for Cerise+SPTF, Deborah serves on the boards of Vista Ventures Social Impact Fund, IncluirTec (a Colombian ag-fintech), and O’Brien Art Foundation,  and she is also the Director Emerita of Root Capital, a non-profit providing credit and capacity building to small and growing agricultural businesses around the globe.

Deborah is a graduate of Georgetown University, holds an MBA from Babson College, and speaks English (native), Spanish, and Portuguese.