Dr. Elizabeth Mensah – Bowler was born in Stouffville, Ontario. Elizabeth joined the Board of GRID in June of 2019. However, as the eldest daughter of David and Brenda Mensah, Elizabeth is in many ways one of GRID and NEA’s earliest members, having spent her formative years in Ghana actively involved in her parent’s work. She had the unique perspective of watching GRID and NEA evolve and witnessed the incredible impact of NEA’s unique model of participatory community development. From women’s cooperatives to peace-building and environmental stewardship, the work of NEA inspired her studies and her career.
At present, Elizabeth works as an Advisory Specialist for the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) office of the World Bank Group (WBG), an independent accountability mechanism for the private sector lending arms (IFC/MIGA) of the WBG. In this role, Elizabeth is actively engaged with communities from a policy perspective, working to provide independent advice with the goal of improving the environmental and social outcomes of IFC and MIGA projects around the world. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) and has been an adjunct professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She currently lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Justin, and their young son.