Kristy Riordan
Director of Research & Evaluation

Tell us about your career path. What were you doing before Ripple Effect? 

After years of studying and training to be a teacher, I realized I cared more about social science and big-picture policies that affect lives, rather than being the one teaching reading and math. So, I switched gears. Before Ripple Effect, I worked for the Army and evaluated behavioral health programs. 

What’s a hobby of yours? 

I am an avid reader, especially Stephen King novels. It’s hard to find the time with three kids, but getting to read on vacation or on an airplane is when I’m the happiest. 

Why is Research and Evaluation so important to what Ripple Effect does? 

If you aren’t willing to look at yourself and see how you can improve, you probably aren’t approaching your business in a way that has fidelity. The government hasn’t always done this well, but we do! So, we help clients measure, analyze, and better understand how to improve and learn from past mistakes.  

What is a funny quirk about you that people might not know? 

I’m a big germaphobe. Being a health researcher doesn’t help that.

Advice you would give a young professional? 

What my father always told me: You are going to work for the vast majority of your life, so do something you can take pride in and enjoy doing.  

Timothy La Rose
Director of Communications & Outreach

Timothy La Rose was, most recently, the Senior Communications Manager for the USAID/RTI International ENVISION project which seeks to end neglected tropical diseases in 19 countries. He has more than 20 years of communications experience in both the private and public sectors. Previously he worked as the Chief of Communications for UNICEF Guinea, where he led communications before, during, and after the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Timothy has served as Chief of Communications for the United Nations Office on Children and Armed Conflict, led digital communications for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and worked on internal and external global communications projects at UN Headquarters. Earlier, he worked in the private sector at Citibank and Sony where he led small a digital communications team that won a patent for a content management system.

He has worked in: Washington D.C.; New York, NY; Conakry, Guinea; Vienna, Austria; Nairobi, Kenya; and Doha, Qatar. Throughout his career, he has managed communications teams covering diverse topics including: children, education, health, human trafficking, transnational organized crime, conflict, international development, child protection, and the music industry. Timothy lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife and son, loves the outdoors, and speaks German and French.