Marianne “Vicky” Santoso is a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) specialist with more than a decade of experience advancing gender equality, food systems, and inclusive development through evidence-driven strategies. She designs and leads MEL systems that move beyond compliance to generate actionable insight—helping organizations learn, adapt, and deliver impact where it matters most.

At USAID’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Hub, Vicky directed MEL for the $80M Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund. She created an interagency information system in partnership with the State Department and Data Services, strengthening coordination and accountability. She managed a portfolio of evaluations spanning women’s economic empowerment, early childhood care and education, and women’s leadership in energy and waste sectors. She also advanced USAID’s positioning on the care economy and women’s mental health, ensuring evidence informed strategy and resource allocation.

Her academic background includes a PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University, where she led a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania on participatory agroecology, women’s empowerment, and child nutrition. This work combined rigorous mixed-methods design with community-led engagement, building trust among farmers, universities, and local government. As an IMMANA Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, she coordinated a 23-country participatory guide on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and systematic reviews linking empowerment with nutrition and mental health outcomes.

Across her career, Vicky has bridged research, policy, and practice. She has produced blogs, briefs, and donor reports that translate complex findings into accessible messages for decision-makers and communities alike. She is recognized for her participatory and gender-sensitive approach, her ability to connect technical rigor with practical relevance, and her leadership in building inclusive systems that empower local actors.

Vicky is committed to solutions that integrate health, livelihoods, and ecosystem resilience, with equity and local capacity at the center. Her work reflects a belief that sustainable development is strongest when it is inclusive, evidence-based, and designed for real-world use.