Verité has successfully scaled the expansion of our global capacity through the establishment of an independent Regional Office structure. Our regional office directors are recognized pioneers in the field. Their combined expertise spans critical areas such as business, law, supply chain management, engineering, economics, accounting and social ethics, labor, women’s rights, human rights, environmental, health and safety issues.

Wenjuan Yao, Verité China Program Director

Ms. Wenjuan Yao, Director of Verité China program. Ms. Yao has joined Verité for nearly a decade; she is currently responsible for Verité China operations. She has designed and implemented corporate, factory, worker and NGO trainings across numerous sectors, including developing Verité's approach to worker participation in CSR assessments in China. Ms. Yao directs Verité's Mobile Training Program in China, which has trained over 100,000 workers on CSR/SER and Life Skills and thousands of factory managers on management systems and worker engagement. Before taking on the role as China Director, Ms. Yao also led many aspects of the organization’s Emerging Markets Research Program. Ms. Yao has masters’ degree in history and education; she spent ten years in editing and management capacity in the Chinese publishing industry prior to joining Verité.

Marie Apostol, Founder and Director Verité Southeast Asia

Marie has been Verité's Regional Coordinator for South East Asia since 1997, responsible for recruiting, training and deploying the auditor teams in six countries that conduct factory audits worker interviews and draft reports. She has a background in poverty alleviation and extensive experience with the UN system and NGO communities. Marie has worked with UNICEF, UNDP, USAID and numerous Filipino commissions including the Presidential Commission to Fight Poverty. She has also coordinated a network of six NGOs implementing a pioneering effort to address the micro-level impact of corporate restructuring. Prior to that Marie had been a lecturer at the University of the Philippines, technical consultant to the National Economic and Development Authority and has published numerous papers, guidebooks and case studies relating to sustainable economic development, micro-finance and training. Marie is fluent in English and three Filipino dialects.

Gabriela Delgadillo, Latin America Program Director

Gabriela is responsible for Verité’s operations in Latin America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the Latin American region, on socially responsible and also gender issues and is an accomplished trainer and a former Fulbright Scholar. As Regional Director, Gabriela is responsible for working with corporate clients and recruiting, training, and deploying audit and training teams in 14 countries, who under her direction conduct factory audits, worker interviews, and factory-level remediation training and capability building, and has led Verité’s collaborative approaches to addressing Freedom of Association issues in Central America.

Dr. Aqueel Khan, PhD., Director, Association for Stimulating Know-how and Verité South Asia Program Director

Aqueel is Founder and Executive Director of the Association for Stimulating Know-How (ASK), an Indian NGO founded in 1992. The ASK-Verité partnership functions as Verité's Regional Office in South Asia. Aqueel is a development professional and has experience working at national and international levels in the field of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R), CSR, NGO management and sectoral issues such as gender and development, micro-credit and micro-enterprise development, and participatory irrigation management. He has led the development of programs such as Verité’s Gathering Information from Workers, and conducted training for numerous multinational corporations.
 

Mitzi Pascual-Zaruk, Europe Program Partner

Mitzi is founder of Engaged-Partnerships for Change, a Brussels-based NGO that undertakes labor facilitation, dialogue and development. In partnership between Engaged and Verité, Mitzi designs and delivers CSR audit, remediation and training programs for brands and vendors across industries, with specialties in the food & beverage and agricultural sectors. She has recruited local teams and built capacity for delivering Verité programs in Eastern Europe, Turkey and several African countries. Mitzi was a member of the Associate Auditors Group of SEDEX. Mitzi speaks six languages: Filipino, English, French, Bahasa Indonesia, Dutch, and Spanish.

Sayeeda Khan, Bangladesh Program Director

Sayeeda is Founder and Director of Sheva, a Bangladeshi NGO working to help empower the urban poor. She has extensive experience working with disenfranchised women in the garment industry in Bangladesh. Sayeeda oversees Sheva's programs that offer training, community development and microfinance, as well as the delivery of auditing, training, research and program building for brands, suppliers and other stakeholders.