Diane Willkens ’72

To tackle some of the most pressing global issues, governments, businesses and nonprofit agencies often seek the expertise of SUNY Geneseo alumna Diane Willkens ’72.

Willkens, founder and CEO of Development Finance International Inc., is an international business advisor, and with her staff are navigators, guides and matchmakers, pairing clients with funding opportunities in emerging markets, including investments and streamlining processes.

Her unique concept for a business created a niche. She grew her business to one with offices in Manila, New Delhi, Nairobi and four U.S. cities — with a foundation to improve lives and communities on a larger scale.

Willkens partners in projects that address science, technology and innovation, energy efficiency and climate change, agriculture, health and other issues. This now includes helping introduce cocoa farming in the Philippines and Indonesia, ensuring sustainable incomes and protective farming methods, and facilitating expanded textile manufacturing in Ethiopia.

Geneseo encourages one to see the opportunities in challenges; and solutions rather than problems, she says. It’s imperative for any incoming student.

“Think without boundaries,” says Willkens. “Once you’re practiced in an environment without boundaries, it becomes second nature.  Creativity is born, and passion emerges where there are not limits.