The Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) is pleased to announce the addition of several new team members over the past few months, reflecting the continued growth of our work supporting local and central governments in strengthening subnational revenue systems.
The new team members join LoGRI at a pivotal moment, as we scale and deepen engagements with partner governments and institutions across Africa and South Asia – notably through programs such as the Property Tax Development Program (PTDP), stronger collaboration with the African Mayoral Leadership Initiative (AMALI), and expanded research and reform advisory projects. These additions strengthen LoGRI’s capacity to support our partners in advancing stronger and more equitable property tax reform and local revenue mobilization.
Meet the Team
LoGRI is proud to welcome the following team members:
Zoé Baudoin, Technical Advisor
Zoé is a Technical Advisor at LoGRI, where she leads the collection, analysis, and management of data to support the implementation of property tax reforms. Prior to joining LoGRI, she worked on the property tax reform in Kananga, DRC, in collaboration with UC Berkeley and in close partnership with LoGRI. Zoé holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Development from the Toulouse School of Economics.
Robin Benabid Jegaden, Policy and Technical Officer
Robin serves as a Policy and Technical Officer at LoGRI, supporting data-informed policy recommendations and sustainable processes for local governments. Before joining LoGRI, he worked at the Paris School of Economics, where he examined deforestation’s linkages to structural transformations in Sub-Saharan Africa and community forest management in Nepal, using satellite data. As a Research Associate at UC Berkeley for two years, he subsequently managed field research operations in the DRC, investigating institutional dynamics. Beginning his career as an Economic Assistant for the French Embassy in Uganda and South Sudan, Robin’s research interests explore institutional evolution and innovative fiscal mobilization, with a keen focus on local perceptions and the legitimacy of formal systems. He holds an MSc in Development Economics from the Institute for Development Studies, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Fanta Diaby, Program Officer
Fanta Diaby is a Program Officer with LoGRI, bringing over eight years of experience in international development, with a strong background in program management, partnerships and stakeholder engagement, operational systems, and communications. Prior to joining LoGRI, Fanta worked at Catalyste+, where she supported the development of several successful proposals resulting in multimillion-dollar governance and institutional capacity strengthening programs across West Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and spearheaded the organization’s CRM implementation. Earlier in her career, she managed the Digna Program — the Canadian Centre of Expertise on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse — housed at Cooperation Canada. Fanta also previously worked with Journalists for Human Rights on media development programs in Africa, and with Grand Challenges Canada on outreach and communications supporting women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Francophone Africa.
Fanta also holds a Master’s in International Development from Sciences Po Paris, with a specialization in Human Rights and Project Management, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Peace, Conflict & Justice Studies from the University of Toronto. She looks forward to applying all her skills and experiences in support of LoGRI’s research and program operations.
Lorena Edah, Project Officer
Lorena Edah is a Project Officer with LoGRI, where she contributes to the property tax reform project in Sierra Leone by merging technical expertise with policy analysis to build local government capacity. She holds a Master of Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris, a Master of Global Affairs from the University of Toronto, and a BA in Economics and African Studies from the University of British Columbia. Lorena has worked with the OECD and the World Bank in the past, always focusing on economic development with a primary focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Lorena brings academic depth, global experience, cultural fluency, and strong skills in research, analysis, stakeholder engagement, and project management.
Paterson Gauntner, Research and Policy Advisor
Paterson Gauntner is a Research and Policy Advisor at LoGRI and an urban economist. His expertise includes public finance, urban planning, transportation, and economic development, with a particular focus on helping governments strengthen local revenue systems and build prosperous and equitable cities. Prior to joining LoGRI, Paterson spent over a decade as an independent consultant advising international organizations, national governments, and city authorities across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America. He is co-author of Tools for Spatial Economic Planning: A guide for urbanizing countries (Routledge) and has led and contributed to flagship United Nations reports on urbanization, economic development, trade, land-based finance, and African cities.
Gundula Löffler, Research and Knowledge Lead
Gundula Löffler is the Research and Knowledge Lead at LoGRI. She specializes in institutional and governance reforms in developing countries in the areas of decentralization, local and urban finance and taxation. She is particularly interested in the political economy dynamics underlying these reforms.
Prior to joining LoGRI, Gundula was a Research Fellow in the Development and Public Finance Programme at ODI Global, where she led research and advisory projects on national and subnational public finance issues, including on PFM and service delivery, subnational revenue mobilisation, extractives taxation, digitalization, climate finance and resilience building. Before that, she worked as a researcher and consultant on fiscal decentralization and local taxation in Rwanda and other African countries. She also worked as a development advisor for the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) in Egypt, Syria and Germany on participatory development, decentralization, urban management and informal settlement upgrading.
Gundula holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Development from NYU Wagner. She also has master’s degrees in Public Policy and Management from the University of Konstanz, and in Cities and Regional Studies from Rutgers University.