The Members’ Council (MC) is a consultation and advisory body which is broadly representative of Oikocredit’s member organisations. It meets between the annual general meetings (AGM) of members and is elected by the members to reflect and defend their interests. The MC was set up in 2016, initially with six people, with the intention to grow to a total of nine.
Members' Council
Ueli Burkhalter (Chair)
Switzerland Oikocredit Deutsche SchweizUeli Burkhalter is an ordained minister in the reformed church of Berne, Switzerland. He has been associated with Oikocredit since 2001 and... Read more
Ueli Burkhalter is an ordained minister in the reformed church of Berne, Switzerland. He has been associated with Oikocredit since 2001 and has been a member of the board of the Oikocredit Support Association of German-speaking Switzerland since 2002, including eight years as its president. He has attended many international Oikocredit meetings and served as Confidentiality Officer of the Oikocredit Support Associations.
In 2013 he completed a three-month internship at Oikocredit’s regional office in San José, Costa Rica to learn more about the organisation’s outflow network.
Christiane Riffaud
France Oikocredit Franche-Comté Bourgogne Support AssociationChristiane Riffaud has been involved with Oikocredit since 2008 as an investor and volunteered as a Franche-Comté Bourgogne Support... Read more
Christiane Riffaud has been involved with Oikocredit since 2008 as an investor and volunteered as a Franche-Comté Bourgogne Support Association (SA) board member. She also served as the vice-president for Burgundy, in charge of the links with Oikocredit International and the French National Support Office. Additionally, over the last 10 years, she has been involved in the collaboration of the French SAs and strongly believes in the power of cooperation and mutual empowerment.
Peter Ohligschläger
Germany Oikocredit West German Support AssociationPeter Ohligschläger is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, and has worked in the field of international... Read more
Peter Ohligschläger is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, and has worked in the field of international cooperation and global partnerships for more than 25 years. He has worked as a lecturer in Southern Africa, as facilitator for global ministries and as head of the Institute for Mission, Ecumenism and Global Responsibility.
Since the early 1980s he has been committed to Oikocredit and has served in the West German Support Association as board member and in various other roles, at present as a public speaker.
Anita Clemons
USA Presbyterian Church (USA) FoundationAnita Clemons is Vice President and Managing Director of Investments for the Presbyterian Foundation. Anita joined the Presbyterian... Read more
Anita Clemons is Vice President and Managing Director of Investments for the Presbyterian Foundation. Anita joined the Presbyterian Foundation in 2000 and has more than 30 years of experience serving investors. She is responsible for investment relationship management, insight into the management of endowments, and is a link between the foundation's investors and its fund managers. With oversight of impact investment including Oikocredit investment, she encourages other church organisations to invest in Oikocredit.
Anita Clemons holds a BSc in medical technology from the University of Louisville, and also accredited credentials in investment fiduciary, and as a wealth management adviser and asset management specialist.
Aglaë Hagg
Austria Austrian Support Association & Austrian Catholic Social AcadAglaë Hagg is vice president of Oikocredit’s Austrian Support Association and has been involved with the support association... Read more
Aglaë Hagg is vice president of Oikocredit’s Austrian Support Association and has been involved with the support association since 2013. She draws on her past work on social impacts in various countries and uses her communication skills in promoting Oikocredit, in serving on the support association board and, since 2021, also in the Members’ Council.
Aglaë has participated in social as well as church related activities for many years and has a strong commitment to Christian values. As a long-time supporter of microfinance, she founded a rural cooperative for women that undertakes inclusive finance work in Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana.
Matthias Lehnert
Germany Fairtrade DeutschlandMatthias Lehnert is an instructor at Thomas-Morus-Akademie Bensberg, the Catholic academy of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany. He has... Read more
Matthias Lehnert is an instructor at Thomas-Morus-Akademie Bensberg, the Catholic academy of the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany. He has been associated with Oikocredit since 2009 when he became manager of Oikocredit Support Association Hessen-Pfalz. From 2012 to 2019 he was Oikocredit’s representative at the German national support office, Oikocredit Deutschland.
Matthias holds a doctoral degree in political science and is member of the supervisory board of Fairtrade Deutschland, a member of Oikocredit.
Peter Koona Tefo
Lesotho Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA)Peter Koona Tefo is an ordained minister of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA), a member of Oikocredit. After having... Read more
Peter Koona Tefo is an ordained minister of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA), a member of Oikocredit. After having worked for six years as a pastor in Thaba-Bosiu parish, he was appointed by LECSA to head its administration office as treasurer general in 2013. Peter has been involved with Oikocredit since attending his first Oikocredit AGM, in Ghana in 2017.
Peter holds a master’s degree in theology from the South African Theological Seminary and is a PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria specialising in biblical studies.