About RISE
RISE provides expert HR and training support to small- and medium-sized organizations in the international development sector so that they can achieve their mission.
RISE is led by Alamelu Dev and Grace Roache who have over forty years of outstanding talent management and development achievement. Much of their experience is drawn from the international development sector, although they have also worked in the private sector and for government clients. RISE also utilizes an ecosystem of partners from around the world to support their clients.
Our Team
Grace and Alamelu, during their employment at several INGOs, have also led HR departments through significant change from inside the organization so they empathize with their client’s needs.
RISE has extensive experience partnering with global organizations who work in multicultural contexts, and a deep understanding of the operating context and talent needs unique to the international development sector.
Alamelu Dev
Co-founder & Principal Consultant
Alamelu has over 20 years of experience in international development, private, and public sectors. Before co-founding RISE, Alamelu worked in the private sector in India, providing HR consulting to large family-owned & technology businesses that were expanding. She subsequently held senior management roles in human resources and talent development for two large global non-profits, helping them navigate accelerated growth and change. She has used that experience to successfully partner with RISE clients to help them leverage their talent and navigate change.
Alamelu's expertise extends to strategic HR, employee relations, and talent development. Her extensive experience includes designing and facilitating interactive sessions in a multicultural context to help HR managers and leaders hone their skills.
Alamelu holds a Train the Trainer certificate from the Association of Talent Development, is a certified HeartMath® trainer on building emotional resilience, and is a certified MBTI® facilitator. She also holds an MBA in Human Resources & Information systems and has traveled extensively across Africa and Asia for work.
Alamelu is passionate about economic inclusion and actively contributes to the community by assisting individuals in securing employment and advancing their careers.
Grace Roache
Co-founder & Principal Consultant
Grace has over 25 years of experience in talent management and organizational development, encompassing diverse industries in the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors. She embraces the positive people changes occurring within the non-profit sector and has led successful HR and development projects to support the resulting challenges for RISE clients.
As an HR professional, she has lived and worked on three continents while supporting employees. For ten years, she led the HR function of PSI, a US-based non-profit, which included a period of accelerated growth (from $300M to $650M) when she helped to establish an effective talent management program which encompassed leadership and management training, mentoring and succession planning.
Grace has an MSc in Psychology and an MA in Social Research and is certified in numerous psychometric assessment tools. She also contributes to her local community through volunteering with various organizations.