Celeste Gregory Email & Phone Number

Baltimore, Md, Us

The Advance Local Leadership in the Right Way (ALLRight) Fund, was launched by CRS in November 2021, as part of its Vision 2030 Strategy, to intensify agency investment in capacity strengthening for local leadership, to empower organizations and institutions to support the development of their communities. As Program Manager II in the ALLRight Fund HQ team, I:• Provide program management, guidance, and oversight for ALLRight Fund capacity strengthening projects in Burundi, Guinea, Jordan, Lesotho, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria throughout the project cycle to ensure alignment with CRS quality principles and standards and ALLRight Fund guidelines.• Coordinate the annual budget planning process for projects in my portfolio, ensure proper oversight of project budgets, including budget monitoring and tracking of milestones and deliverables against budget and work plans. • Lead the review of quarterly and annual project reports and learning products, contribute to the overall ALLRight Fund learning and influence agenda, identify opportunities to deepen and document learning from capacity strengthening successes and challenges, facilitate the dissemination of promising innovations, practices and lessons learned.• Contribute to CRS’ ability to effectively leverage ALLRight Fund investments for advocacy and positioning for new capacity strengthening funding opportunities by supporting project and Fund-level knowledge management, developing communication products, etc.• Support development of annual ALLRight Fund application process, lead review of concept notes and proposals for new projects, consolidate feedback to country program/partner applicants, and recommend projects for funding.

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Wrote six (6) case studies based on situations that might be faced in CRS Country Programs, integrating functional capability and leadership practices content for the CRS Strengthening, Advancing and Inspiring Leaders (SAIL) Program, an 18-month immersive learning experience for emerging leaders at CRS to excel in their current role and prepare to realize their full potential.• Designed, wrote, and edited user-centered learning content for Management Essentials II, a foundational course for CRS managers, including modules focused on Psychological Safety, Beyond Bias, Difficult Conversations, Employee Learning and Growth, Recognition, and Well-being• Reporting to the CRS Director of Workforce Planning, developed the New Emerging Leaders Program, collaborated with the Global People Resources (GPR) analytics team to create a dashboard to facilitate succession planning for key positions, and created a library of workforce planning materials• Edited existing stand-alone Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development Activity and Discussion Guides for use by individuals and small groups across the agency.

Washington, Dc, Us

• Led design and management of a $14 million program offering Legal Orientation, Morale-Wellness-Recreation (MWR), and Youth Cultural Orientation/Learning activities to over 88,000 Afghan evacuees (adult and children) temporarily living on ten Safe Havens across the United States • Ensured rapid program start-up in OAW Phase I (September 2021-February 2022), then used learning from Phase I to re-design programming and operational structures for Phase II (March-September 2022), recruited over 80 consultants, and drafted policies to improve program effectiveness.• Established a program monitoring and evaluation plan and designed data collection templates• Represented USCCB/MRS to colleagues from the Department of State (DoS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Department of Defense (DoD), NGO partners, and showcased USCCB Safe Haven programs to high profile visitors (US Senators and Representatives, current and former Cabinet Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries) and the media • In Phase II, in addition to Project Director, served as USCCB Site Lead at the National Conference Center Safe Haven, Leesburg, Virginia, managing a staff of 33; negotiated with DoD to ensure USCCB space requirements for activities were met, coordinated schedules with inter-agency partners, and collaborated to meet guest needs

Baltimore, Md, Us

Working in the Humanitarian Response Department, I provide surge capacity support in programs and operations leadership roles (Deputy Country Representative, Head of Programming, and Head of Office) and offer technical assistance and training to CRS staff and partners, in both rapid onset and protracted emergency responses. Since July 2017, the focus of my support has been countries in the CRS Central Africa Region (Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Togo). Additional emergency deployments to Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Lebanon, Jordan

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Led response to Issue Letters for the Cost Extension of the Emergency Access to Food for Ebola-Affected Guineans, an Emergency Food Security Program funded by USAID/FFP and a No-Cost Extension request for the USAID/OFDA funded Reducing Ebola Transmission Risk in Health Facilities project• Wrote quarterly and final reports for emergency Ebola-response projects• Analyzed country program staffing levels and developed Job Descriptions for international and national staff programming positions• Coordinated country program preparation for internal and external project audits

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Performed portfolio oversight for US $3.2 million of Education and Livelihoods development projects funded by CAFOD, DFAT-D Canada, DfID, EU, Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Caritas Internationalis donors • Oversaw management responsibility for Human Resources, Finance, Procurement, Facilities and Transport, and 3 international and 125 Afghan staff across five sub-offices in Ghor Province, which at the time was the largest office in the CRS Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia (EMECA) region; • Implemented new procedures to ensure greater financial accountability and the efficient and transparent use of agency resources through budget reviews and drafting the FY 2015 Annual Program Planning budget for the Ghor office• Nurtured strong relationships with Afghan ministries, national and international NGOs, and communities through regular attendance at coordination meetings, Ghor Province Dryness Response (2013), and public auction of surplus CRS materials • Proactively managed daily security decisions at the Provincial level, resulting in no serious harm to staff or disruption in programming • Doubled the office space of the Lal district office and opened a separate guesthouse for international staff

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Managed community-based education programs funded by UNICEF, UNDP Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) and CRS private donors in West and Central Darfur states including permanent school construction, teacher training in child-centered teaching methodologies, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) trainings, Accelerated Learning Programs, and Food for Education programming • Secured $334,000 in funding from UNICEF for Child-Friendly School construction integrating Education and WASH, a first for the CRS Sudan Country Program • Lead writer on a $641,000 integrated Education and WASH project funded by CHF, which was an increase of $81,000 from previous year’s funding from this donor• Created monitoring and evaluation tools for the Accelerated Learning Program and PTA trainings, common indicators for education programs throughout the country program, and a yearly action plan focusing on increased collaboration with government and other implementing partners, donor mapping, and capacity building planning for staff • Implemented peace building initiatives under the $964,000 Creating Space for Peace In West Darfur project; supported local traditional conflict resolution mechanisms; contributed to peaceful coexistence among different ethnic groups through 45 school based Peace Clubs, 40 Savings and Internal Communities (SILC), and 20 Community Connector projects

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Managed a portfolio of agriculture and livestock projects totaling over $2.7 million US dollars: Seeds and Tools Vouchers Fairs, Agriculture Extension Training, Animal Vaccination Campaigns, Community Animal Health Worker Trainings, animal health infrastructure construction• Co-wrote the CRS/Northern Sudan Food Security and Livelihoods sector, Program Priorities and Sector Response Strategies (2011 – 2013) document• Implemented Seeds and Tools Vouchers Fairs in both Rainy and Winter Planting Seasons, reaching 28,317 households• Presented on behalf of International NGOs at the West Darfur Food Security and Livelihoods Cluster Strategic Planning Workshop, November 2010, which included representatives from government line ministries, UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Food and Agriculture Organization, and international and national NGO partners• Presented and facilitated a 2 hour session on conflict sensitivity, based on experiences at CRS/Burundi, during the internal CRS/Northern Sudan Peacebuilding Workshop for West Darfur, August 2010

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Oversaw the start-up of the “Strengthening the Fight Against Child Trafficking in Southern Chad” project, including a partner workshop and the planning and official project launch with the three implementing partners• Organized and co-led a baseline study involving 750 households for the project with a local consultant in two regions in Southern Chad; co-facilitated a training for 35 enumerators, created baseline survey tools: household questionnaire and interview questions for authorities and focus groups, supervised 14 enumerators during one week of data collection• Recruited and mentored one national staff Program Manager and one national staff Project Assistant to manage the project.• Trained implementing partners in how to request and liquidate project advances as well as how to prepare quarterly reports.

Baltimore, Md, Us

• Planned, organized, and facilitated a workshop on Conflict Sensitivity for CRS/Burundi staff; created four conflict sensitive monitoring and evaluation tools and trained staff in their use• Assessed the quality and operation of CRS Seed Vouchers Fairs using a 1-page questionnaire to conduct individual beneficiary interviews• Improved donor relations following a project audit by responding to questions about financial vouchers• Professionally translated documents and meetings between French to English• Coordinated the CRS/Burundi external website update process to raise the profile of the country program

• Educated 35 community groups, reaching approximately 500 people, about the agency’s work • Participated in the resettlement of 12 Burundian refugees including arrival, transportation and living arrangements, and cultural orientation• Professionally translated over 100 pages of documents and 5 days of meetings between French and English for the Diocese of Richmond’s Haiti Ministry Sustainable Development Committee

• Interviewed 74 staff at a Malagasy sustainable development organization and wrote a 60-page organizational analysis, in French, providing feedback on improving individual performance planning and evaluation, professional development, internal and external communications, and strategic planning• Monitored Food Security project activities including crop diversification and marketing, maternal and child nutrition, infrastructure construction and rehabilitation, and disaster risk reduction• Trained Safety Net Center directors to accurately track U.S. government food aid

• Provided administrative & logistical support to 29 USAID Mission public health programs; focusing on Burundi, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe• Organized RCS Presents, a bi-weekly speakers series for the Global Health Bureau• Managed Annual Report Reviews for USAID-funded African health programs and assisted in writing and reviewing health portions of country and HIV/AIDS strategies• Traveled to Nigeria, Guinea, and South Africa to provide technical and logistical assistance• Served as Regional Assistant Team Leader for six months (1/05 – 7/05) with responsibilities for supervising three other Regional Assistants

M.A., Sustainable International Development

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), International Studies, French

Certificate Of Higher European Studies