Dara Iserson Email & Phone Number

I founded and lead an organization offering services to job seekers to find and organizational leaders to catalyze healthy and thriving work environments. We partner with 100+ jobseeker, entrepreneur, NGO, government, corporate clients to help them achieve their professional and organizational goals.· Job Seekers: I develop systems, tools and products that build job seeker confidence and help them obtain interviews and job offers in less time with their target employers. The tools and systems help reduce time to prepare eye-catching resumes and business plans from hours to 30 minutes or less (together). We have also helped double salaries.· Services include: Job Search Strategy Consulting, Job Description Analysis, Resume Writing, Cover Letter Writing, Developing and Facilitating On-Site Workshops, as well as Keynote Speeches· Organizational Leaders: I help entrepreneurs and business owners create robust business plans and strategic plans that build strong organizational foundations and achieve their goals eon time, on target and within budget. Our solutions have helped business achieve a 5-year, $1M fundraising loan in less than 6 months and have transform disparate data into eye-catching business plans accepted by the toughest commercial developers in 2 weeks.· Services Include: Business Plan Creation, Strategic Planning, Proposal Writing, Grant Administration, Business Consulting, Financial Analysis Preparation

As a technical lead, I set teams and programs up for success. Here are some of my highlighted duties and accomplishments:· Oversight: Manage technical capabilities and quality control for teams of up to 24 loan officers.· Training: Train and guide loan officers in analyzing maximum loan and forgiveness amounts for over 10,000 Paycheck Protection Loans, ensuring compliance with program regulations.· Process Improvement: Developed guidance papers and calculation tools, reducing loan review time and increasing analysis accuracy in line with federal regulations.· Quality Assurance: Reviewed loan officer work and conducted loan analyses to ensure proper loan amounts for borrowers.· Collaboration: Partnered with supervisors to improve productivity and morale by clearly defining and assigning team roles and responsibilities.· Written Recommendations: Drafted 150+ complex PPP eligibility assessments, involving thorough research, lender communication, and writing recommendation.

I serve as the President and CEO's right hand - providing innovative revenue-building & organization-strengthening resources to Northern Virginia’s Hispanic-owned businesses by catalyzing strategic relationships among business owners, C-level executives, Veterans, government procurement officials, academics, as well as technology and service providers.· Lead strategic planning activities, transforming financial goals into actionable tasks, draft and monitor budgets, interview prospective board members, and record bi-monthly meeting activities· Secured $70K in grant funding for its CEO Revenue Accelerator , a signature course scaling start-ups into sound small and medium-sized businesses by drafting proposals, budgets and workplans· Organized and facilitated events to create trade & investment opportunities for Virginia-based companies· Built foundation for NOVAHCC's long-term growth in government procurement, overseas expansion and workforce development

Build and oversee a network of 1,200+ SWAN members across 4 cities, including a 500+ member DC chapter, by creating a platform for virtual and on-site skills development. Provide tools and guidance to local hubs, advocate for additional funding from the SAIS administration, and lead a team of 10+ women. Coordinate with stakeholders and raise funds to organize and execute 20+ professional development events.• Revamped infrastructure, protocols and program management tools to increase global activity and membership by 200 percent, becoming the most active SAIS alumni affinity group• Spearheaded podcast production to expand SWAN global reach• Developed protocols and organized 4 large-scale events featuring 10+ prominent SAIS female alumni attended by 200+ alumnae•Tripled program funding

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Revamped 50+ resumes to establish team credibility for grant proposals. Overhauled struggling agribusiness and mobile money platform projects into successful programs in Ghana and Zambia. Advised and guided parent company senior management on creating a multimillion-dollar agribusiness debt/equity fund.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Underwrote over $200 million in loans and political risk insurance policies for 11 U.S. enterprises doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Advised over 50 U.S. corporations on transforming business plans into investment-ready credit papers on accessing financing and political risk insurance for projects in emerging markets. Designed loan approval processes for new long-term debt facility financial products, implemented on a compost facility in Romania and a bank expansion in Ghana, totaling $20 million.• Underwrote over $200 million in loans and political risk insurance policies for U.S. companies doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe• Assessed macroeconomic, financial, political and social conditions to evaluate credit and political risks• Advised over 50 U.S. corporations on a strategic plan to access financing and political risk insurance for projects in emerging markets• Initiated, developed and executed women’s initiative to target U.S Women business owners, C-suite female executives, and projects targeting women in emerging markets for political risk insurance• Designed loan approval process for new OPIC long-term debt facility financial product, which has been implemented on a compost facility in Romania and a bank expansion in Ghana, totaling $20 million• Assessed over 300 OPIC-supported projects to help senior management identify OPIC impact investing activities• Conducted on-site due diligence on OPIC projects in South Africa and France

Washington, Dc

Built partnerships between DC Women’s Business Center, 3 freight and logistics companies, and General Electric to train 40 female entrepreneurs on gaining access to developing country export markets

Washington, Dc

Managed project administration and provided technical assistance for the USAID Fiscal Reform and Economic Governance Project. Built analysis tool comparing 180 national fiscal systems used by USAID and World Bank to identify 3 grants projects.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Counseled 20 U.S. private sector firms in obtaining export procurement contracts on IDB projects in the sanitation and energy sectors as well as sub-contracts in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Quebec, Canada

Advised Ministry on stimulating tax revenue through private sector philanthropy.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Audited business processes, financials and policies of 10 foreign companies, financial institutions and governments in Thailand, Argentina, Japan and South Korea accused of distorting pricing and subsidizing local companies to adversely impact U.S. businesses in the plastics, agriculture and steel sectors.

M.A., International Economics And Western Hemisphere Studies

Bachelor'S Degree, Political Science With A Minor In Applied Statistics