Mr. Overton is responsible for establishing the policy agenda, conservation strategy and public funding program for TNC’s conservation work in the Africa Region. He works with major public institutions, governments, multilateral agencies, NGOs, public officials, influential individuals and TNC staff to position the Conservancy’s Africa program with opinion leaders and institutions as a leading organization for global conservation work. He is responsible for providing expert policy analysis and contribute directly to the Conservancy’s public funding strategies by providing input for proposal writing, negotiating with bilateral and multilateral agencies, influencing federal appropriations, and donor cultivation. Prior to joining TNC, Mr. Overton was the Deputy Team Lead and Natural Resource Management Specialist for USAID/Madagascar for a five-year $40 million program, where he provided guidance to USAID, Malagasy government departments and implementing partners on biodiversity conservation issues, ensured technical competency of activities, provided advice on environmental information systems and other analytic tools, catalyzed cooperation, coordination and communication among implementing, government and donor partners, and facilitated linkages among stakeholders and partners through information sharing, monitoring, communication of findings, and application of lessons learned. Mr. Overton has also worked for International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on wildlife trafficking, African Wildlife Foundation on a USAID-funded wildlife management project in Tanzania, and for U.S. Peace Corps in aquaculture and agroforestry in Zaire. He has a Master’s of Science in Protected Landscape Management from the University of Wales and a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from Michigan State University.