Matt Tappert Email & Phone Number

Reading, Pa, Us

Reading, Pa, Us

Washington, Dc

Washington, Dc

At ABA ROLI I worked on the team responsible for the Vietnam and Southeast Asia Regional programs. This portfolio included projects to ensure access to legal services for victims of human trafficking and to promote international best practices in investigating and prosecuting money laundering, among other issues. The programs which I covered were supported by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons (JTIP). My responsibilities included:• Designing monitoring and evaluation tools and analyzing results;• Assembling proposal packages for new programs;• Tracking expenditures and analyzing budget variances;• Providing input on technical deliverables related to money laundering and human trafficking issues;• Managing relationships with expert contractors, pro bono consultants, and donors; and• Developing policy guides and other documents to ensure clear and consistent program management practices.

Washington, Dc

IRI implements governance, activism, and research programming throughout the Eurasia region. During my time as Program Officer covering Central Asia, we expanded the portfolio to include additional funding sources, diversified our Kyrgyz Republic programming to work with local councils and media, conducted assessment trips in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and established new programs in those countries working to facilitate more productive relationships between parliaments, civil society, and regular citizens. My time at IRI coincided with comprehensive retrospective analyses of the Institute's past work in Central Asia as well as ambitious expansion, doubling the total size of the grants we managed in this region.As the DC-based Program Officer I was responsible for general backstopping duties: reporting and evaluation, budget monitoring, procurement, proposal writing, and representing the program during meetings with partners, donors, and beneficiaries. New business research and design for new programs were also notable priorities. Implementation of these new programs was led from the DC headquarters since field offices had not yet been established. I performed political analysis for internal and external use and designed sociological research tools (e.g., poll questionnaires). I also coordinated cooperation with other country teams to maximize use of organizational resources and relationships.Particular achievements included:• Planning and leading two new business assessment trips, to Uzbekistan in June 2018 and to Kazakhstan in November 2019, including drafting conclusions and successful follow-up programmatic proposals;• Drafting a cumulative assessment covering seven years of IRI programming for the National Endowment for Democracy, including desk research and interviews, and presenting said report at an oral defense; and• Serving as an accredited international observer of the October 2017 presidential election in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

The USAID/DFID Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Strengthening Program was established in 2010 to build the capacity of the Kyrgyzstani Parliament (the Jogorku Kenesh) through improvement of the legislative process, strengthening of the oversight powers of parliamentary committees, training of the parliamentary press-service and accredited journalists in effective reporting of political news, and encouraging the use of modern human resources management practices in the civil service to fight corruption and improve service delivery. The total budget of the Program was $7.1 million over five years.I joined the Program at the beginning of its Third Phase in March 2013 and successfully fulfilled both programmatic and administrative functions: • Wrote and edited reports, workplans, and other official documents; • Took responsibility over monitoring and evaluation with a PMP and log frame; • Represented the Program during meetings with donors, partners, and beneficiaries; • Evaluated proposals for complicated procurements, such as the establishment of a Legislative Drafting Training Center and the installation of an Access Monitoring and Control System for the Parliament building; • Managed 15 staff in a Russian-speaking office; and • Served as Acting Chief-of-Party during regular Director's absence for periods of up to one month.

Almaty And Other Cities, Kazakhstan

Recruited students for the 2013-2014 academic year of the Future Leaders Exchange Program, a one-year study abroad opportunity for high school students from the former Soviet Union that is supported by the US State Department. Promoted recruitment events, registered candidates, administered standardized testing, and conducted about 200 personal interviews in six major cities in Kazakhstan: Kostanay, Uralsk, Semey, Kyzyl-Orda, Taraz, and Aktobe. Interviews were conducted in English, Russian, and Kazakh.

Sitka, Alaska

Taught math, English, essay composition, and computer literacy to students of various ages and backgrounds looking to receive their high school accreditation. Proctored university exams in all subjects for distance-learning students at the University of Alaska Southeast's Sitka campus and maintained the facilities at its Student Success Center. This work was based at UAS in Sitka, but supported by Americorps Alaska through Nine Star Education & Employment Services.

Talas Oblast, Kyrgyz Republic

Built capacity of local teachers through team teaching and introduction/promotion of new pedagogical methodologies in English as a second language and other subjects. Developed curriculum and teaching materials for use by local teachers. Developed and led in local languages an extracurricular course on world history, philosophy, and political thought to encourage critical thinking and debate skills in high school students. Prepared a grant proposal to fund construction of new sanitary facilities at a rural school. Other projects included the facilitation of summer camps and seminars for youth covering topics as diverse as healthy lifestyles, art, and environmental responsibility, and an initiative to create Kyrgyz-language subtitles for films.Peace Corps training included extensive sessions on conducting needs assessments and designing, managing, and monitoring projects, as well as cross-cultural sensitivity and Kyrgyz language.

Outside Philipsburg, Montana

Prepared summaries of draft laws subject to vote in state legislatures for inclusion into a database intended as a resource for voters. Analyzed reports from the media and civil society to determine which bills were of interest to the general public, then drafted descriptions of their provisions in clear, concise, nonpartisan language to accompany tables of voting statistics.

Master’S Degree, Nationalism Studies

Besides political, sociological, and anthropological approaches to understanding nationalism and the historical emergence.

Bachelor’S Degree, Political Science

Activities and Societies: Schreyer Honors College, Critical Language ScholarshipI received minors in Russian Language and International.