RIST is a unique philanthropy which works hand in hand with its Partners to develop programs that seek to have deep impact. As a thought leader for the organization I pride myself in the relationships that RIST builds with its Partners. We work as a team to develop programs that evolve over time and learn from our past. RIST is a responsible funder who plays an active role in every grant it supports, to ensure transparency and positive impact. My role includes but is not limited to the following: ~ Lead the development and expansion of RIST from a start-up to its current capacity of annual grant giving of approximately 40 million USD.~Manage overall operations of RIST, create strategic vision and ensure that RIST support goes towards achieving internal indicators of success. ~Spearhead interactions with likeminded organizations to develop innovative programs that provide necessary services to those in need of assistance. ~Developed internal organizational systems to assess incoming grant proposals, and monitor those that proceed to implementation. ~Provide technical expertise in a broad range of subject matter to bring truth to life for on the ground grant activities. My background has allowed me to have substantial experience in programming related to Community Based Organization and Engagement, Education, Healthcare Provision, HIV/AIDs Education, Disability, Climate Change, Conservation, Natural Resource Management, Agriculture/Small Scale Farming, Advocacy, Policy, Government Social Service Provision, Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives, Gender Equity, Poverty Alleviation and Conflict Resolution.

~ Provided leadership for Tanzania Country Office to include program and financial management (annual portfolio of approximately 2.5 million USD), office operations and staff supervision for roughly 25 personnel in 3 field office locations.~ Took a stagnant country program to a successful year of operations (2013) and ensured its prosperity through 2014.~ Managed and was solely responsible for the success of The TEAM: a radio and television program focused on gender equality and funded by DFID, Advancing Sustainable Peace and Security in Tanzania: a corporate social responsibility (CSR) and conflict mitigation project funded by Africa Barrick Gold, Conflict Management Services as a component of a UNESCO program (Democratic Empowerment Project), Supporting the Implementation of the Maputo Protocol: a US State Department funded program specifically aimed at working with Tanzanian civil society for the purpose of promoting the Maputo Protocol and the USAID supported project called Promoting Healthy State-Citizen Relations in Africa which focused on improving relationship between civil society organizations and the Tanzanian Government.~ Ensured compliance with donor regulations and Tanzanian laws~ Represented SFCG in donor communications, public relations, agreement negotiations and created partnerships with civil society organizations. Created lasting relationships with over 15 partner organizations. ~ Developed overall country strategy, created and applied work-plans as well as administered monitoring of project performance in order to analyze lessons learned and construct project reports.

~ Managed the Advancing Sustainable Peace and Security in Tanzania project (annual budget of 850,000 USD) by providing strategic advice and practical grass-roots support to Africa Barrick Gold (ABG) on Corporate Social Responsibility, community development, multi-stakeholder engagements, conflict mitigation and the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and Security.~ In charge of all financial oversight, procurement, human resource services and adherence to contract deliverables for above mentioned project. ~ Guided the Sustainable Business Practice division within SFCG, focused on gaining corporate clients in the natural resource extraction industry to assist them with their CSR, community engagement and development and communications strategies. Provided “on-call” direction and business development assistance to other Country Directors in this realm.~ Supervised approximately 15 staff in 3 field offices to include building their capacity in project implementation.~ Responsible for all communications with ABG, represented SFCG and presented at international forums.~ Oversaw creation of monitoring tools (surveys, focus group analysis) for field level data collection in order to evaluate project performance and wrote monthly progress reports.

~ Managed the grant implementation component of the $36 million USAID supported Community Based Small Grants (CBSG) project which aimed to stabilize Afghan communities and ostracize the insurgency by implementing small-scale community level projects in partnership with the Government of Afghanistan and Afghan civil society organizations.~ Increased grant implementation rate significantly by analyzing current project operations, creating grant tracking tool and instituting an aggressive work-plan. Total grants successfully executed to completion for the 2 year project were 898. I was responsible for 600 (up to $25,000 USD each) of those grants in just 6 months. ~ Supervised grant management team of approximately 8 Afghan staff and guided local partners.~ Provided input into project briefings and reports and supported Monitoring and Evaluation Team’s investigations.~ Acted as Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party as needed.

~ Directed community engagement and mobilization for the Community Outreach and Capacity Building (COCB) component of the $500 million USAID funded Strategic Provincial Roads (SPR) project aimed at building country wide road infrastructure in partnership with ISAF and the Government of Afghanistan. ~ Supervised approximately 55 local national staff spread across 5 field offices who were tasked with sensitizing Afghan communities about road construction plans. This included grass-roots conflict mitigation and community development through small grant implementation and negotiating compensation agreements. ~ Managed operations department of COCB to include procurement, logistics, human resources and security.~ Wrote action plans, USAID reports, weekly and monthly updates and gathered project impact data.~ Acted as COCB Deputy Chief of Party as needed.

~ Supported the effective implementation of the Afghanistan Stabilization Initiative (ASI), a USG effort to strengthen stability of Afghan communities by building linkages between them and the Government of Afghanistan with the intention of lessening their vulnerability to insurgent entities. ~ Based in rural Afghanistan, embedded with ISAF on a Combat Out-Post, managed the activities of a private international development company hired by OTI to implement grass-roots small grant activities and was responsible for ensuring their adherence to their contract.~ Developed strategies for stability programming by assessing community needs and coordinating interventions with other stake-holders.~ Drafted programmatic and analytical reports and briefed senior level military and government officials on their content.~ Incorporated Counter Insurgency (COIN) methodology, Tactical Conflict Analysis Framework (TCAF) and District Stability Framework (DSF) approaches into program activities.

~ Headquarters based manager supporting field operations. Portfolio included all West Bank/Gaza projects which encompassed $50 million in USAID funding and additional UN World Food Program support. Programs focused on improving government service delivery, basic infrastructure and quality of life for Palestinians. Additionally, managed Serbian based Community Revitalization through Democratic Action (CRDA) and Serbia Contingency Planning and Economic Security (SCOPES) programs in a sub-contractor role.~ Reviewed, edited and provided technical input to performance reports and work-plans, ensured compliance with internal and donor policies, monitored and advised on project burn-rate, revised project budgets, processed cash requests and reviewed invoices.~ Conducted field visits to the West Bank to include designing and implementing humanitarian assistance projects.~ Participated in InterAction’s West/Bank Gaza working group as the CHF International representative.

~ As an integral team member of the Headquarters based Crisis Response & Stabilization Division, provided leadership, technical and management support to USAID/OTI funded projects in Burundi (Community-based Peace and Reconciliation Initiative - CPRI) and Sudan (Support Which Implements Fast Transitions - SWIFT II). Additionally, managed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Response Team providing on-call support for emergency situations.~ Duties included but were not limited to: monitoring project deliverables, budget management, procurement, organizing logistics, personnel recruitment, evaluating project performance, report writing, communicating with field teams and assisting with problem solving.~ Conducted field visits and was a Start-Up Team Member for OTI SWIFT II, Sudan Task Order.

~ Oversaw Pre-Service Training for 10 Environment focused Peace Corps Trainees. ~ Designed, organized and conducted technical capability training sessions.

~ Lived in a rural community working to institute the Linking Income Food and the Environment (LIFE) program. Accomplishments included but were not limited to providing over 100 educational sessions on natural resource management, conservation farming, agroforestry and sustainable livelihoods. ~ Trained 10 local trainers on HIV/AIDS education, established environmental education school clubs, directed and advised 25 local leaders on community based organization.~ Provided field project monitoring for CARE International.~ Assisted community in communicating their needs to the Zambian Government.~ Advised 30 people on designing and submitting proposals for community projects and trained 300 members of 12 women’s groups on small business management skills.