Ray Short Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

New York, Ny, Us

Provide strategic planning, program design, financial modeling, and program development services in support of technology-focused international development programming for USAID Missions and various NGOs and non-profit organizations, including Tetra Tech, ICF International, the United States Energy Association, and Bixal Technologies.

Bethesda, Md, Us

Directed $30 million U.S. government program seeking to enable the digital transformation of the Western Balkans, Black Sea Region, and South Caucasus by working with national governments, critical infrastructure operators, private sector partners, academia, and oversight bodies to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, water, transport, healthcare, finance, and telecommunications. ► Developed partnerships with government stakeholders, private sector technology firms, and leading universities to address the necessary legal, workforce, and investment gaps to support critical infrastructure resilience.► Coordinated a consortium of leading private sector technology and development firms to provide technical assistance to host governments, critical infrastructure operators, and educational institutions.► Negotiated with SpaceX and arranged delivery of the first 5000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine post-invasion.► Recruited and managed regional in-country staff to coordinate program execution and donor relations.► Worked with critical infrastructure operators to incorporate cybersecurity best practices into their operations and procurement, prioritized cybersecurity investment needs, and established appropriate security standards.► Established a region-wide cybersecurity information sharing platform.► Developed a regional workforce development program focused on increasing the number of women trained and working in cybersecurity fields.► Developed and executed Smart Cities interventions in municipalities across Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, and North Macedonia to better embed cybersecurity and data privacy protocols into citizen-facing services.

Us

Directed private sector and government-funded programs focused on leveraging and scaling technology-based interventions to support human rights protection, economic development, government accountability, improved health and educational services, and digital financial services solutions in developing nations. Partnered with corporate social responsibility programs from a wide range of private sector companies (including Cisco, Microsoft, Mastercard, Facebook, Google, & Visa) and the world’s largest humanitarian NGOs (including CARE, Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, & World Vision) to identify innovative ways to leverage technology and improve public policy to address these challenges.► Developed bilateral partnerships between private sector CSR programs (including Mastercard, Microsoft, Visa, and Rockefeller Foundation) and NGO partners to address critical needs of the non-profit sector.► Supported USAID's and DFID’s partnerships to create enabling policies, develop new business models, and provide local content that makes mobile technologies accessible to at-risk and underserved populations.► Coordinated with UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on expanding technology-based services across refugee contexts in Africa and the Middle East.► Hosted roundtables between private sector and government partners on critical topics including cybersecurity, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.► Executed multi-country studies focused on cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure, the finance sector, online media, and vulnerable electoral systems.► Supported regulations and policies that enable the safe, robust growth of digital financial systems and build critical market infrastructures.► Identified business development opportunities across private and public sectors focused on leveraging big data and data informatics to improve program impact in the non-profit sector.

London, England, Gb

Advised non-profit organization on program management, program development, and long-term strategy to improve impact of technology programming supporting human rights activists and journalists worldwide. ► Transformed cybersecurity and IT programming targeting women in Latin America and the Middle East by leveraging community and technology developer feedback to increase organization’s global impact.► Negotiated partnerships with private sector organizations (including Google and Facebook), leading to the development of customized products for at-risk activists, including Google uProxy and Project Shield.► Expanded training and technical assistance programming targeting vulnerable, often ignored populations (including LGBT, women, and religious minorities).► Developed new, more scalable monitoring and evaluation tools that dramatically improved data capture and analysis while reducing stakeholder bias.► Led program development efforts via grant proposals to the US State Department, DFID, and USAID.

Washington, District Of Columbia, Us

Directed innovative programs focused on providing cybersecurity assistance, advocacy and policy development, and capacity building to civil society and human rights organizations to help them protect their rights in countries where civil liberties are under threat and public demonstration can lead to arrest.► Developed and scaled programs from 3 to 15 countries, leading to the provision of critical assistance to over 400 independent organizations across Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, & Eastern Europe.► Established strategic partnerships with 250+ public and private sector organizations (including Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Microsoft) resulting in the development of improved, safer products.► Created and facilitated global user feedback program to help corporate technology firms increase their CSR outreach and strengthen their brand and reputation in the developing world and the philanthropic space.► Developed public relations materials highlighting the unique partnerships developed between program stakeholders and private-sector CSR efforts.► Consistently exceeded quarterly and annual performance targets, resulting in a 500% increase in funding for entire program portfolio, including a $25 million grant from the US government.► Created and expanded annual networking & brainstorming events to over 1,000 diverse stakeholders (including activists, technologists, and government officials), leading to the creation of many new, strategic partnerships.► Awarded and managed over 50 subgrants to organizations developing safer technologies for activists and worked with grantees to identify market opportunities, pricing models, and continued funding.► Researched and published over 50 national security assessments that were distributed to US government agencies to help them identify the security risks in specific countries.► Recruited and led a decentralized, multilingual staff based around the world.

Bethesda, Md, Us

Developed and deployed technology innovations for last two years of 5-year US-funded programs to strengthen the Pakistan & Congolese governments’ national and provincial legislative bodies.► Identified opportunities to leverage technology to improve the operational efficiencies for national and provincial assemblies and deployed integrated systems nationwide.► Developed an innovated mobile phone-based system to increase parliament-to-constituent outreach.► Established a legislation tracking system for the Pakistan parliament to help automate the drafting of legislation and provide mechanisms for sharing legislation with the public.► Developed and managed $5 million annual procurement budget.

New York, New York, Us

Developed groundbreaking SMS-based system for 1-year program to collect child health information in Malawi.► Replaced old paper-based early famine-reporting system with mobile phone-based system, reducing likelihood of famine by dropping reporting time from several months to just seconds.► Developed and executed field testing in remote, rural healthcare centers across the country.► Negotiated with mobile phone companies to install new cellular towers in program testing areas.

Washington, Dc, Us

Managed and implemented technology-based programs, systems, and strategies for last two years of a 5-year nonprofit program focused on democracy and civil society development in Iraq.► Leveraged a broad array of new technologies to help stabilize and strength the nascent Iraqi government.► Deployed the nation’s first electronic voting system, leading to greater transparency for the Iraqi Parliament.► Managed and mentored staff in eight offices across Iraq and Jordan.

Plano, Tx, Us

Managed strategy, implementation, and support of technology-based systems and products for 125 remote sites of retail organization, representing $262 million in annual sales.► Engaged with corporate clients for testing proprietary software, including evaluating pricing models and licensing.► Developed new national operations manual to better integrate digital and non-digital sales and systems.► Managed over $17 million in annual expenditures.► Partnered with technology developers (including Adobe Systems and EFI) to test and develop new products.► Managed internal quality assurance program that assured return on investment for technology assets.► Wrote and issued RFPs for new system procurement and upgrades.► Managed team of regional project managers and technical specialists and assisted in ongoing recruitment.

Master Of International & Public Affairs, Economic Policy & Development

Diplôme De Français, French

Bachelor Of Arts, Communication And Media Studies