Steve Silverstein Email & Phone Number

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Washington, Dc

• Managed and resolved project implementation issues in an effective and timely manner and produced operational documents, under limited supervision and tight timelines—often without complete information or quality data—for climate change, climate finance, forest landscape, biodiversity, sustainable land and water management, and ecological restoration investments.• Forged strong, client-facing relationships with Sub-Saharan African (SSA) government counterparts in order to obtain a deep… Show more • Managed and resolved project implementation issues in an effective and timely manner and produced operational documents, under limited supervision and tight timelines—often without complete information or quality data—for climate change, climate finance, forest landscape, biodiversity, sustainable land and water management, and ecological restoration investments.• Forged strong, client-facing relationships with Sub-Saharan African (SSA) government counterparts in order to obtain a deep understanding of deforestation drivers and poverty; strengthen environmental and natural resource governance; protect national parks/forest reserves and biodiversity; support vulnerable populations (e.g. indigenous people, women, youth) and advocate for environmental justice; promote climate-smart agriculture/agroforestry and private sector investment; and curtail illegal mining and logging.• Provided critical contributions to the project cycle for multiple multi-million-dollar loans and credits—ranging from US$3.8 million to 75 million—through project design, including drafting theories of change (TOC), Concept Notes, Project Appraisal Documents (PADs), results frameworks/logical frameworks, and quantitative and qualitative monitoring & evaluation (M&E) metrics.• Led grant proposals and won financing for investments and analytical studies from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), Climate Investment Funds (CIF), and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), among others, with awards ranging from US$50,000 to $6.4 million.• Conducted quantitative and economic analysis of natural resource degradation in SSA using macroeconomic indicators and insights from panel data to inform policy and investment recommendations; performed greenhouse gas emissions accounting and cost-benefit analysis for carbon emission reductions programs in the Congo Basin and West African Guinean Forests. Show less

Paris Area, France

• Co-founded a private sector technology start-up focused on improving Africa’s transport, logistics, and supply chain management sector.• Formulated overall business strategy; managed engineers in the design and programming of a web-based platform for paying customers; oversaw the company’s daily operations, including budgeting, strategic and operational planning, business development, investor and client outreach, and market research.• Authored business plan, pitch deck, financial… Show more • Co-founded a private sector technology start-up focused on improving Africa’s transport, logistics, and supply chain management sector.• Formulated overall business strategy; managed engineers in the design and programming of a web-based platform for paying customers; oversaw the company’s daily operations, including budgeting, strategic and operational planning, business development, investor and client outreach, and market research.• Authored business plan, pitch deck, financial projections, and promotional materials for presentation to prospective investors; pitched to potential investors and clients in Paris, Madrid, Zurich, Washington, Abidjan, and Accra. Show less

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Africa Analyst for Freedom House's 2016 Freedom of the Press annual report and author of four country articles published in the report: Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.• Reviewed prevailing political, economic, and legal contexts in several African countries and ranked their effects on press freedom using Freedom House's rigorous methodology.

Accra, Ghana

• Established the Ghana country program for a humanitarian and international development non-governmental organization (NGO), which included managing a $220,000 budget, defining an operational plan, and overseeing procurement activities.• Formulated a business development strategy, locating ideal geographic and thematic points for activity implementation, identifying key stakeholders, and seeking out financial resources for agriculture, environment, public health, and gender equity… Show more • Established the Ghana country program for a humanitarian and international development non-governmental organization (NGO), which included managing a $220,000 budget, defining an operational plan, and overseeing procurement activities.• Formulated a business development strategy, locating ideal geographic and thematic points for activity implementation, identifying key stakeholders, and seeking out financial resources for agriculture, environment, public health, and gender equity projects.• Completed a market study of Ghana’s cocoa sector and formulated an advocacy strategy for its cocoa value chain. Show less

Noisy Le Sec, France

• Taught conversational English to at-risk, inner-city vocational high school students in one of the country’s “Priority Education Zones” in the Paris suburbs.• Designed unique curricula and lesson plans without the aid of standard pedagogical materials; integrated multimedia—PowerPoint, YouTube, audio/video clips—to captivate youthful audiences and connect with them in a stimulating and meaningful way.

Afram Plains, Ghana

• Served in client-facing role as adviser to the Chairman and President of a private sector commercial farm on environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues; wrote letters of interest and grant proposals to foundations and multinational corporations.• Authored a feasibility study detailing how to establish a university for agricultural innovation and the training of young farmers in agribusiness; traveled to Costa Rica, Ghana, and United Arab Emirates to interview experts and… Show more • Served in client-facing role as adviser to the Chairman and President of a private sector commercial farm on environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues; wrote letters of interest and grant proposals to foundations and multinational corporations.• Authored a feasibility study detailing how to establish a university for agricultural innovation and the training of young farmers in agribusiness; traveled to Costa Rica, Ghana, and United Arab Emirates to interview experts and obtain primary research.• Wrote briefs for and gave presentations to IFC, DuPont-Pioneer Seed, AGCO, Rabobank, MIT, Harvard University, USAID. Show less

Monrovia, Liberia

• Proposed policy recommendations to the Minister on several issues: overhaul of the internal regulations governing the Counties; the national strategy for decentralization; and integration of new technologies for greater efficiency and transparency.• Interviewed 30 MIA officials with the goal of clarifying their roles and responsibilities and offering recommendations to eliminate redundancies. From this research, authored an introductory manual for new office-holders of local government… Show more • Proposed policy recommendations to the Minister on several issues: overhaul of the internal regulations governing the Counties; the national strategy for decentralization; and integration of new technologies for greater efficiency and transparency.• Interviewed 30 MIA officials with the goal of clarifying their roles and responsibilities and offering recommendations to eliminate redundancies. From this research, authored an introductory manual for new office-holders of local government positions.• Prepared speeches for the Deputy Minister of Administration.• Organized and presided over a forum on American higher education and Americo-Liberian relations at the University of Liberia.• Delivered presentations on Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Millennium Development Goals, and SWOT analysis and critical thinking, which were geared towards capacity building of younger Ministry employees. Show less

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Developed an early warning system for emerging threats of political instability and civil violence, on behalf of a client in the intelligence community, that mined Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for actionable data; designed a taxonomy and ontology for classifying and recording incidents of violent civil conflict. • Wrote software requirement specifications and worked with programmers to design and refine a proprietary software program for scraping, examining, and recording indicators… Show more • Developed an early warning system for emerging threats of political instability and civil violence, on behalf of a client in the intelligence community, that mined Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) for actionable data; designed a taxonomy and ontology for classifying and recording incidents of violent civil conflict. • Wrote software requirement specifications and worked with programmers to design and refine a proprietary software program for scraping, examining, and recording indicators and warnings (I&W) of emerging political risk.• Served as subject matter expert on Sub-Saharan Africa, and conducted in-depth case studies of the Kenyan electoral crisis of 2007- 2008, the 2008 Zimbabwean elections, the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the 2008-2009 transition to democracy in Guinea.• Trained and supervised a team of six interns, holding weekly meetings and clarifying strategy with them, and editing and revising their written reports; led a team of two analysts in the tracking of drug trafficking patterns in Mexico.• Created a training curriculum and prepared pedagogical materials to teach the core threat classification methodology, as well as technical aspects related to use of the associated software; conducted over a dozen multiple-day training sessions for colleagues and subordinates.• Backstopped colleagues’ efforts to study and record political and social instability in Pakistan and the Caucasus region of Russia. Show less

Gando-Namoni, Togo

• Worked in partnership with government officials, community leaders, health workers, teachers, and youth to implement public health education programming on the topics of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention, nutrition, and gender equity; planned, participated in, and monitored and evaluated public health sensitization events reaching over 10,000 Togolese citizens.• Designed, fundraised for, and managed a grant for the construction of two new school classrooms, at a cost… Show more • Worked in partnership with government officials, community leaders, health workers, teachers, and youth to implement public health education programming on the topics of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention, nutrition, and gender equity; planned, participated in, and monitored and evaluated public health sensitization events reaching over 10,000 Togolese citizens.• Designed, fundraised for, and managed a grant for the construction of two new school classrooms, at a cost of $13,571.04.• Planned and executed a $660.00 Population Services International grant for the World AIDS Day event “Footrace Against AIDS.”• Spent three months in intensive study, focusing on: cross-cultural and linguistic training (French and Anoufo); public health technical training; collaboration with the Togolese Ministry of Health and non-governmental organizations; and community needs assessment.• Chosen by peers as editor-in-chief of quarterly volunteer newspaper The Griot; wrote for the Diversity Newsletter and Gender and Development Newsletter. Show less

Master'S Degree, Public Policy

Activities and Societies: Harvard Kennedy School Africa Policy Journal Africa Caucus • Relevant Coursework: Markets and Market Failure.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Foreign Affairs