International Aid Experience

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, ETHIOPIA, OCTOBER 2020-ONGOING

Lead the humanitarian initiatives of Samaritan's Purse in the country of Ethiopia. Responsible to promote the success of all field programs and lead staff development. Manage government and donor relations, program design and implementation, grants, budgets, daily field operations, and field staff support for a strategically important country office with a team of over 250 national staff, and programs externally funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Food Programme (WFP), International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other major international donors.

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COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, THE BAHAMAS, JANUARY 2020-SEPTEMBER 2020

Led the disaster recovery and reconstruction initiatives of Samaritan's Purse in the country of The Bahamas, post-Hurricane Dorian. Responsible to promote the success of all field programs and lead staff development. Managed government and donor relations, program design and implementation, grants, budgets, daily field operations, and field staff support for a country office with a team of over 150 national staff and 35 international staff.

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COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, DOMINICA, JANUARY 2019-DECEMBER 2019

Led, directed, and oversaw all programs and operations for Samaritan's Purse's post-hurricane response in Dominica. Responsible to promote the success of all field programs and lead staff development. Managed grants, budgets, daily field operations, and field staff support. Led all country teams in government and donor relations, program design and implementation, safety/security of staff, and safeguarding recipients. Significantly improved the developmental status of rebuilt housing on the island, and enhanced the climate resilience of communities across the country.

 

COUNTRY DIRECTOR, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, UGANDA, JANUARY 2018-DECEMBER 2018

Led, directed, and oversaw all programs and operations for Samaritan's Purse's response in Uganda. Responsible to promote the success of all field programs and lead staff development. Managed grants, budgets, daily field operations, and field staff support. Led all country teams in government and donor relations, program design and implementation, safety/security of staff, and safeguarding recipients. Significantly enhanced the standard of living for refugees residing in sites around the country, as well as for local needful communities.

 

UNHCR COUNTRY PROGRAM MANAGER, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, GREECE, SEPTEMBER 2017-JANUARY 2018

Responsible for the overall leadership, direction, and oversight of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) funded programs for Samaritan's Purse's refugee response in Greece. Covered sites include Athens, Northern Greece, as well as the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos. Ensured that all program designs and outputs aligned with Samaritan’s Purse’s strategy, donor standards, and local laws. Managed program creation, implementation, reporting, and M&E as well. Led a team of international and national staff in creating protocols for the implementation of WASH, shelter, food, cash programming, and NFI distributions for the more than 60,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, and all around the world. Significantly enhanced the standard of living for refugees residing in sites around the country, via advocacy efforts and a constant push to hold to SPHERE standards. Worked closely with UNHCR as one of their primary implementing partners in Greece.

 

AREA COORDINATOR, SAMARITAN’S PURSE, CHIOS/LESVOS/SAMOS, GREECE, MAY 2016-AUGUST 2017

Responsible for the overall leadership, direction, and oversight of programs for Samaritan's Purse's refugee response on the Greek islands of Lesvos, Samos, and Chios. Ensured that all program designs and outputs aligned with Samaritan’s Purse’s strategy, donor standards, and local laws. Managed operations, security, human resources, financial reporting, and community relations for programs as well. Led a team of 5 international and 100 local staff in implementing WASH, shelter, and NFI distributions for the 8,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, and many other nations. Significantly enhanced the standard of living for refugees residing on the islands, via advocacy efforts, and a constant push to hold to SPHERE standards. Worked closely with UNHCR as their primary implementing partner on Lesvos and Samos.

 

MONITORING & EVALUATION MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, SHELTER FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL, ZIGUINCHOR, SENEGAL, JANUARY 2016-MARCH 2016

Designed monitoring & evaluation (M&E) strategies and provided day-to-day management of M&E activities related to road construction, cash-for-work (CFW), and economic development in Ziguinchor, Senegal. Worked with program staff, external consultants, and key stakeholders to identify programming information gaps which needed to be addressed in order to better facilitate overall humanitarian response. Designed and maintained effective information database on projects, as well as creating detailed GIS mapping of program data, and providing necessary support for the collection of program input and output data. Developed and refined various data collection instruments (both quantitative and qualitative), and maintained a results database to aggregate/disaggregate data as necessary. Additionally, worked to train and assist co-workers in understanding and implementing M&E activities.

 

COUNTRY PROGRAM MANAGER, SHELTER FOR LIFE INTERNATIONAL, ERBIL, IRAQ, DECEMBER 2013-DECEMBER 2014

Directed operational and technical teams in NE Syria and Kurdish Iraq. Conducted needs analysis and gap assessments within Syrian and Iraqi population centers, and generated project proposals for both public (USAID, PRM, DRL, etc.) and private funding from the resulting data. Worked with international organizations and coordination groups to enhance collaboration and effectiveness of emergency resource distributions. Led the organization, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation of aid projects for refugees and IDPs throughout the region, including potable water distribution programs which provided necessary resources to over 10,000 displaced Iraqis and Syrians.

 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, BUSTAN QARAAQA, BEIT SAHOUR, WEST BANK, MAY 2013-JULY 2013

Led staff and volunteers to establish a viable permaculture test-farm in Palestine. Managed the construction of cisterns, composters, drip irrigation systems, berms, wells, rocket stoves, and other sustainable sources of utility for both displaced and stationary populations throughout the West Bank.

 

ADMINISTRATOR, ENGLISH SPEAKING COURSE, NUPO REFUGEE CAMP, THAILAND, SEPTEMBER 2007-AUGUST 2008 

Administered and taught within an ESL school, which served 150 Burmese students, made up of 13 different ethnicities. All students advanced at least one level in English proficiency. Developed curriculum to prepare students for resettlement to the United States. Designed and taught workshops to prepare adults to enter into the U.S. job market. Trained 40 students to identify skills, write job applications/cover letters/resumes, as well as develop career and education plans. Trained local residents on computer skills and the structure of small businesses in the USA.

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Other Leadership Experience

BUSINESS MANAGER, APPLE INC, OR, 2010-2013 

Provided international and domestic businesses with key technology solutions and created long-term customers with experiences built on trust. Drove business strategy and infused overall business vision into other managers and teams within Apple. Led the business team, collaborated with fellow Apple employees and generated significant business accounts in order to bridge the worlds of corporate and business development and technology to create future success for Apple.

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OWNER/DIRECTOR, RYAN LANE IMAGES, 2002-2013 

International film director and producer. Led teams of cinematographers, grips, audio technicians, and other filmmaking crew members to accomplish the goal of writing, producing, directing, and filming several award-winning short films, including UNWANTED, which screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

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Lecturing Experience

UNIVERSITY OF THE BAHAMAS NORTH, GRAND BAHAMA, THE BAHAMAS, MARCH 2020

Participated as a guest-speaker on the roundtable for disaster relief organizations post-Hurricane Dorian.

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THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT, DUBLIN, IRELAND, OCTOBER 2014 

Lectured to business logistics professionals as a part of a humanitarian aid oriented series titled Managing Complexity: Aid Distribution in Conflict Zones.

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TAYLOR UNIVERSITY, UPLAND, INDIANA, FEBRUARY 2015

Guest-lectured in the Humanities department of Taylor University, regarding the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

 

Education

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, MIAMI, FL, 2014-2016

Master of Public Health: Global Disaster Management & Humanitarian Relief

 

TAYLOR UNIVERSITY, UPLAND, IN, 2002-2006

Bachelor of Arts: New Media

 

Relevant Skills

MANAGING VISION AND PURPOSE

Broad experience in various multi-stakeholder situations grants significant capability to utilize social influence in a manner which enlists the support of others in pursuit of common goals. Able to communicate a compelling vision and sense of core purpose; with optimistic and achievable stretch goals. An experienced motivator.

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STRATEGIC AGILITY

Experience developing large-scale, country-wide strategies for various organizations in diverse settings around the world, shows proven program development and management skills to envision, execute, and evaluate a range of diverse strategies to achieve goals. Can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods. Can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans. 

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ACTION ORIENTED

Enjoys working hard. Seizes opportunities for achieving goals whenever they arise. Always willing to take on new challenges and operate effectively and autonomously.

 

CROSS-CULTURAL HUMILITY

Respect for diversity, built through a lifetime of travel and extensive professional experience with a multitude of differentiated populations and people groups from around the world.

 

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Maintains calm and rational leadership capability in the midst of unprecedented situations, in order to overcome previously unforeseen obstacles. Can effectively and regularly cope with change; able to make decisions and take action without having the total picture. Can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty with a high degree of independence.

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LEARNING ON THE FLY

Relentless and versatile learner. Enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks and quickly grasps the underlying structure of new ideas.

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POLITICAL SAVVY

Extensive history working with high-level government and organizational officials across several continents. Can effectively maneuver through complex political situations, and utilize a wide array of political scenarios to achieve goals. Sensitive to organizational structures, and the ways in which people work and relate to one another. Effective at anticipating issues and planning accordingly.

 

PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Ability to communicate verbally with accuracy and fluency in public settings has been developed over many years of lecture appearances and business keynote presentations.

 

INTERPERSONAL SAVVY

Time spent internationally and domestically with both Apple and various humanitarian NGOs has provided the opportunity to develop strong interpersonal skills, especially with coworkers, donors, and clients. Able to build consensus amongst diverse groups of people.

 

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Substantial history in composing project proposals, performance reports, and film scripts has granted a great variety of stylistic and linguistic experiences, thereby enhancing written communication skills.

 

LOGISTICS

Extensive history of thorough logistical competency involving information flow, material handling, production, packaging, inventory, transportation, and warehousing. All while operating in conflict zones and disaster areas.

 

TECH SAVVY

Proficient in a broad range of technological solutions and user interface paradigms, including Windows, OSX, Linux, iOS, Android, MS Office software, Filemaker, Adobe CS, Final Cut, Avid, and many others. Extensive experience in technical problem solving also allows for quick uptake of new toolsets.

 

MONITORING & EVALUATION

Strong capability in managing a monitoring and evaluation team to capture and develop qualitative and quantitative analyses, along with effective reporting material that communicates clearly and succinctly, often through GIS mapping tools.

 

SPHERE STANDARDS FAMILIARITY

Successfully completed several field work projects involving the implementation and maintenance of internationally recognized humanitarian response standards.

 

WILLINGNESS TO TRAVEL

Lifestyle is fluid and adaptable to consistent travel requirements.

 

Community Service

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, MINNEAPOLIS, MN/IN/IL/FL/GA/OR 1998-ONGOING

Assist in the construction of houses for struggling families.

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TEAM LEADER, AMERICAN RED CROSS, GULFPORT, MS,SEPTEMBER 2005-NOVEMBER 2005

Led a team of eight in clearing debris, establishing temporary infrastructure, and distributing aide to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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TEAM MEMBER, TIJUANA, MEXICO,JUNE 2000-AUGUST 2000 

Assisted needful communities in Tijuana through the construction of schools and shelters.

 

Citizenship

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA