Areas of Expertise

Relationship Management

I have built relationships with government ministers, ambassadors, business leaders, and colleagues from across the globe. I was USAID’s guru on all things “relationship management,” driving a wholesale transformation of how the organization interacted with the private sector. I bring a deep belief in the importance of trust and mutual respect for a relationship to unlock new opportunities.

  • I was serving in USAID’s economic growth team in Armenia when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As we assessed the potential economic impacts on Armenia, our primary concern was Armenian exports reaching foreign markets. I set up a meeting to discuss these concerns with a Deputy Minister of the Economy. That conversation changed everything. The problem wasn’t getting exports out - it was getting food and agricultural inputs into the country.

    To better understand the problem and possible solutions, I built a strong working relationship with the World Food Programme Country Director. Joining her and her team on a research trip, I saw firsthand the precarious state of some of Armenia’s most vulnerable families. Because of the trust we had built, we were able to put together at near lightning speed a pilot proposal that provided USAID funding for WFP to support these vulnerable families.

    USAID had not provided this kind of assistance in over 20 years, but because of the relationships I built and nurtured, we were able to pivot on a dime and respond to a critical need.

Project Management

I am experienced in executing the full lifecycle of project management - from those initial “what if” conversations to the final reporting of results and accomplishments. I understand how to carefully manage resources, adjust to changing conditions, and always keep the end goal in mind.

  • For over two years I managed USAID’s “Global Industry Coordination Network,” our team of experts across Washington and the globe partnering with the private sector, and led efforts to institutionalize this body.

    The Industry Network was composed of Global Relationship Managers for marquee corporate partners (think Google, Coca-Cola, Bayer) and Industry Leads for strategic sectors (e.g., finance, telecommunications, and food manufacturing). These partners represented over $650 million in funding. Similar efforts in the past to establish these functions had failed because they did not receive consistent support, and did not drive the systemic change needed to make this system permanent.

    Managing the Network entailed everything from onboarding new members, organizing briefings on key Agency initiatives, regular one-on-one check-ins with members, conducting ‘pulse-checks,’ developing new tools, templates, and resources. A major effort involved close collaboration with HR to change members’ position descriptions to include their Network responsibilities - turning this from an “add on” and into a core duty. In the spring of 2024 I oversaw the creation of a comprehensive “Playbook” that laid out how to succeed as a Relationship Manager or Industry Lead.

    Building the Network required a balance between relentlessly tackling bureaucratic obstacles, and a wielding a deft personal touch to guide each member.

Organizational Change

Finding new and better ways of doing things has always been key to my success. Whether it is fixing a broken process, rolling out a new tool, or navigating a culture shift, I know how to make organizational change stick. It requires setting a clear vision, and building a multidimensional campaign to bring colleagues along the journey.

  • I was brought on to USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Hub in 2022 to tackle a clear problem: Our most important private sector partners were telling us that their experience working with the Agency was wildly inconsistent across different countries and contexts – and that initial experience drove whether they would partner with us again. Addressing this challenge required changing Agency culture toward private sector partnerships, rigorously defining the path to successful external collaborations, and then launching training materials to be accessible in 100+ countries by 15,000 staff worldwide.


    I started by working with leading practitioners from across the Agency to define our relationship management principles, which we called “One USAID.” Once we had boiled these down to six principles, I created an introductory training module and launched a communications plan to share these new concepts on a global scale. Leveraging the voices of both Agency leaders and a diverse array of colleagues, I built credibility for these new principles. I also worked closely with colleagues launching a new partner relationship management system to ensure that One USAID was built into their foundational training and communications, tightly linking this new technology system to the broader culture change we sought.

    By last fall, I had succeeded in training all key private sector engagement practitioners on how to provide a consistent and effective partnership experience with One USAID. As I moved on to a new leadership role within my team, these internal leaders were prepared to become champions for One USAID within their own teams and offices.

I know how to bring the right folks around the table, facilitate an open dialogue, and forge consensus toward action. I pride myself on being a connector and someone others recognize as an honest broker, whom they want to work with.

Engaging Stakeholders

  • While serving in the Bureau for Management, I coordinated quarterly and annual reporting to the White House on six ‘Agency Priority Goals.’ These goals ranged from operational improvements such as expanding and diversifying our procurement base, to programmatic goals such as improving maternal and child health outcomes.

    One of these goals was entirely new - “Private Sector Engagement.” The Administration and USAID leadership wanted the Agency to increase its collaboration with business to achieve greater development outcomes. I had to coordinate with the team implementing this new initiative, USAID leadership, and policy leads at the White House to establish KPIs and milestones for this new goal.

    The major challenge was helping Agency leadership and the White House understand this initiative was about more than just private sector dollars “leveraged” toward USAID programming. It was about transforming how the Agency collaborated with the private sector, to better target and design our programs, and make them more sustainable in the long run.

    Ultimately I was able to guide the creation of a plan and goal framework that worked for everyone. Key to my success was being an honest broker, able to both advocate for the vision behind this policy, and advise the implementing team on how they might accommodate the the White House.

I can craft a compelling message for a diverse array of audiences - from policy makers, internal leadership, or the general public. I enjoy digging into data to figure out what it is telling me, and communicating that through clear visualizations that inform action. My goal is always to convey the “so what” - the outcomes and impact of the change I am trying to create.

Communications and Storytelling

  • While serving in USAID’s economic growth office in Armenia, I had the chance to engage with the small and medium-sized businesses benefiting from our agricultural programs across the country. As I talked with them, saw their new facilities and equipment, and learned of their plans for the future, I noticed important shifts were taking root.

    These businesses were increasingly interested in selling to European markets, where there products could command a premium and the contract terms were more reliable than in Russia. Aggregators such as dried fruit facilities were connecting to a growing number of smaller producers, bringing them into this value chain. These were exactly the changes we had hoped to see from our programs.

    I synthesized these observations into a report to headquarters in Washington, which combined the latest metrics from our projects with the stories of these entrepreneurs. This report played an important role in helping leadership at USAID and the State Department better understand the shifts we were seeing on the ground, and the Ambassador called it “a model for how to report on our development programs.”