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Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Tessa Bassett

Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Tessa Bassett joined IESC in 2022 as an Associate, Trade and Enterprise. Prior to joining IESC, Tessa worked in corporate diplomacy at Meridian International Center and in international trade at the U.S. Commercial Service. She has spent a considerable amount of time volunteering, working, and/or studying in several different Latin American and European countries. Tessa attended BYU and double majored in Sociology, International Relations, and Spanish Studies with a minor in International Development. Her professional interests include international trade facilitation, Latin American politics, and sustainable economic development.

Alvine Ngo Bell

Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Alvine Ngo Bell

Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Alvine Ngo Bell joined IESC in 2022 as an Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth. Alvine previously worked for Cameroon Telecommunications where she was a team lead for the implementation of a new quality management system, supported project planning for a change management program, and was involved in monitoring and reporting on company projects. Prior to that role, she served as an assistant events planner and digital marketer. Originally from Cameroon, she holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and International Marketing from the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Siantou University Institute in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Alvine has experience in project management, strategic planning, and marketing, and she is fluent in French.

Chad Ford

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Trade and Enterprise

Chad Ford

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Trade and Enterprise

Chad joined IESC in 2014. He is a trade, enterprise, and project management specialist with more than 23 years of professional experience, including more than 17 in international development working on economic growth programs funded by the United States (USAID), Great Britain (DfID), and Sweden (SIDA). He has led and supported multi-country technical teams on program strategy, design, and implementation. Chad has worked in Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Southern Europe on value chain development, trade capacity building, and commercial policy and regulation reform. He is a long-term member of the Washington International Trade Association and holds a bachelor’s degree in social science and Latin America area studies from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in international commerce and policy from George Mason University.

Jessica Friedman

Senior Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Jessica Friedman

Senior Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Jessica Friedman joined IESC in 2021 as a Senior Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth. She previously worked at DAI, where she served as a Project Manager for an inclusive youth workforce development project in Indonesia, as well as other projects in Indonesia related to governance and the environment. Prior to that, she worked at IREX on youth professional development and higher education programs in Tunisia and Iraq. Jessica has a decade of experience in international development program management, focused on youth skills-building, workforce development, and education, including serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Her experience has been primarily across Southeast and South Asia and the MENA region, and she has worked on USAID and Department of State-funded programs. Jessica has a master’s degree in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA.

Adam Keatts

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Agriculture-led Growth

Adam Keatts

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Agriculture-led Growth

Adam Keatts joined IESC in 2021 as the Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Agriculture-led Growth. He is an agricultural expert who has managed market-led development and analytical activities across more than 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia over the last 17 years. Most recently, Adam was the Chief of Party for the Feed the Future Enabling Environment for Food Security Project and Director of the Food Analytics department for Fintrac, Inc. In these roles, Adam led the design and delivery of technical assistance to USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, Country Missions, implementing partners, and other development partners on topics such as food traceability, animal source foods, seed markets, commodity exchanges, agribusiness finance, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards, and post-harvest practices. He previously also authored assessments of best practices in agricultural market facilitation and smallholder technology commercialization. Adam holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

Gabriela Kliewer

Director, Trade and Enterprise

Gabriela Kliewer

Director, Trade and Enterprise

Gabriela has more than 10 years of experience managing international development programs, including programs funded by USAID, USDA, US State Department, World Bank, and various private foundations. She joined IESC in 2013. Her current work focuses on value chain development and market-driven agriculture. Gabriela has managed program implementation in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining IESC, Gabriela managed a diverse range of programs across sectors, from food security and education to workforce development at Counterpart International and the Nature Conservancy. A native of Quito, Ecuador, Gabriela is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Italian. She holds an M.S. in nonprofit management from the University of Maryland.

Anna Koontz

Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Anna Koontz

Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Anna Koontz joined IESC in 2022 as a Manager, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth. She previously worked at The Kaizen Company where she managed USAID-funded programs worldwide. Prior to Kaizen, Anna worked for Resonance as an institutional contractor at USAID where she was seconded to the Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning. In this role, she provided program management and technical support to the Bureau. Anna holds a MSc in Development Studies from London School of Economics and a BS in Environment and Natural Resources from Ohio State University.

John Lindsay

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

John Lindsay

Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

John Lindsay joined IESC in 2021 as our Associate Vice President and Practice Lead, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth. John has more than a decade of experience in skills development, labor markets, employment, and workforce development, and over 15 years of experience in the international development sector. He brings diverse experience working to advance economic opportunities whether they be in employment, self-employment, or entrepreneurship. Prior to joining IESC, John worked at several development consulting firms, NGOs, UN Agencies, and in the private sector. John has provided technical inputs and programmatic oversight in Egypt, Georgia, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Pakistan, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States. He has led assessments and analytical work and published in the areas of labor market analysis, value chain analysis, labor migration, positive youth development, and sector studies. John has an M.A. in International Affairs, from the New School at the Milano School of International Affairs, and a B.A. in Urban and Public Policy Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Charlotte Lucas

Associate, Operations and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

Charlotte Lucas

Associate, Operations and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

Charlotte Lucas joined IESC in 2022 as the Associate, Operations and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL). Prior to joining IESC, Charlotte worked as an intern at the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) through GXM Consulting where she helped with a variety of tasks for different NSIN programs, such as writing briefs and managing events for members of the Department of Defense and innovation communities and at the Federal Innovators Salon. Charlotte also worked for the History Department as an Office Assistant at the College of William & Mary, and in Massachusetts at the Wellesley Historical Society and the Natick Community Organic Farm. Charlotte holds a B.A. in History and Government from the College of William & Mary

Courtney McNamara

Director, Trade and Enterprise

Courtney McNamara

Director, Trade and Enterprise

Courtney joined IESC in 2016 after beginning her career at DAI, bringing experience managing programs across a wide variety of technical focuses in Africa, Southeast Asia, and most recently, Afghanistan. Courtney is responsible for ensuring the success of her programs through managing daily operations over the life of the program, organizing efficient startups and closedowns, and collaborating with the program team to achieve technical objectives. Additionally, Courtney has spent significant time in the Afghanistan office supporting her program team in a range of roles. Courtney holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. More about Courtney.

Lauren Miller

Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Lauren Miller

Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Lauren Miller joined IESC in 2022 as an Associate, Trade and Enterprise. Lauren’s recent work experience includes the Human Rights Commission for Tomkins County in Ithaca, NY, where she planned events and fundraisers, developed an in-depth research survey of the state of human rights, and supported media communication and public relations. In 2021, she completed an internship in South Africa working with the Commission for Gender Equality in Durban where she drafted proposals, planned conferences and seminars, and educated community members and organizations on issues of gender equality. Working as a project coordinator for Eco Reps and as a community engagement officer with the Building Bridges Initiative, both in Ithaca, NY, Lauren gained experience in environmental advocacy, community engagement, and capacity building. Lauren specializes in African and Latinx politics and feminism. She graduated summa cum laude from Ithaca College with a BA in Politics, a Concentration in International Studies, and minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Additionally, she studied social and political transformation with the School for International Training in Durban, South Africa.

Jess Mull

Senior Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Jess Mull

Senior Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth

Jess Mull joined IESC in 2022 as a Senior Associate, Workforce, Entrepreneurship and Youth. Prior to joining IESC, she worked as the Interim Executive Assistant to the CEO and served as a Senior Program Associate at World Learning on the Department of State, International Visitor Leadership Program. Jess has experience as an educator in California and Vermont and completed an internship as a Street Outreach and Social Work professional in Quito, Ecuador. Jess holds an MA in International Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and a B.S. in Psychology from Dominican University of California.

Rachel Posner

Manager, Agriculture-led Growth

Rachel Posner

Manager, Agriculture-led Growth

Rachel joined IESC's home office team in 2022 as a Senior Associate, Agriculture-led Growth supporting the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, and was promoted to Manager, Agriculture-led Growth later that year. Prior to joining IESC, Rachel served on the contracts and grant administration team at the United Nations Foundation, working on initiatives that support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Rachel is a 2018 NSEP Boren Scholar for Hindi Language and holds a BA in Marketing and Sociology from the College of William & Mary. While living in India and studying Hindi language, Rachel conducted agriculture research with smallholder farmers in Telangana.

Luis Roa

Senior Manager, Trade and Enterprise

Luis Roa

Senior Manager, Trade and Enterprise

Luis Roa joined IESC in 2023 as a Senior Manager, Trade and Enterprise. Prior to joining IESC, Luis worked in proposal pricing and costing and project implementation compliance at The Asia Foundation and Tetra Tech/MSI. Previously, he ran his own consulting company in Colombia and Florida and served as Program Development Specialist for the USAID Mission in Colombia as Foreign Service National (FSN). Luis has over a decade of experience in international development programs focused on design, financial planning and management, and compliance. His experience has been primarily across the Latin America region. Luis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the Universidad del Rosario in Bogota, Colombia, and a master’s in business administration from the D'Amore-McKim School at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

Jenni Robinson

Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Jenni Robinson

Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Jenni joined IESC in 2022 bringing more than 20 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation including for programs funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Labor, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the European Union (EU), the former U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), the former Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), as well as various other government and private funders. Jenni has worked as a consultant throughout Africa and the Middle East designing MEL systems and conducting data quality assessments (DQA) at the national level for USAID as well as internally for a wide variety of programs and international development organizations. Jenni is passionate about the importance of good quality data that is useful for program decision making collected and managed through processes designed to minimize additional administrative tasks usually associated with MEL. She has designed, developed, implemented, and managed or provided technical assistance to the management of the monitoring and evaluation of various international development projects in diverse conditions internationally. Despite having worked in more than 26 countries, her home and heart are rooted on the African continent.

Daniel Schlingman

Senior Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Daniel Schlingman

Senior Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Prior to joining IESC in 2021, Danny was an International Trade Analyst, helping clients ensure compliance with federal trade regulations. While performing this work, Danny also completed a Master of Public Administration in April 2021. Additionally, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia where he worked as an English teacher and on projects focused on health, education, and leadership. Danny has experience working on community development projects both domestically and internationally.

David Stein

Manager, Trade and Enterprise

David Stein

Manager, Trade and Enterprise

David joined IESC in 2016 and provides support to two trade and market-driven agriculture programs. David earned an M.S. in project management at George Washington University, where he studied how big data can be used to support organizations with decision making. David came to IESC as a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Armenia, 2011-13) with experience in USAID and State Department projects and corporate social responsibility.

Laura Vanin

Manager, Agriculture-led Growth

Laura Vanin

Manager, Agriculture-led Growth

Laura Vanin joined IESC in 2021, bringing eight years of experience working in international development and education. Laura's most recent role was as a project manager at Tetra Tech DPK, managing operations on USAID and DRL funded rule of law projects in Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. Prior to Tetra Tech she developed several grassroots initiatives focused around technology and education in Cameroon, Central Africa after earning a Masters of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

Silvia Zelaya

Senior Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Silvia Zelaya

Senior Associate, Trade and Enterprise

Silvia Zelaya joined IESC in 2023 as a Senior Associate supporting the Trade and Enterprise practice area. Prior to joining IESC, Silvia supported the Americas practice at Albright Stonebridge Group, where she worked with clients in various markets across Latin America. Other recent work focused on researching the Chilean constitutional process, issues of migration and human rights, and COVID-19 policy developments across Latin America. Silvia holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Wellesley College.

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Email: iesc@iesc.org

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