Staff Profiles - Africa

Liz Loughran Africa Regional Director

Areas of Specialization
Health and HIV/AIDS program design and oversight

Previous Positions
Health team leaders USAID Sudan; Health Sector Advisor, USAID Tanzania; Vice President for Programs, Pact HQ; Program manager, FHI/AIDSCAP Tanzania; Country Representative, AED/AIDSCOM Tanzania; Program manager, Swaziland Manpower Project/TransCentury, Swaziland; consultant, UNECA, Ethiopia; Information Officer, National Refugee Commission, Somalia

Countries worked in
Long term: Somalia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Sudan, Kenya, Italy; short term: Egypt, Bostwana, South Africa

Languages
English, French (fluent), Italian, German

Education
License de lettres, Paris III

What gets me up in the morning
Birds in the garden, cup of early grey tea, and the thrill of working in Africa

Richard Robinson Country Representative Congo (DRC)

Leslie Mitchell Ethiopia Director

Areas of Specialization
General management; environment; organizational development

Previous Positions
Citizens Democracy Corps, Pact HQ

Countries worked in
Romania, Ethiopia (did project start up and provided services/assignments in: Cambodia, Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Somaliland)

Languages
Latin, if that counts

Education
Bachelor of arts from the University of Maryland.

Other
A tennis addict looking to play in the US Open one day!

What gets me up in the morning
Aside from the marvelous East African birds singing outside the window and my dog kissing me in the face asking for his breakfast, it's the people of Ethiopia who give me my bounce--to see local people helping themselves in a manner which could not be done by any American or expatriate coming to help. I love my job, the people I work with and the rich cultural diversity this nation offers.

Steven Sharp Chief of Party Kenya

Areas of Specialization
Organizational capacity assessment, disaster management, conflict management, demobilization and reintegration, community development, citizen participation, corporate community engagement.

Previous Positions
Pact country representative in Cambodia and Sri Lanka; country representative for the International Foundation for Education and Self Help (IFESH) in D.R. Congo; Urban Development Officer at USAID; Executive Director of the Tallahassee Housing Foundation in Florida; Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire.

Countries worked in
Bangladesh, D.R. Congo, Cambodia, Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka

Languages
English, French, KiSwahili, Lingala, Khmer.

Education
Master of Science, Urban and Regional Planning. Bachelor of Arts, History.

What gets me up in the morning
The prospect of learning or doing something new.

Jean-Michel Dufils Country Representative Madagascar

Areas of Specialization
Geographic information sciences; natural resources management; program management ; strategic and operational planning.

Previous Positions
Director of Knowledge Management, Pact Madagascar; Country Representative, Tropical Forest Management Trust; Mapping & Remote Sensing Senior Advisor; French Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Overseas Department Project Officer; Institut Geographique National.

Countries worked in
Algeria, Gabon, Jordan, Mali, Mauritius, Madagascar

Languages
French

Education
ITGCE Geographic Science, Institut Géographique National ? France

What gets me up in the morning
Café au lait with croissants.

Matthew Tiedemann Country Representative Malawi

Areas of Specialization
Program management, HIV/AIDS programming, especially prevention, reproductive health, youth programs, research utilization, NGO capacity building, proposal writing

Previous Positions
Project Director, UJANA Project, Family Health International - Tanzania; Country Director, YouthNet, Family Health International - Tanzania; Senior Program Manager, Research to Practice Initiative, Family Health International; Program Officer, FHI; Program Officer, National Democratic Institute for International Affair

Countries worked in
Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Nepal, Russia, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia

Languages
English (native), Russian (advanced), Swahili (intermediate), Chichewa (beginner)

Education
Maters of International Affairs, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs; Bachelor of Arts, Russian and East European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What gets me up in the morning
A strong pot of Mzuzu coffee, and the prospect of working to make the world a better place.

Areas of Specialization
USAID and PEPFAR programming; program planning, design, and management; budgeting; epidemiology; monitoring and evaluation; HIV surveillance; health management information systems; study design; data management; data analysis; translation of public health data to user friendly information for decision makers.

Countries worked in
Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Cambodia, United Kingdom, USA.

Languages
English, German, French

Previous Positions
Senior HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor for Southern Africa, USAID Regional HIV/AIDS Program in South Africa Manager; Infectious Disease Technical Officer/ Assistant Professor for PHRplus (USAID funded) through Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; HIV surveillance specialist in Louisiana Office of Public Health.

Education
Masters of Public Health (MPH), Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA; Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Tulane University Graduate School, New Orleans, LA.

What gets me up in the morning
"Seeing excited and empowered beneficiaries supported by collaborative, linked local organizations!!!"

Malika Magagula Country Director, Pact South Africa

Previous Positions
Deputy Chief of Party, Director of Finance-Creative Associates International, Financial Controller - Swaziland Development & Saving Bank, Program Manager - USAID, Supervisory Financial Management Officer - USAID, Finance Manager - Medical Care Development International, Regional Accountant - Africare

Areas of Specialization
Financial Management and Systems Development, Grant and Program management

Countries worked in:
Swaziland, South Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Cape Verde, Senegal, Togo, Botswana, Lesotho

Education
Masters in International Management, concentration International Finance - Thunderbird
Bachelor in Business Administration, concentration International Business - Western Michigan University

Languages
English, Amharic, limited French What gets me up in the morning
My teenagers

Marv Koop Program Director, program director for SPF and Water for Recovery And Peace (WRAPP) Pact Sudan, Nairobi

Areas of Specialization
None - I'll do anything

Countries worked in
Malawi, Sudan

Previous Postitions
Senior Technical Advisor (IDPs), UNDP Sudan; Country Director, Fellowship for African Relief (Sudan); Program Manager, Emmanuel Int., Malawi; Managing Director, Kildonan Custom Cabinets, Winnipeg, Canada

Education
BSc in Zoology

Languages
Canadian English

What gets me up in the morning
I enjoy a predawn drive to work without traffic and a quiet and empty office to get my work (and anyone else's that I can get away with) for the day organized - and with the time difference, NBA basketball, NCCA march madness, MLB playoffs, NFL games, PGA - which usually start about 3 AM in Africa....

Dan Craun-Selka Country Representative, Tanzania

Areas of Specialization
Training, capacity building, cooperative development, rural telecommunications

Countries worked in
Bulgaria, China, Lesotho, Mozambique, Poland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Previous Positions
International Projects Manager, National Telephone Cooperative Association; Manager Technical Programs, World Learning; Trainer, Shandong Agriculture University; Peace Corps Volunteer, Lesotho

Education
BS, Alma College, Alma, Michigan; Master's International Administration, School for International Training

What gets me up in the morning
"The Muezzin calling for prayers from the local mosque in Dar es Salaam and Fred, our rooster."

Christian Ellwood Country Representative, Zimbabwe

Previous Positions
Senior Management Consultant, EffCo SA, Brussels, Belgium; Director of Finance and Administration, International Resources Group, Ltd., Antananarivo, Madagascar; Senior Associate, International Resources Group, Ltd., Washington, DC; Finance Officer, Abt Associates, Bethesda, MD; Finance Officer, John Snow Inc., Arlington, VA

Areas of Specialization
Democracy and governance, environment and health. Project management, NGO management and capacity building, organizational development, civil society, project management, strategic planning, human resources development, financial management and grants management.

Countries worked in
Belgium, Madagascar, UK, US, Zimbabwe. Short-term consulting in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Tanzania, Kenya and the Ukraine.

Education
MBA, Solvay Business School ULB, Brussels, Belgium
BA Communications, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Languages
English, French, Spanish

What gets me up in the morning
Several good strong cups of coffee and the hope that one can make fundamental improvements in the lives of others.