Kurt MacLeod

Vice President, Asia and Eurasia

Kurt MacLeod oversees Pact programs in the Asia Eurasia region. He supervises program unit staff at headquarters and six country directors and manages technical financial and human resources to ensure effective growth, program implementation and compliance.

For seven years, Mr. MacLeod served as a regional director for Pact in Asia. In this position, he expanded our presence to six countries. In standardizing risk mitigation policies and procedures in the region, Mr. MacLeod developed a prototype for Pact programs around the world. His work grew our portfolio in Asia, sped our response time by developing a regional support network, and strengthened partnerships with USAID, UNDP, UNICEF, DANIDA, SIDA, Rockefeller Foundation, Chevron, Citibank, Pfizer and Microsoft.

In Asia, Mr. MacLeod also pioneered Pact’s first climate change initiative: the Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism using community forests. He facilitated relief efforts in response to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, one of the most complex humanitarian efforts in Southeast Asia. This work alone helped feed more than 250,000 families and brought cash grants and cash for work to more than 900 villages.

As a country director in Cambodia, he established the first multi-stakeholder, reform groups in anti-corruption, freedom of information, advocacy and decentralization. He also launched the Million Signature Campaign for anti-corruption, which engaged 8 percent of the country’s citizens. He was instrumental in the integration of international standards into Cambodian policies related to anti-corruption, freedom of information and the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. He also established a premier Cambodian Advocacy and Policy Institute and guided development of its board of directors.

Mr. MacLeod also served as Pact’s first country director in Laos and Myanmar where he established the first microfinance initiatives as a critical tool to alleviate poverty. As a program associate based in Washington, DC, he spearheaded economic initiatives and designed the organization’s first global management information system.

As an author and co-author, Mr. MacLeod has published more than a dozen position papers and handbooks.

Previous Employment:
Project Assistant, National Planning Association, Washington, DC
Volunteer, Peace Corps, Nepal
Sanitation Education Coordinator, King County Solid Waste Department
Small Farmer Marketing Technician, Washington State Cooperative Extension
HIV/AIDS Program Assistant, DARMIC, Washington State

Education:
Masters of International Economics and International Relations, Johns Hopkins University, Paul H. Nitze S School for Advanced International Studies
Bachelor of Science, Rural Sociology, Cornell University