Latest News from UAA

UAA Calendar

 Mark your calendars and watch for emails announcing further details of the following events!.

Monday, April 13, 11:00 am-12:30 pm – UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue – “Climate Change and Development” – Andrew Steer, President, World Resources Institute, and Rolf Anderson, Director, Global Climate Change Office, USAID.

Friday, May 15, 11:30-2:00 – UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue – “Reassessing United States’ Leadership of the Global Economy.” Javed Burki, former Finance Minister of Pakistan and long- time senior World Bank official, believes that the deep concern of some prominent economists for the decline of U.S. economy is very misleading. He will discuss why the future development of technology and new corporation types gives the U.S. enormous advantages which will lead the global economy in an entirely different – and positive – direction.

Sunday, May 31 – Annual UAA Spring Reception – 5:00 to 7:00 pm, at the home of Pat and Alex Shakow, 4001 Dresden St., Kensington, Maryland 20895.

Friday, July 24, 11:30-2:00 – UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue – “The Arab Spring Four Years On: Has the bloom faded?” Masood Ahmed, Director of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund. There is growing disillusionment, violence and sectarian strife in the region while the most fundamental structural weaknesses in the economic frameworks of these countries are yet to be addressed. Mr. Ahmed will discuss these topics as well as the economic outlook for the region.

Saturday, July 25 – UAA Annual Picnic – Since the site was so popular last year, we are returning to Fort Hunt picnic grounds in Alexandria. Details closer to the date.

Friday, October 23 – UAA Annual General Meeting. This year’s theme: “Building a new consensus for development and the role of foreign assistance”.

Following the Release of Alan Gross, New UAA Letter on Captive Warren Weinstein

On December 19, the UAA Board has sent the following letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah: (Want to show your own support for efforts to free Warren Weinstein? Tweet #bringwarrenhome, join the Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/BringWarrenHome, or sign up for letters to the White House at http://www.bringwarrenhome.com/.)

Dear Secretary Kerry and Administrator Shah:

As you may recall, the USAID Alumni Association wrote to you on June 14, 2012 expressing special concern for two former colleagues doing development work abroad whose early release by their captors we hoped would be achieved by our government. We join the rest of the country in congratulating President Obama and you on the successful return of Alan Gross to the United States. That is a wonderful accomplishment.

In our great enthusiasm for Gross’ release, however, we cannot forget that Warren Weinstein, kidnapped by terrorists in Pakistan in 2011, is still being held. When taken, he was completing an assignment on a USAID-financed agro-business program. Weinstein, an employee of the USAID contractor implementing the program, spent many years in government service, including with USAID and Peace Corps.

We urge the Administration to give his release high priority now that Alan Gross has been successfully reunited with his family.

Thank you once again for all you are doing to help support and protect our development colleagues and their families.

Sincerely yours,

Carol Peasley and Alexander Shakow,
Co-Chairs, USAID Alumni Association Board

UAA Development Conversations

The UAA currently is operating two series of interactive conversations on a broad range of topics relevant to the interests of international development professionals. These are the UAA/DACOR Development Dialogues and the Friday Morning series.

Below are summaries of the most recent events. Each includes a link either to an audio or video of the event. Being able to listen or watch an event should be of particular interest to Association members who live outside the DC area.

For a full archive of all events that have audio or video availability, please click here..

– UAA/DACOR Development Dialogues:

Scott Radloff

New! On March 06, Dr. Scott Radloff, Project Director of PMA2020 at the Gates Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, led a UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue discussion on “50 Years of US International Family Planning Assistance – Where Have We Been & Where Are We Going?” He illustrated how the US has led worldwide assistance in this field, arguably the most successful sector in USAID’s history. You can listen to the full discussion here and see his PowerPoint slides here.

George Ingram

On January 16, George Ingram led a discussion on “The Priorities for US Foreign Aid Reform for 2017 and Beyond” at a UAA/DACOR Development Dialogue. Now a senior fellow at Brookings, George has long been a leader in the foreign assistance community. He asked participants to vote for the reforms of highest priority. You can see and vote on his list here and hear the discussion in full here.

– UAA Friday Mornings

As many will have noted, there is a new excitement to Friday mornings. Taking advantage of USAID’s generous offer of its new Crystal City Training Center, UAA been able to offer presentations and dialogues of interest to its member alumni.  In this space, usaidalumni.org will provide summaries of our speakers have presented so that a broader audience may share in them.

Do you have an idea for a person or topic that you believe would be of interest to your alumni colleagues? If so, please send them to Alex Shakow at ashakow@usaidalumni.org.

Overview of Recently Completed Events:

On February 19, 2015, Pauline Baker, President Emeritus of The Fund for Peace, led a discussion on assessing the potential for resiliency in fragile states. Fragile states pose difficult development challenges that require particular attention to overcoming the causes of fragility. Dr. Baker shared her approach to analyzing the related concepts of fragility and resilience. Research drawn from more than 90 countries was used to identify the main drivers of fragility and routes of recovery. To see slides of an outline of her presentation, click here. For audio of the entire session, click here.

On January 23, 2015, John Sanbrailo, Executive Director of the Pan American Development Foundation, regaled a large UAA group with his “History of US Foreign Assistance:1950 – 2015”. (In January 2014 John had led a UAA discussion on the 1789-1950 period.) John has over 40 years of experience managing international development programs. His talk was based on that extensive experience and additional research he has been doing for nearly two decades on the history of US foreign assistance. To see slides of an outline of his presentation, click here. For audio of the entire session, click here.

Where in the World

Updated Thru 1/15  Remember the good old days when the first thing many of us turned to in a new Front Lines was the “Where in the World?” page where we found out who was promoted, who was transferred and who retired? Well, it is back here now on the UAA website. Hopefully, we will be able to do regular updates in the future. To view the most recent update and our WITW archive, click  here..

Join the Alumni Directory

The Association strives to build a roster of alumni (USDH, FSN, PSC, etc. – see eligibility information under “Join” on the sidebar) and freely share it among us, whether you choose to become a financially contributing, voting member of the UAA or not. Your registration for the Directory will be followed by receipt of log-on information that that will give you access to the Directory. Contributing member or not, add your name and contact information now, You also can update your contact info at this same location, if needed.

For those of you already registered and have the password, please click here to access the Directory. If you have registered, but have lost the password, please send an email to office@usaidalumni.org and request that it be sent you

Alumni News

In Memoriam:

UAA has learned of the recent deaths of the following members of our USAID alumni community: Tim Seims, Hy Nissenbaum, Robert Smail, Thomas Farmer, Doug Stafford, Bill Joslin, and Martha Wedeman.  A full listing of alumni obituaries may be seen in the Tributes section.

Get Involved!

UAA is your organization. Your getting involved in Association activities will make us stronger, more interesting and – definitely – more fun. Below are just some of the ways you can participate:

• UAA Speakers Roster

The UAA has a roster of some 65 alumni around the country who regularly speak to community groups, universities and others about a range of international development and foreign affairs issues, and who are available for additional engagements.  Further information about the UAA Speakers Bureau can be found in the attached brochure. To become a member of the Speakers’ Roster is simple. Just fill in the information here and press the “send” button. If you are interested in finding USAID alumni in your area to speak at an event or to consult about a future program, contact speakers@usaidalumni.org.

• UAA Committees

UAA has five committees. These include: Membership Services, Public Outreach, Strengthening USAID, Development Issues and Finance and Administration. You can find descriptions of the committees here. Your ideas, involvement and energy would be very welcomed in any one of these.

• Alumni Groupings

In several regions around the country (and, perhaps, eventually abroad), people have organized local USAID alumni groups. Find out about these and get contact information about them here.

Do you belong to a local alumni group not posted here? Please share it with all of us. Send information to office@usaidalumni.org Attn: Alumni Groupings.

• Job and Volunteer Opportunities

Alumni looking for work? On request, UAA vets and posts USAID-related jobs and volunteer opportunities. For a full listing, see: Job Opportunities.

Also, from time to time, the AFSA Job Board may have employment or volunteer opportunities of relevance to USAID alums.

If you wish to post a job or volunteer opportunity, please email us at office@usaidalumni.org, Attn: Jobs/Volunteers.

Below are the most recent postings:

 New! Panagora Group, a woman-owned small business, seeks senior to entry-level specialists to propose as short-term experts on a USAID AFR/SD Institutional Support contract. Seek specialists in economics, poverty analysis, political economy, growth diagnostics, international trade, trade financing, health systems strengthening, health finance, education, governance, knowledge management, communications, outreach, writing, editing, information systems, website management, event/task management, conference/workshop organization, performance monitoring, assessment, gender equality and female empowerment (across sectors, e.g. , agriculture, trade, energy, and value chains), youth, LGBT rights and nondiscriminatory access, value chain development, private sector engagement, agricultural trade, technology adaptations, energy, utility management, program management, monitoring, policy development, enterprise development, and trade investment/promotion. Also seek administrative assistants. Past or current security clearance desired. Interested candidates should submit a CV and cover letter to connect@panagoragroup.net with area of expertise in the subject line. (5/31)

New! The Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is hiring individuals to serve as Personal Services Contractors (PSCs). USAID/OFDA is responsible for providing emergency non-food humanitarian assistance in response to international crisis and disasters, and leads the USG’s humanitarian assistance efforts overseas, responding to an average of 70 disasters in over 50 countries a year. OFDA is looking for qualified humanitarian professionals to serve in Washington, DC and Internationally as Regional Advisors, Policy Advisors, Program Officers, Training Specialists, Administrative Specialists, Communication Specialists, and Team Leaders. Full announcements of open positions can be found at www.ofdajobs.net. PSC positions are open to U.S. Citizens only.

The DCHA Bureau has newly launched the Crisis Surge Staff. The Crisis Surge Staff is somewhat similar to OTI’s Bullpen or the OFDA DART except that they provide the skills needed by the rest of a USAID mission. The “Firehouse,” as it is called, is comprised of intermittent PSCs that would be deployed to Missions for 2-10 months on an as needed basis. DCHA is looking for people with the full range of skills including: Senior Development Advisors, General Development Officers, Democracy and Governance Officers, Elections Specialists, Program Officers, Strategic Communication Officers, Contracting Officers, and Executive Officers. Here is the link for the full program description: http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/bureaus/bureau-democracy-conflict-and-humanitarian-assistance/office-2.

– The State Department Office of Inspector General is seeking recently retired senior USAID management officers, project managers, security officers and IT officers to serve on OIG inspection teams as WAE employees (when actually employed). Applicants should be familiar with operations at embassies and domestic bureaus, including grants management, social media and supporting interagency initiatives. Positions are available on domestic inspection teams (Washington-based, normally 10 weeks duration) and overseas inspection teams (normally, four weeks in Washington and eight weeks overseas).  Applicants should have a valid top secret security clearance.  Superior interviewing and writing skills are a plus. WAE inspectors can normally expect to work between three and six months a year. Interested applicants should contact Patricia Murphy at OIGISPRecruitment@state.gov

– Peace Corp Response Program: The Peace Corps Response Program complements the traditional 2-year Peace Corps tour by providing volunteers to do short term (3-12 months), high impact projects to address critical needs in host countries. Many of these volunteer slots have been opened recently to professionals with at least 10 years of experience. Although many USAID alumni are returned Peace Corps Volunteers, even those who are not possess exactly the kind of skills needed as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer. These positions come with the same benefits as the 2-year program, including travel to and from the country of service, full medical benefits, and a living stipend. To learn more about the program and view open positions, visit: peacecorps.gov/response. New positions are posted on this website as they are requested by the host country, so please check back regularly. For additional information and response to any questions, please contact Allison McReynolds at amcreynolds@peacecorps.gov.

Articles, Videos & Links for Development Professionals

(NOTE: Inclusion of any given article or web link does not constitute endorsement by UAA.)

• Articles and Videos

Below are recent articles on development happenings, issues, etc. If you have comments on them, please share them with us in the Forum. If you have articles that you believe would be of general interest to the UAA membership, please submit them here or feel free to post or link them in the Forum.

Over time, this list of articles has grown. To keep this page at a manageable size, older articles have been removed. To see and access the full list of articles, please click here.

• New! A Blurred Line Between Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service Employees? (Washington Post) – Are U.S. Foreign Service Officers an endangered species? They fear the State Department wants to define them away.
• New! The 169 Commandments (The Economist) – The question is whether too many UN Sustainable Development Goals are the same as having virtually none at all.
• New! A Glass Half Full (Foreign Service Journal) – A retired State FSO’s views on positive changes in the Foreign Service over the past 4+ decades.
• New! Poverty’s Long Farewell (The Economist) – The UN goal of ending poverty by 2030 is worthy but increasingly out of reach.
• The Illusion of Cotnrol (Devex) – This excellent assessment of the impact of too much control is the first of a seven-part series by Diana Ohlbaum, former OTI deputy director and Congressional staffer. Part 6, Country Ownership 3.0, contains links to four other elements of the series.
• Rajiv Shah’s Legacy (The Lancet) – Of the several articles done on this topic, this one seems to offer the most thoughtful and balanced view.
• Raj Shah’s USAID Legacy – Devex’s assessment of the departing Administrator’s impact from the Haiti earthquake through his multiple initiatives.
• Obama on What Most Americans Get Wrong About Foreign Aid (Vox Video Interview) – President Obama explains why he thinks we need to look at our foreign aid as an important tool in our national security portfolio, as opposed to charity.
• Which Countries are the Winners and Losers in Obama’s Proposed 2016 Aid Budget? (Devex) – Central American and Sub Saharan Africa are the big winners.
• Aid in U.S. Foreign Policy – The direct USAID related development aspects of the new National Security Policy issued February 6.
• Reagan Building Interiors Have ‘Reached the Anticipated End of Life’ (bizjournals.com) – A building that is only 15 years old is already obsolete! The cubicle layout is inefficient and the floor space could accommodate more people.
• The Impact of Obama’s Proposed Budget on Foreign Assistance (Devex) Some new initiatives and other strategies are apparent.*
• The Economics of Optimism (The Economist) – As the UN discusses the establishment of new “Sustainable Development Goals,” the debate increases on the risks of having too many goals and on prioritizing those which offer greater returns on development investment.*
• In Defense of Britain’s Oveseas Aid Program (CGD) – Tim Lankester, a former senior British aid official, provides an informed view of the positive value of aid and results in UK assistance programs.
• Who Will be the Next USAID Administrator? (DevEx) – This list includes ten names, including that of Aaron Williams!
• CIDA and AusAID Folded into Foreign Affairs Ministries (DevEx) –This almost happened to USAID. For additional thoughts, click here.
• Warren Weinstein Abductor Sentenced – USAID alumnus Weinstein is still missing, with no proof of life since late 2012.
• USAID Pays $3.2m Settlement to Alan Gross/DAI (Washington Post) – Result was the product of pre-trial mediation.
• Shortchanging Democracy Assistance (Washington Post) – Thomas Carothers discusses the harm recent DRG funding and program cutbacks have done to the cause of development that is sustainable.
• The Senate’s Back Channel on the Cuba Deal  (Politico) – The role of staffer Tim Rieser in the deal to free Alan Gross and advance the US/Cuban relationship.
• Devex on Aid Plans in Cuba – There are some possibilities, but the involvement of USAID would appear to be unlikely.
• How USAID’s Growing Relevance Could Destroy It – The U.S. government needs civilian tools to advance its short-term interests in difficult environments, but continuing to retrofit or cannibalize long-term USAID programs may do more harm than good.
• Behavioral Economics Applied (New York Times) – New ways of getting people to send their kids to school, save money, etc.
•  Deputy IG to Retire Amid Flap at USAID (Washington Post) – Carroll says that decision has nothing to do with whistleblower allegations.
• Stop Trying to Save the World (The New Republic) – A very comprehensive look at the conundrum of what works and what does not in international development.
• UN: Most African Nations to Miss 2015 MDG Goals – A main issue is the gap between human development and economic progress.

• Web Links

These are links of general interest to folks involved in the development “arts. If you have links you would like to submit, please send them here. Over time, this list of articles has grown. To keep this page at a manageable size, older articles have been removed. To see and access the full list of articles, please click here.

• March/April 2015  Front Lines – This link will take you to the most recent edition.
• The Good Country Index offers a measure what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity. For a TED Talk that discuss the Index, click here.
• Fragile States Index (Foreign Policy) – This index uses 12 social, economic, political, and military indicators and ranks 60 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict.
• World Bank Group Strategy – The new strategy says there will be shift from a focus on stand-alone projects to a “development solutions culture embedded in widely disseminated knowledge of what works and how to deliver it.”
• The Global Gender Gap Report, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, provides a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities around the world.
• The Global Peace Index is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace and the Economist Intelligence Unit. It ranks countries on their level of peace by measuring the level of safety and security, the extent of domestic or foreign conflicts and the degree of militarization. This snapshot focuses on the 91 low- and middle-income countries that received at least $2 million USAID funding in fiscal year 2011.
• Current USAID Mission Directors  – This is a list maintained by the Agency.
• USAID 101 – USAID has put together an on-line “course” that will explain what the Agency does and how and why it does it. This course is principally directed at university students. New material will be added each month.
• The World Bank Atlas of Global Development – The Atlas of Global Development is a comprehensive guide to the most critical issues facing our changing world today
• IFC Doing Business Table – Economies are ranked by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation on their ease of doing business. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm, a vital factor in economic growth and development.
  
• Development Aid and Governance Indicators   The Brookings Global Economy and Development Program has launched a new interactive featuring data on development, aid and governance. Information include trends in foreign assistance, governance, and global poverty and middle class populations.
• The Foreign Assistance Dashboard – The goal of the Dashboard is to enable a wide variety of stakeholders to examine, research, and track U.S. Government foreign assistance investments in an accessible and easy-to-understand format. As it evolves, the Dashboard will incorporate budget, financial, program, and performance data from all U.S. Government agencies implementing foreign assistance, humanitarian, and development funds.

If you have articles and/or links you would like to share with the rest of us, please send your suggestions to: office@usaidalumni.org, Attn: Development Issues.

New: Alumni Profile Archive

A membership favorite of the UAA newsletter has long been the Alumni Profile section. This section shares the widely varied stories of what we have been doing in our post-USAID afterlives. Now, you can see the full collection of these profiles under the “Alumni” tab of the navigation bar at the top of this page. Another option is to click here.

Suggestion Box – Your Ideas for UAA

Some of you may have noticed the many changes that have been made to this, the UAA website. The objective is to provide a site that members will find useful and interesting – a place you will want to return to on a regular basis.

We would greatly appreciate your feedback and ideas about usaidalumni.org. We also would like to have any news, articles or anything else you would like to share with your fellow alumni. Please send them to us at: office@usaidalumni.org Attn: Website.