Bio for David Shear
David Shear has more than 40 years of experience in development planning and management, including direct involvement in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. His work covers the full spectrum of development activities: region-wide macroeconomic development, country development strategies, country budget planning, project design and implementation, private sector investment and evaluation.
During a 22-year career with the Agency for International Development (USAID), his posts included Nigeria, Tanzania, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal. He held such responsible positions as USAID Mission Director in Senegal; Director of the West African and Sahelian Affairs Office in Washington; Regional Director for West and Central Africa, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and Director of Planning, Budget and Congressional Affairs for the Africa Bureau in Washington. He retired from USAID with the rank of Career Minister.
In his post-USAID career, David was Washington Director of the Organization for Rehabilitation through Training (ORT), and subsequently became President of Strategic Partnerships, a Washington based domestic/international consulting firm, where he currently serves as Senior Consultant. He has worked extensively on projects with the World Bank, USAID, and the UNDP, and with many other donors including FAO, IFAD, and OPIC, as well as with the development organizations of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He was a Senior Advisor to the OECD.
David was also a member of the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson Graduate School in Public and Business Administration at Princeton University for eight years, where he taught graduate seminars on development planning, project management and evaluation.
David was the Chairman of the Jane Goodall Institute for six years. He joined the Board of the Jane Goodall Institute in 1997 and was its Chairman from 2002 to 2008. He rejoined the Board in 2010, and is currently Chair of the Africa Programs Committee.
David’s work with the United Nations Foundation has included successfully initiating the New Nigeria Foundation at the request of former President Obasanjo. He has most recently completed a multi-year effort providing strategic and business planning to Friends of the Global Fund organizations in Japan, Europe and Africa.
David is currently engaged with the Jane Goodall Institute in a long term program supported by the World Bank and the German Aid Organization to preserve the Greater Serengeti National Park Ecosystem. The activities include engaging the communities bordering the Park and adjacent game and conservation areas to provide them with long term, sustainable, community based economic development. This will also provide the communities with a stake in preserving the Park’s future. Associated with this effort, is a partnership with Jane Goodall to help stem the poaching pandemic currently decimating Africa’s rhino and elephant populations.
Click here for notes on David Shear’s November 15, 2013 discussion of elephant and rhino poaching