WHERE IN THE WORLD...
In this section:
SMART Plan Tracks Mortality, Nutrition Status
in Emergencies
Homan Appointed New ACVFA Chair
Council Tackles Diversity Issues at Agency
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Observed
Reassigned
Retired
Promoted
Moved On
In Memoriam
SMART Plan Tracks Mortality, Nutrition Status in Emergencies
NEW YORK—A new computer-based system known as
“SMART Methodology Version 1” will provide more
reliable data to relief organizations and donors during complex
humanitarian emergencies and help them mount a better response,
according to backers of the plan.
SMART stands for Standardized Monitoring and Assessment
of Relief and Transitions. The new system was launched here
June 23 at an interagency conference hosted by UNICEF Executive
Director Ann M. Veneman.
SMART includes a computer software program that can be run
on Windows-based systems. Field workers and others input data
covering death rates and nutrition status of children under
age 5, and the software analyzes the information to create
a report. That report, in turn, is used by development and
humanitarian groups to determine if interventions are needed
and how best to respond.
William J. Garvelink, USAID’s senior deputy assistant
administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance,
said the two indicators are “useful for policy and decisionmakers,
as it provides an overall gauge of the wellbeing of a population….We
need a few critical pieces of information that are reliable,
rather than an overabundance of information that is not.”
The initiative is made up of donors, policymakers, and technical
experts. The effort addresses concerns that some relief responses
have lacked standardized and reliable data and that they need
more information about emerging issues, such as population
movements during complex humanitarian emergencies.
At the launch, Ambassador Sichan Siv, U.S. Representative
to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, said, “In humanitarian
emergencies, correct and timely data can make the difference
between death and life for thousands of people.” He also
noted that G8 leaders had committed themselves to support
the SMART initiative during their 2004 summit at Sea Island,
Ga.
USAID helped get SMART off the ground in 2002 by organizing
an interagency meeting with 45 humanitarian institutions and
has played a prominent role in leading the development of
the SMART methodology.
In addition to USAID, the State Department and the Canadian
International Development Agency provided seed money for SMART.
The new system was tested by the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization and Action Against Hunger. UNICEF, USAID, and
other partners are in the process of identifying priority
famine-prone countries—Ethiopia is the first—and
all USAID partners are being encouraged to try SMART.
Those interested can access “SMART Methodology Version
1” and read more about the New York conference online.
Homan Appointed New ACVFA Chair
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Benjamin Homan, left, shares high-fives with a group
of young Ugandans.
Food for the Hungry
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Benjamin Homan has been appointed chairman of the Advisory
Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA), following the
July 31 resignation of William Reese.
Reese, who is stepping down to concentrate on his duties
as the recently appointed president and CEO of the Baltimore-based
International Youth Foundation, displayed confidence in Homan’s
appointment, saying, “Ben is a stunning choice and a
committed leader.”
As president of the faith-based organization Food for the
Hungry, Homan is integrally involved in humanitarian assistance
and development work. Four months out of the year, he works
at Food for the Hungry missions in 47 countries worldwide.
In addition, Homan also serves as president of the Association
of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations.
“The ACVFA provides a great venue for the policymakers
at USAID to communicate the depth of their knowledge and sophisticated
analysis of complex issues,” said Homan.
As the new chairman, one of Homan’s objectives will
be to develop greater public awareness of the ACVFA. The committee,
he said, is “a valuable mechanism for private citizens
to draw policymakers into public discussion.”
The key result, according to Homan, is to make policymakers
better at what they do. Shedding light on issues through discussion
“helps great people get better,” he said.
“We have an excellent foundation with the wonderful
service of Bill Reese,” Homan added. “We’ll
build on that.”
Reese, who served as chairman for nine years, will remain
a member of the committee.
In addition to the change in chairman, the ACVFA has gained
several new members: Spencer King, president and CEO of International
Executive Service Corps; Lorne Craner, president of the International
Republican Institute; Timothy Flanigan, professor of medicine
at Brown University; Richard Stearns, president of World Vision;
and, the most recent addition, Mohammad N. Akhter, president
and CEO of InterAction.
The ACVFA’s first public meeting under the new leadership
is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C.
Council Tackles Diversity Issues at Agency
An Executive Diversity Council recently established by Administrator
Andrew S. Natsios will spearhead USAID’s efforts to develop
and implement diversity-enhancing initiatives.
Creation of the council was recommended in a series of reports
commissioned by the Agency to identify critical diversity
issues and challenges facing the Agency and to formulate strategies
for addressing them.
The Agency’s Business Transformation Executive Committee
hired an outside firm to conduct the three-part study. The
reports have been published, and a comprehensive action plan
is expected soon.
Mosina Jordan, who chairs the council and is the recently
appointed counselor to the Agency, explains: “USAID’s
success as an organization depends on having a multicultural
workforce that works effectively with diverse global customers
and stakeholders and partners. To achieve our development
goals abroad, our employees must work in an environment where
diversity, experiences, and contributions of others are valued,
and where every employee has the opportunity to contribute
to the fullest extent of his or her ability.”
The reports identified a number of areas needing immediate
improvement, including increased female and African-American
representation in the foreign service, increased Hispanic
representation in both the foreign and civil services, and
upward mobility for women and minorities.
The reports also depict the Agency as “an organization
significantly more supportive and embracing of a diverse workforce,
and a workplace conducive to fostering such a workforce, than
it is recognized for.”
Jordan sees the current diversity challenge as mainly one
of “implementation and communications—transforming
the Agency’s historic diversity vision into tangible
results.”
The comprehensive action plan will “detail far-reaching,
well-defined, actionable interventions that will advance the
diversity agenda,” Jordan said. The workforce will be
very much involved in defining the action plan, she stressed.
The council will meet monthly to implement selected recommendations.
Quarterly meetings will be open to all employees, who will
also have access to meeting minutes.
A listing of council members and more information is provided
online.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Observed
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Suchin Pak, host of the MTV series My Life Translated,
spoke during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
Alberto DeSoria
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At a ceremony for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month,
keynote speaker Suchin Pak, a news correspondent with MTV,
told about 200 people May 10 how she struggled with her identity.
Her MTV series, My Life Translated, tells of young people
like herself who are straddling the line between two cultures:
“They are Americans with families that are not. They
are stories that we all know very well—that many of us
live everyday—but they are the stories that are rarely
told.”
Noting that minorities find it hard to get into the media,
she said: “It is not enough to just get in the door—you
have to kick that door open and make sure it stays open for
everyone else!”
Administrator Andrew S. Natsios thanked Pak for raising
awareness about the tsunami and raising $100,000 for relief.
The event included performances by South Asian classical
dancer Ranjani Vedanthan and the Hawaiian group, Halau Ho’Omau
I Ka Wai Ola O Hawai’i.
A sampling of Asian Pacific American cuisine followed the
event.
Dosanjh Sukhminder contributed to this article.
Reassigned
Reed J. Aeschliman
Afghanistan/OEG to Cambodia
Timothy G. Alexander
E&E/EA to E&E/PO/SPA
Grover T. Atwood
Zimbabwe/GD to Afghanistan/OA
Ravinder Aulakh
ANE/IR to EGAT/AG/AM
Alexander V. Bond
RSC/EXO to COMP/FSLT
Donald J. Brady
Afghanistan/OM to Iraq/EXO
John P. Brady
Ukraine/ODG to Ukraine/PCS
Kathleen C. Bridges
Ghana/OD to Egypt/PROC
Sylvester M. Broderick
Benin/D to GUINEA/OD
Arthur W. Brown
Nigeria to COMP/LWOP
Candace H. Buzzard
Zimbabwe/GD to REDSO/ESA/PDPS
Christine Marie Byrne
RIG/Baghdad to OIG/A/HL&C
Jatinder K. Cheema
Eritrea/D to WARP
Rachel Herr Cintron
COMP/NE/OJT to Namibia
E. Lewis Conner
DCHA/PPM to Kosovo
Thaddeus S. Corley
RIG/Cairo to RIG/San Salvador
Fernando Cossich
Iraq/EXO to Caucasus
Timothy E. Cox
OIG/A/HL&C to RIG/San Salvador
Ronnie G. Daniel
Egypt/PSD to AFR/WA
Aimee M. David
M/PMO/BEA to EGAT/I&E/ICT
Carleene H. Dei
WARP to RS/Africa/OD
H. Peter Delp
Ethiopia/PROG to AA/PPC
Polly C. Dunford Zahar
Haiti/PHN to Nigeria
Margot Biegelson Ellis
WB/Gaza to Uganda/D
Bruce Etling
COMP/NE/OJT to Cambodia
Tadeusz Findeisen
Iraq/OAA to Nigeria
Patrick C. Fleuret
AFR/SA to Nigeria
Kurt Fuller
COMP/FS to ANE/SPO/SPPM
Loretta D. Garden
COMP/NE/OJT to Indonesia/EDU
Jose M. Garzon
DCHA/DG/ROL to Guatemala/ODDT
Megan A. Gerson
COMP/DRI to ANE/MEA
Ronald J. Greenberg
EL SALV/S01 to AFR/SD/EGEA
Abdoulaye Gueye
OIG/A/IT&SA to RIG/Dakar
Beverly A. Hadley
REDSO/ESA/LEG to RS/Africa/OD
Nancy Carmichael Hardy
REDSO/ESA/PDPS to COMP/FSLT
Margaret M. Harritt
CA/EW to COMP/FS
Julia Henn
COMP/NE/OJT to Uganda/GD
Charles W. Howell
Croatia/SLOV to Ukraine/D
Karen R. Hunter
Egypt/DIR to GC/Africa
David L. Jessee
E&E/EG/MT to LAC/CAM
Thomas J. Johnstone Jr.
Kosovo to COMP/FSLT
Mosina H. Jordan
AA/LAC to A/AID
Karen L. Kasan
COMP/NE/OJT to Nigeria
Mary Alice Kleinjan
GC/Africa to GC/ANE
Rebecca LaTorraca
Egypt/PO to Croatia/SLOV
Nancy J. Lawton
RIG/Budapest to RIG/Baghdad
Jeffrey A. Lehrer
Caucasus to COMP/FSLT
Jeffrey R. Levine
Uganda/GD to EGAT/EG/EDFM
Catherine C. Lott
Madagascar/PDA to O/S LANG TRNG
John A. May
DOM REP/DIR to Egypt/PROC
Bernard Mazer
M/PMO/BTIP to EGAT/I&E/ICT
Teresa Lynn McGhie
REDSO/ESA/LEG to USAID RDM/Asia
Marie F. McLeod
COMP/NE/OJT to RS Africa/SO3 HEA
Monica Medrek
COMP/NE/OJT to Russia/SSR
Taraneh Milani Roohi
COMP/NE/OJT to Egypt/HRH
Timothy J. Miller
EGAT/AG/ATGO to EGAT/NRM/W
Catherine M. Moore
Pakistan/OD to Iraq/OAA
Thomas R. Morris
Armenia/ERE to Indonesia/BHS
Charles E. Mosby
Iraq/OAA to Jordan/D
Kevin James Mullally
Mali/D to RWANDA
Alexander D. Newton
Ghana/OD to Mali/D
John R. Niemeyer
GC/LE to GC/Africa
Deborah J. Niewijk
COMP/NE/OJT to Afghanistan/OPPD
Alexandria L. Panehal
EGAT/PR/UP to Ecuador/D
Sangita Patel
COMP/NE/OJT to Namibia
Kendra Phillips
COMP/NE/OJT to RS Africa/SO3 HEA
John R. Power
Phil/D to Egypt/DIR
Ricky A. Pritchett
M/PMO/BTIP to M/PMO/BEA
Gerald C. Render
M/OMS to Afghanistan/OM
Timothy Reuter
COMP/DRI to ANE/IR
John Riordan
COMP/NE/OJT to Romania
Mitro Darren Roman
OIG/A/HL&C to RIG/San Salvador
Fenton B. Sands
AFR/SD/EGEA to Guyana
Mike E. Sarhan
Guyana to Eritrea
William K. Slater
COMP/NE/OJT to RDM/Asia
Kevin C. Smith
COMP/NE/OJT to Nigeria
Sandra Anna Stajka
COMP/NE/OJT to Pakistan/PDO
Littleton Tazewell
Guatemala/D to CA/DO
John R. Thomas
EGAT/AG/AM to EGAT/AG/ARPG
Tanya S. Urquieta
Nicaragua/DI to Colombia
Doanh Q. Van
USAID RDM/Asia to Iraq/OAA
Lynn N. Vega
Jamaica-Car/OPDM to Colombia
Dennis J. Weller
DCHA/FFP/EP to Ghana
Pamela A. White
Mali/D to Tanzania/D
Patrick Joseph Wilson
COMP/NE/OJT to Bangladesh/RAA
John E. Winn IV
DCHA/PPM to COMP/FSLT
Minnie S. Wright
Nigeria to Iraq/HEO
Retired
LaVerne I. Drummond
Timm A. Harris
Elouise L. Hood
Joan D. King
Lawrence J. Klassen
Sonny Low
Ursula Nadolny
Barbara N. Turner
Promoted
Richard B. Aaron
Contract Specialist
Taniece L. Baldwin
Auditor
Charity Conrad Benson
Supervisory Contract Specialist
Sandra M. Byrnes
Contract Specialist
Donald B. Clark
Mission Director
Patrice L. Cunningham
Contract Specialist
James N. Davis II
Lead Contract Specialist
Katie Donohoe
International Coop Specialist
Donald Douglass
Supervisory Accountant
Erika S. Eam
Contract Specialist
Vanessa Garza
Special Assistant
Osvaldo L. Gratacos
Attorney Advisor
Alicia R. Harris
Contract Specialist
Bao Quyen T. Hoang
Auditor
Michael F. Hoebel
Supervisory Operating Accountant
Richard L. Ingram
Supervisory IT Specialist
Cynita V. Knight
Security Specialist
Tameka J. Laws
Contract Specialist
Maria G. Marigliano
Administrative Officer
Monica L. McQueary
Program Analyst
Charis M. Nastoff
Lead Contract Specialist
Michael T. Peddicord
Contract Specialist
John W. Pica
Auditor
Courtney Y. Potter
Auditor
Darren W. Shanks
Human Resources Specialist
Steven A. Tashjian
Supervisory Contract Specialist
James Francis Thompson
Lead Management and Program Analyst
Moved On
Todd D. Anderson
David A. Bilker
Jeffrey E. Carr
Colette Claude Cowey
Kimberly Ann Finan
John S. Gardner
John Gunning
Deborah M. Hickey
Mary Frances Likar
Barry James MacDonald
Margaret Alter Miller
Aisha M. Mooney
Dahlia I. Neiss
Bruce J. Odell
Jane E. Stanley
Matthew Stephenson
David Studdert
Celeste Tarricone
Todd S. Thompson
John E. Wagner
Ernest Wilson
In Memoriam
Donald Everett Anderson, 74, died May 30 in McLean,
Va. He worked with USAID as a foreign service officer, serving
in Brazil, Vietnam, Honduras, and Zambia. Anderson was among
the last Americans to leave Vietnam when Saigon fell in 1975.
He managed a camp in Pennsylvania for 25,000 Vietnamese refugees
during the summer after his return from Vietnam. Anderson
later served as a senior advisor for disaster relief and assistance
during earthquakes in Italy and Guatemala, and was a senior
member of a joint State Department/USAID task force working
on the Sinai peacekeeping mission. Upon retirement in 1987,
Anderson returned to international development as a contractor
and worked on agricultural development and food security projects
in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia and the
Sudan. Skilled in piano tuning and carpentry, he was known
to tune friends’ pianos while on visits to Africa, and
he rebuilt more than 100 instruments during his assignments
and visits to the continent.
Cristin Springet, 54, died Aug. 2 in Bethesda, Md.
Since 2002, Springet worked in the Bureau for Economic Growth,
Agriculture, and Trade, and made significant contributions
to the Agency’s participant training and education programs.
She started as a placement officer with a Washington-based
contractor, continued in the West Bank/Gaza mission, and then
moved on to the Africa ATLAS program. Most recently, she led
the development of Agency efforts to reengage in long-term
degree training in agriculture-related areas. Her ideas for
performance-based training are now being piloted in several
African countries. She was also a consultant on several USAID
projects in the 1980s and 1990s.
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