Team

At ACDI/VOCA, we recognize that each project, system, community, and individual with whom we work is unique and diverse. This requires our team members to represent our complex work not only through professional experience and knowledge but also through lived experience and identity. It takes people of all backgrounds and identities to successfully and sustainably execute our mission while addressing the racial imbalance in our industry and systemic racism more broadly.

Click on the dropdown menus below to meet our diverse and talented staff.

Board of Directors

Timothy Beans

Board Chair

Asif M. Shaikh

Board Vice Chair

Luis Sahmkow

Audit and Risk Committee Chair 

Beth Keck

Governance Committee Chair 

Deborah Atwood

Erica Bliss

Christopher Cochran

Leslie Durschinger

Andrew Gilbert

Charles J. Hall

Dawn Thomas

Guevera Yao

Sylvia Megret

President & CEO

Patricia Garamendi

Director Emeritus

Mortimer Neufville

Director Emeritus

Executive Team

Sylvia Megret

President and Chief Executive Officer

Bob Fries

Chief Technical Officer

Gevorg Adamyan

Chief Integration Officer

Maura Allen

Chief Program Officer

Heidi Pilloud

Chief Financial Officer

Technical Experts

Hayden Aaronson

Managing Director, Market & Food Systems

Cristobal Aguilar

Senior Director of Agriculture and Community Development

Caroline Allen

Associate Director of Technical Learning

Caroline Bailey

Associate Director, Gender and Youth

Meg Buckley

Associate Director, Private Sector Engagement

Ovidiu Bujorean

Technical Director of Partnerships & Investments

Geoffrey Chalmers

Vice President for Partnerships and Investment, Managing Director for AV Ventures

Laura Conn

Director of Partnerships & Investment

Luca Crudeli

Senior Technical Director, Market Systems

Ydun Donahoe

Technical Director of Market Systems

Valentina Echeverry

Senior Technical Director, Partnerships & Investments

Barry Elkin

Technical Director of Commodity Management

Luis Flores

Senior Technical Director, Agricultural Systems

Glenn Lines

Senior Advisor

Melissa Matlock

Director, Gender and Social Inclusion

Christine McClung

Associate Director, Partnerships & Investment

Nathalie Me-Nsope

Director of Gender and Agriculture

Morgan Mercer

Senior Director of Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion

Kathryn Merckel

Technical Director of Nutrition and Food Systems

Zenebech Mesfin

Associate Director of Gender and Social Inclusion

Paul Newall

Senior Technical Director of Partnerships & Investment

Mark Sevier

Senior Technical Director for Private Sector Engagement

Daniel Sumner

Associate Director, Gender and Youth

Cheryl Turner

Executive Vice President of Technical Learning and Application

Jenn Williamson

Vice President, Gender and Social Inclusion

HOMe office Directors

Yvonne Abuto

Senior Director of Capture and Proposal Management

Margaret Anderson

Senior Director of Inclusive Market Systems

Jyldyz Aliyas

Senior Director of Accounting

Sabrina Amburgey

Vice President of Business Development

Ruth Arriaga

Senior Director of International Human Resources 

Rebekah Bakewicz

Director of Resilience & Growth

Sharon Ball

Senior Director of Procurement & Logistics

Bo Banks

Director of Business Development, Inclusive Market Systems

Elitza Barden

Senior Director of Inclusive Market Systems 

Gelsey Bennett

Senior Director of Resilience & Growth

Stephanie Brennan

Lead Technical Writer 

Gregory Buchholz-White

Managing Director, Pricing, Compliance & Teaming

Nicole Chao

Vice President of Resilience & Growth

Jill Chow

Vice President of Communications & Outreach

Sandi Crawford

Managing Director of Awards Management Services

Emmanuel Dormon

Senior Director of Inclusive Market Systems

David Fischer

Managing Director, Inclusive Market Systems

Carolyn Froeschl

Senior Director of Financial Systems

Art Gandilyan

Senior Director of Inclusive Market Systems

Patricia Gbeti

Managing Director, Project Accounting

Julie Hamlin

Senior Director of Program Communications, Communications & Outreach

Dana Hudock

Senior Director, Cost and Pricing

Anar Khalil

Senior Director of Subaward Systems Management

Marc Kokosky

Senior Director of Compliance

Daniel Lee

Senior Director of Knowledge Management

Beth Leonhardt

Senior Director of Business Development, Resilience & Growth

Tamara Ljubinkovic

Managing Director of Project Operations 

Carrie McCloud

Senior Director of Communications & Outreach

Brian Meister

Senior Vice President of Corporate Compliance & Accounting

Nadia Namken

Senior Technical Director of Inclusive Market Systems

Patrick Norrell

Senior Vice President of Inclusive Market Systems

Quanita Pokolo-Hassell

Senior Vice President of Human Resources 

Yamil Roger Nasser

Associate Director of Resilience & Growth

Karl Rosenberg

Senior Director, Resilience & Growth

Laura Schauble

Vice President of Risk Management and Office Operations 

Mike Thayer

Senior Director of Resilience & Growth

Thelonious Trimmell

Senior Agribusiness Advisor of Inclusive Market Systems

Lucas Valente da Costa

Associate Director of Resilience & Growth

Jaha Zakhidov

Senior Director, International Human Resources and Compensation

Country Office Leadership

Honduras

Ricardo Amaya

Chief of Party of the Honduras Transforming Market Systems Activity

Colombia

Erika María Arango

Chief of Party of the Program of Alliances for Reconciliation

Armenia

Makrita Avjyan

Armenia Farmer-to-Farmer Program Country Director

Zambia

Jean-Frederic Beauchesne

Chief of Party, USAID Zambia EDGE Activity

Colombia

Carolina Blackburn

Executive Director, Fundación ACDI/VOCA Latin America

Kenya

Wyanie Bright

Chief of Party, USAID Kuza

Tanzania

Antonio Coello

Chief of Party of the Feed the Future Tanzania Kilimo Tija Activity

Philippines

George C. Dalire

Deputy Chief of Party of the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise Project

Kyrgyzstan

Hiqmet Demiraj

Chief of Party of the USAID Enterprise Competitiveness Project in the Kyrgyz Republic

Kenya

Jim Flock 

Chief of Party of the Feed the Future Kenya Resilience Learning Activity

Guinea

Laurent Gomis

Country Representative in Guinea and Chief of Party of the Siguiri Agricultural Development Activity and the Cooperative Development Program

Honduras

Dun Grover

Deputy Chief of Party of Market Systems and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) for the USAID/Honduras Transforming Market Systems Activity 

Tajikistan

Mohammad Shahroz Jalil

Chief of Party of the Market Driven Rural Development Activity

Georgia

Magda Menabde

Georgia Farmer-to-Farmer Program Country Director 

Kenya

Simon Muli

Deputy Chief of Party of Expanding Economic Opportunities under the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity

Colombia

Jimena Niño

Chief of Party of Youth Resilience Activity and Colombia Country Representative

Serbia

Alex Pavlovic

Chief of Party, Big Small Business Project

Honduras

Giovanny Cuero Rincón

Deputy Chief of Party of Programs for the USAID/Honduras Transforming Market Systems Activity

Philippines

T.J. Ryan

Chief of Party of Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise Project 

Kenya

Joe Sanders

Chief of Party of the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity

Bangladesh

Muhammad Nurul Amin Siddiquee

Chief of Party of Feed the Future Bangladesh Livestock and Nutrition Activity and Bangladesh Country Representative

Burkina Faso

Regis Terrien

Chief of Party of Victory Against Malnutrition Plus Project 

Laos

Sophie Walker

Chief of Party of the Laos Microenterprise Activity 

Kyrgyzstan

Aijamal Ypyshova

Agribusiness Partnerships Lead, Kyrgyz Republic