STAFF

James E. Austin, Ph.D., Founder and Mentor

Dr. James E. Austin, referred to by the London Financial Times as the "Harvard Business School's guru on developing countries," currently holds the Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School as a Professor, Emeritus, where he created the Management in Developing Countries course.

 

For more than twenty years, his research has been dedicated to strategic management in developing and emerging economies. Dr. Austin served as the Director of Agribusiness Programs at the Central American Management Institute (INCAE). In 1980, the World Bank commissioned him to write Agroindustrial Project Analysis, a book that is still in use today.

 

In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. Austin has worked to strengthen management schools around the world. He is internationally recognized as a leading authority on strategic management and provides consulting services to a wide variety of clients. He is the co-chairman of Harvard’s Social Enterprise Initiative.  

 

 

Kevin X. Murphy, President and Co-Founder

Kevin Murphy is a business/sectoral strategy and competitiveness expert with twenty-five years of experience in enterprise development, strategic management, competitiveness analysis, investment and trade, and related executive-level training. Mr. Murphy provides strategic management services to corporations and advises governments and donor agencies on fostering economic development and foreign investment strategies. He has directed numerous international projects focused on competitiveness, privatization, agribusiness development and enterprise development.

 

Mr. Murphy has authored or supervised the development of over one hundred business case studies on competitiveness, investment, and trade and strategy issues in developing countries. Mr. Murphy is also the co-author of the Manual for Action in the Private Sector (MAPS) methodology, a strategic tool for assessing constraints and opportunities for private enterprise and industry development in Africa. MAPS exercises have been implemented in over fifteen countries in Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Mr. Murphy is a graduate of Harvard Business School, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the University of Louvain, Belgium, and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.  

 

 

C. Martin Webber, Executive Vice President and Partner

Martin Webber is a strategic management and management consulting professional with twenty-five years of experience in economic growth, private sector development, trade and investment, infrastructure, and agribusiness. A leader of JAA’s work in competitiveness, value chain development, public-private dialogue and institutional change, he has worked with more than 50 industry clusters and sectors, and more than 100 business associations and many public and private organizations in more than 40 countries.

 

A key figure in competitiveness, cluster and value chain work in countries such as Armenia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda, Mr. Webber guides and facilitates competitiveness and cluster development. He has helped devise strategies to improve the quality of dialogue between the private and public sector and to improve the development of the investment and trade environment for industry clusters. He has prepared and supervised case and similar studies of many companies and organizations.  Mr. Webber is a frequent advisor, speaker and writer on issues of competitiveness and business-led economic growth. 

 

Prior to J.E. Austin Associates, Mr. Webber worked in senior positions with Louis Berger International, Inc. and Apogee Research.  These were management and economic consultancies, with particular emphasis on infrastructure and related services, and economic growth.  A Canadian from Montreal, residing in Washington, DC, Mr. Webber obtained an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University.  Mr. Webber was the 2005 co-recipient of the first “Making a Difference Award”, presented to alumni of the Harvard Business School.  

 

 

Justin Stokes

 

Justin Stokes is a Director with J.E. Austin Associates and a Senior Competitiveness and Private Sector Development Specialist focusing on lower income countries.  Mr. Stokes works with entrepreneurs, corporate executives, government and non-profit leaders to develop strategies for strengthening the private sector as a platform for economic growth.  Previously, Mr. Stokes worked as a management consultant for Marakon Associates where he advised executives of Fortune 500 and FTSE 500 companies on corporate strategy.

 

Mr. Stokes has led numerous national and industry cluster competitiveness initiatives across the globe, advising and facilitating government and industry leadership on strategies for raising the competitiveness of key industry clusters and their overall economy.  Mr. Stokes has authored country and industry specific reports on competitiveness, utilizing a variety of benchmarks, market analyses and other diagnostic tools.  Mr. Stokes has led and advised long-term and short-term competitiveness initiatives in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Rwanda, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Libya, Morocco, Tanzania, Egypt and Jordan

 

Mr. Stokes is a co-founder of a non-profit private equity initiative in Tanzania promoting domestic private equity investment in small and medium-sized enterprises.  He has served as an advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique in setting up an investment fund to support start-ups and expansions in agribusiness.  In addition, Mr. Stokes authored a case study at Harvard University on the life science cluster in Nairobi, Kenya and its prospects for commercializing promising research and developing a life science cluster in East Africa.

 

Mr. Stokes earned a Masters in International Economic Development from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government; and a Bachelors degree in Economics and History from Duke University.  

 

Marcos Arocha

 

Marcos Arocha is a Senior Consultant with extensive experience in competitiveness, agribusiness marketing, credit bureaus, SME development, promoting public-private dialogue, strengthening business associations, and investment promotion.  He regularly researches and analyzes macro and micro economic statistical data to diagnose country competitiveness, and collaborates in the elaboration of national competitiveness reports. 

 

His recent assignments have included strengthening a high-level government-business dialogue mechanism in Albania; researching world and national markets for a diverse range of products of small producers of Colombia and El Salvador; identifying better practices on credit bureaus in the micro finance area; analyzing the comparative and competitive advantages of Nicaragua to provide input into a light-manufacturing investment promotion strategy; and developing a business development and action plan for the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce of Zambia.  He has also been a leader in JAA’s efforts to monitor and evaluate cluster-based competitiveness projects.

 

Before joining JAA, Mr. Arocha worked with multinational companies such as Mercury Marine (Brunswick Corporation, International Business Development and Corporate Strategy unit); Grupo Industrial Cierres Ideal SA (Mexico City), where he served as International Trade Manager, and served as an analyst for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Mr. Arocha is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.  

 

 

Carlton Jones

Carlton Jones is a Senior Consultant with over 16 years of private sector experience working in the fields of Enterprise Development, Competitiveness, Information & Communication Technologies, & Microfinance. He has consulted, implemented projects, conducted evaluations, and provided technical assistance for various donor, NGO and public/private sector clients throughout Africa and the Middle East, particularly in post- conflict countries. Before joining JAA, Mr. Jones worked in the Great Lakes of Africa, providing short-term technical assistance on a variety of economic growth, microfinance, enterprise development, and informal sector livelihood projects. Mr. Jones’ strengths are encapsulated in his entrepreneurialism, technical acumen and relationship building. He is comfortable both as a practitioner, as well as an administrator.

 

Before joining JE Austin, Mr. Jones was the co-founder and Vice President of Service Delivery for a US-based development consulting practice; specializing in ICT, Enterprise Development and Agribusiness. He began his professional career in the global telecommunications and ICT industry where he managed a P&L of $2m, generating $13m in new business.

 

Mr. Jones speaks French and earned a Masters in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and a Bachelors degree in Marketing from Hampton University. In his spare time, he enjoys sailing and collecting art from his travels.  

 

 

Michael Ducker

Mike Ducker is a market development specialist with 13 years of professional hands-on experience in both the private sector and for development agencies.  He works with stakeholders in creating practical and workable solutions to problems that lead to results.  Mr. Ducker has advised firms, development agencies, governments, industry associations and educational institutions on how to reach their goals by serving their stakeholders.  He also has a strong track record in the private sector in the following areas:

  • Market Development
  • New product development and innovation
  • Investment strategies
  • Institutional development to support entrepreneurs and innovation

Mr. Ducker's experience in the private sector has been an invaluable resource to development agencies developing the private sector.  But Mr. Ducker's greatest asset is his ability to generate results.  He designed and managed a financial center that helped raise $6 Million in funding for Egyptian entrepreneurs.  He also coached entrepreneurs in Armenia on how to engage with buyers which lead to new business contacts.  As part of a management team he helped turn around a sales and distribution center's $300,000 loss into a $1.2 million profit while doubling sales in four years. He has successfully generated marketing strategies for Fortune 500 companies like Delphi Automotive, as well as start-ups in alternative fuels. He has also developed a unique system of market research to track market and technology trends and help develop new products and services.  His methodology has been implemented in Egypt, Armenia and Thailand to understand market needs and target prime consumers. 

Mr. Ducker designed and taught marketing courses to entrepreneurs in the U.S. and internationally.  He earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Ross Business School at the University of Michigan with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship, International Business and Economics.  Mr. Ducker has finished six marathons, including the Safaricom Marathon (considered one of the top five endurance marathons by Running World Magazine) and reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  

 

 

Kwang Kim

Kwang is a Global Strategy Consultant who advises corporate and government leaders on firm-level strategy and on national competitiveness. He regularly consults for the World Bank, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), Cabinet-ranking government officials, USAID, as well as for Fortune 100 companies. His recent work include writing the State of 2008 Pakistan's Competitiveness Report.

Kwang has lived and worked in Cambridge (MA), Brazil, Peru, Washington, DC, and the Caribbean. His career base is in Arlington, Virginia, and has recently lived in in Kingston, Jamaica, where he advised Caribbean governments to develop alternative sectors (e.g. tourism and agribusiness) to help prepare for the elimination of EU sugar trade preferences.

Before joining J.E. Austin, he worked for OTF Group, an emerging markets advisory firm founded by Michael Fairbanks (author: “Plowing the Sea”). Kwang is the author of a chapter in a forthcoming book on competitiveness, edited by Michael Fairbanks.

Kwang also helped the World Bank to create a framework to operationalize local economic development instruments into the Bank’s lending services, focusing on private sector-oriented solutions such as Corporate Social Responsibility, Microfinance, and Vouchers. He also worked with World Bank Directors to design and facilitate a Country Assistance Strategy retreat to plan for US$6 billion in Brazil. He started at the Bank's DC headquarters focusing on public sector reforms.

Kwang is also a founder of Index Clusters, a competitiveness practice within a management consulting group based in Brazil, where he led a competitiveness institute and edited its journal, Clusters Quarterly. As Practice Leader, he advised a global services firm on a market entry strategy, helped design strategy innovation labs for a global consumer electronics firm, and advised Brazil’s Small Business Agency (SEBRAE) on competitiveness indicators.

He published a case study on Peru’s competition agency (INDECOPI) and lectured at FAAP’s business department in Brazil..

Kwang is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Korean

 

David Feige

David Feige is a Project Manager at J.E. Austin where he backstops projects in Colombia and Cyprus.  David's technical work includes the National Competitiveness Reports of Jordan and Pakistan, as well as publicity efforts to raise awareness of competitiveness issues in Armenia around the release of the first Armenian Competitiveness Report. 

 

Before joining JAA, David was an economic development officer with International Relief and Development where he managed their USAID-funded local economic development programs in Serbia and Montenegro, and a DFID-funded livelihoods project in Lebanon.  Prior to that, he was a business technical advisor on a USAID Enterprise Development Project in Kazakhstan, a Program Manager for a small NGO leveraging technology for grassroots economic development, and a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador.  David also worked with the Chilean Government on their foreign direct investment strategies and led a team that developed a nationally recognized business plan for an India-based microfinance institution.

 

David has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and his Bachelor's degree in Business from Miami University of Ohio.  

 

 

Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson is a Recruitment Specialist at JAA.  In regards to recruitment, he is the prime point of contact for consultants seeking to join our team.  On the business development side, he is responsible for finding new projects for the firm, as well as analyzing future revenues.  He has assisted with recruitment and business development for projects in Colombia, Serbia, Morocco, Senegal, Tanzania, Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka.

 

Prior to joining J.E. Austin, Peter worked as an Analyst at Citigroup / Banamex in Mexico City, Mexico where he created a model that was used to formulate new business development strategy, conducted legislative analysis, and analyzed individual client companies.  He also served as Marketing and Academic Director of Chile Idiomas, a language institute in Santiago, Chile, an Assistant Transaction Manager in the Finance and Operations Department of First American Equipment Finance, and a Senior Sales Consultant at Sutherland Global Services, working on projects for both Fortune 500 companies and start-up clients.

 

Peter earned his MA in International Relations and International Economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, a Diploma in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Bologna Center in Bologna, Italy, and his BA in Economics and International Relations from the State University College of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo) in Geneseo, NY.  

 

 

Jessica Reynolds

Mrs. Reynolds has been a Project Manager at JAA for three years.  She is currently managing competitiveness and economic growth programs in Armenia, Senegal, Croatia, Mexico and Pakistan.  In addition, to project administration, Mrs. Reynolds has contributed to the technical implementation of these and other projects, working to improve local business practices, increase knowledge about competitiveness and value chains, improve the regulatory environment, and further cluster development.

 

Recent assignments include completion of a value chain analysis for neem in Senegal; the creation of a competitiveness library; development of marketing materials and codes of conduct for tourism services associations in Armenia; design and management of a US study tour for the Pakistani gems and jewelry industry, and contribution to a guidebook on developing private sector development programs for indigenous SMEs in Africa.

 

Mrs. Reynolds plays an active role in business development at JAA as well, and has been involved with or led several proposal efforts.  As the knowledge management officer at JAA, she also trains new project managers and other staff, as well as contributing to HR activities.

 

Prior to joining JAA, Mrs. Reynolds worked as an intern for the World Trade Center Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and in fund raising for Loyola College in Maryland.  Mrs. Reynolds also worked with the Hispanic and Immigrant community of Baltimore as a volunteer providing support in language studies, employment assistance, and medical services.  Mrs. Reynolds graduated summa cum laude from Loyola College in Maryland with a bachelors degree in Comparative Culture and Literary Studies. She is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and is fluent in Spanish and French.  

 

Karen Isahakyan

Karen Isahakyan is a Project Manager at J.E. Austin. He curently backstops projects in Thailand and Morocco. He is involved in the Business Growth Initiative and is also part of a team to develop Country Analytical Studies.

Prior to joining JAA, Mr. Isahakyan was working as a consultant for various USAID projects in Armenia. He was a Grants Manager for the Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) project; Program Manager for the Community Tourism Development Initiative; and the M&E Officer for multi-million private sector development projects.

He was also involved in short term assignments with Nathan Associates, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the Center for European Law and Integration (CELI). At CELI he was a team leader for developing the EU-Armenian Information Dissemination Strategy.

Mr. Isahakyan has an MBA from the American University of Armenia and a diploma in Radiophysics from Yerevan State University. In 2006, Mr. Isahakyan completed a negotiation training course from Mercy Corps at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

 

Jennifer Lynch

Jennifer Lynch is a Project Manager at JAA.  She is involved in managing a large competitiveness and capacity building project in Pakistan .  She also coordinates a similar competitiveness project in Sri Lanka and is managing a new project in Jordan , working to improve the business environment, financial sector, trade, investment and productivity.  Previously, Ms. Lynch was a Junior Fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum where she worked with Iraqi women’s NGOs, helping to develop reference guides and training materials for building the capacity of these nascent organizations.

 

Ms. Lynch graduated magna cum laude, earning her B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University .  She has also studied at la Universidad Complutense in Madrid and at the American University in Cairo .  She is proficient in Arabic, Spanish and French and has also studied Portuguese and Persian (Farsi).    

 

Grant Cavanaugh

Grant Cavanaugh is a Project Manager at JAA. He specializes in agribusiness competitiveness and value-chain analysis with a particular emphasis on the tropical fruit and aquaculture sectors. 

 

In 2006, Mr. Cavanaugh graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Technology in International Affairs. As part of that degree, he studied agronomy and agribusiness in Brazil and Ecuador as well as participating in soil science research projects in Central America . Prior to assuming his current position at JAA, he interned at the Agronomy, Crop, and Soil Science Societies of America where he worked on the 2007 United States Farm Bill. He has also interned at the Inter-American Committee on Ports at the Organization of American States.

 

Kirk Nathanson

Kirk Nathanson is the Business Development Manager at JAA where his primary responsibilities include proposal coordination, recruiting and project management. He specializes in corporate communications, mass media, and public relations, and developed JAA's Media Relations desk; he is also spearheading JAA's new-media marketing efforts. He is currently managing projects in Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan.

Mr. Nathanson gradudated from Indiana University in 2007 with bachelor's degrees in Political Science and English where he served as editor and columnist of one of the nation's top ranked collegiate newspapers. Several of his columns have been picked up by the Associated Press wire service, and he was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal. Mr Nathanson is conversant in Russian and Spanish, and has traveled extensively in Europe, the Caucuses and the Middle East.

 

Alicia Miller

Alicia Miller is a Project Associate at JAA. Her responsibilities include backstopping projects, providing assistance on proposals, and editing reports. Currently she is working on projects in Mali, Senegal and Jordan and is helping with proposals for work in Pakistan and Ghana. Ms. Miller recently graduted cum laude from The George Washington University with a B.A. in International Affairs and also studied Sciences Politiques in Paris, France. Before joining JAA, Ms. Miller interned for Senator John McCain in his Defense and Foreign Policy office. She is fluent in French and is a cellist in the NIH Philharmonia.




 

Aliya Ishmukhamedova

Aliya Ishmukhamedova is J.E. Austin's Compliance Officer with over eight years of economic development experience in economics, business education and finance.  She is certified by USAID as a Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO) and served over three years in the Agency's Central Asia Economic Growth Office where she managed project in five countries valued up to USD $13 million.  She also developed a joint agreement between USAID and the Government of Kazakhstan to fund a scholarship program for Central Asian students.

Mrs. Ishmukhamedova earned Masters degrees in Economic Development from Vanderbilt University and International Economic Relations from Kazakh State National University in Almaty.  She is fluent in English, Kazakh, Russian and Turkish.  

Warren Weinstein, PhD.

Dr. Warren Weinstein is a recognized expert in international development with twenty-five years experience in bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental organizations and in the implementation of field projects and programs. He has worked in private sector development work including project design and evaluation, governance and democracy, public/private sector partnerships, institutional development, improvement of the enabling environment, small and medium enterprise development, labor in development, community-based development and microfinance and has considerable experience in the design and implementation of training programs. He is well known among key OECD bilateral development banks and donor agencies, multilateral and regional banking and lending institutions, and private sector groups in developing and emerging economies.

 

Currently, Dr. Weinstein is serving as Chief of party for JAA on the Pakistan Initiative for Strategic Development and Competitiveness.

 

Dr. Weinstein earned a PhD in International Law & Economics, a Masters of International Relations, and an African Affairs Certificate from Columbia University .  Dr. Weinstein is a Fulbright Scholar (Free University of Brussels) and is proficient in six foreign languages.    

 

Eugene Miller

Mr. Miller is a senior executive with thirty years of development experience in management of international development projects, grounded in a background of private sector management in food processing including equipment purchase, new product development and implementation, distribution, and marketing. An experienced USAID Chief of Party in Ghana and Nicaragua , he also managed multi-faceted long-term development projects in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa supporting private sector business, including the implementation of a 4 year USAID grants program in Nicaragua .

 

As COP in Ghana for USAID's Trade and Investment Program, he assisted 86 firms to generate an additional $32.31M in exports and helped 46 new firms in export market development. Through this posting, Mr. Miller became familiar with trade issues and stakeholders in the commercial industry in western Africa . He has conducted sub-sector assessments of market constraints to deliver support to cluster competitiveness programs and has extensive experience establishing and supporting associations. He has worked in organic farming, livestock and food processing and has long-term private sector experience with large multi-plant, multi-product operations including training, quality control, and profitability. His commitment to organic farming is the foundation of his support to improving environmental conditions through formal processes.  He is fluent in Spanish and has some knowledge of Arabic and Portuguese.

 

Patrick Nugawela, PhD.

Dr. Patrick Nugawela is an Economist, as well as a Value Chain and Business Development Services expert, who has held senior management positions in both national and international levels in the field of industrial development and is experienced in identification, preparation, formulation and implementation of technical assistance projects.  He has experience collaborating with multilateral and bilateral organizations, private companies, NGOs and governments, negotiating funding, and implementing and evaluating technical assistance programs.  He has carried out training sessions, and prepared and led donor meetings for mobilization of resources.  He specializes in export development, industrial and trade promotion, the promotion of SMEs and export oriented SMEs in developing countries and rural development.  He has microfinance and microenterprise development experience and has formulated programs for Women’s entrepreneurship development. 

 

He is currently serving as a Value Chain/Business Development Services Advisor and team leader for JAA’s economic growth project in Senegal .  He has nearly thirty years of experience in production, quality control and marketing of wild ocean caught and aquaculture shrimp, lobster, cephalopods and fish products in USA , Europe, the Orient, Africa, Middle East and India . Dr. Nugawela is actively involved in contract negotiations with super market chains, food service distributors and importers.

 

In 2002 Dr. Nugawela received an honorary award as a “Chevalier in the Order of Palms Academic” by the Government of France for his work done in the field of economic and SME development in many countries.  Dr. Nugawela holds a PhD with Merit in Development Economics from the University of Social Sciences in Grenoble , France .  His PhD thesis was on the role and policies of SMEs in developing countries.  He also has a BA with honours in Economics and Banking from the University of Sri Lanka .  

 

Pradeep Liyanamana

Pradeep Liyanamana is an international private sector development specialist with over 12 years of professional work experience in international development. He has extensive experience in managing projects both short and long -term in developing countries. Presently, through J.E. Austin, he is working as the Director of the USAID funded competitiveness program in Sri Lanka . He also worked as an advisor to the USAID funded REVIVE project in designing, developing and implementing the project to restore livelihoods of 30, 000 families affected by the tsunami.

 

Mr. Liyanamana has MS in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University .  He also has a BBA in Management Information Systems and Marking from Incarnate Word University in Texas and an AA in Business Administration from San Antonio College in Texas .  He is fluent in English and Sinhala.  

 

Alan Saffery

Alan Saffery is a Senior Consultant and Competitiveness Expert at JAA with a reputation for providing practical and tangible results to ministries, agencies, regional and local government, associations and individual firms in the tourism, handicrafts, IT, cashmere, meat, gems & jewelry, marble & granite, wood and horticulture industries. With more than 8 years experience in technical assistance programs, he has worked in Mongolia , Pakistan , Kyrgyzstan , Armenia , Ukraine , Croatia , Bosnia & Herzegovina , Romania , Tanzania and Brazil with international donors and non-profit organizations on both long and short-term assignments.

 

His areas of expertise include: Competitiveness assessment, theory and practice; Public private sector dialogue, coaching & partnership; Market and industry analyses, Development of industry cluster strategies; Product and destination development, branding, marketing and promotion; Institutional capacity building; Training; Public sector and association policy and planning; Business development and Project management.

 

He has a Masters degree with merit in Industrial Strategy and Trade Policy from the Institute of Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester (UK) and an upper second class honors degree in Rural Resource Management from the University of Plymouth (UK). His Master’s dissertation focused on the Competitiveness of the Ukrainian Tourism Industry. Alan has undertaken a number of presentations and has several publications to his name. For his services to the Mongolian Tourism Industry, he received a medal of honor from the Government’s Ministry of Infrastructure in 2003.    

 

Joyce Lamoreux

Joyce Lamoreux is the office/personnel manager and administrator for JAA. Mrs. Lamoreux has over thirty years of professional and administrative experience in all aspects of office management and administration, including collections, inventory management, cost control, logistics, human resources management, accounting, and general office start-up, operation and management.

 

Mrs. Lamoreux has been with JAA for over thirteen years during which time she was the principal manager of three complete JAA office relocations including office set-up, logistics and design. She is also responsible for the coordination of all day-to-day activities of the JAA home office in Virginia . These activities include, but are not limited to, managing all accounting services, financial records, human resources, retirement and medical insurance plans, tax payments, payroll and timesheet coordination, overseas office budgets and wire transfer requests as well as the coordination of payment of all long and short-term consultants and staff.    

 

Darlene Corera

Darlene Corera is the account and invoice manager at JAA home office in Virginia . Mrs. Corera has over twenty years of experience in USAID contracting, management, administration and accounting.

 

Currently, Mrs. Corera prepares invoices for all active JAA projects. In this capacity she is responsible for reviewing all travel and salary expense claims in light of USAID and US government compliance and accounting regulations. She prepares and reports pipeline analyses of USAID and other multilateral organization funded projects to the president and vice president of JAA and also conducts timesheet audits of in house personnel at the JAA home office in Virginia .

 

Prior to joining JAA, Mrs. Corera served in the USAID Mission Office in Colombo , Sri Lanka from 1979 to 2001. Mrs. Corera’s most recent position with USAID was as an Operating Expense and Project Accountant in the USAID mission office in Sri Lanka . She was responsible for managing a grant portfolio exceeding USD $35 million and an operating expense budget approximating USD $900,000. Her previous positions include project accountant, mission accounting and control system coordinator, supervisory voucher examiner and voucher examiner. Ms. Corera has been trained in USAID project management, USAID accounting and financial reporting, and budget analysis and management concepts. She also has experience in various US government accounting, tracking, and cashier and control systems.  

 

     
   

Michele Luis

Michele Luis is the Executive Coordinator for JAA.  She has over 13 years of professional experience in business administration and accounting.  She is committed to a career in office administrative support services and is motivated to learn and grow in responsibility and business skills. Mrs. Luis is skilled in planning, coordinating and supervising projects, and she has strong organizational skills.  She is multi-task oriented and has valuable team building skills that help to create a professional working environment.

 

Mrs. Luis takes care of short-term and long-term staff travel, Medex and DBA coverage, procurement of supplies/office equipment, consultant database, and assisting Project Managers with consultant mobilization and compliance.  Mrs. Luis is from India and has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Jesus and Mary College , Delhi University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Strayer University .