Our Team

Kevin Murphy is a business/sectoral strategy and competitiveness expert with 40 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 supervised the successful completion of over 600 international projects in 127 countries. Mr. Murphy is the co-author of the Manual for Action in the Private Sector (MAPS), implemented in over 20 countries. Mr. Murphy introduced national competitiveness initiatives to the U.S Foreign Aid and served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Competitiveness for 5 years. He has worked with 7 current or foreign heads of state, and numerous ministers on economic policy. 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.

Joe Lowther has 20 years of experience as an executive and project director and was a practicing commercial lawyer for 11 years. He is a leading expert in competitiveness and policy reform, and has managed innovative projects in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Serbia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ukraine. He has been Chief of Party for five successful USAID projects. As Chief of Party for the USAID Serbia Business Enabling Project for six years Mr. Lowther applied an innovative methodology to help transform Serbia’s business environment and increase access to finance for SMEs, leading to sustained economic growth and record foreign investment. Mr. Lowther has conducted comprehensive business environment assessments in South Africa, Uganda, and Pakistan, and conducted a global evaluation of IFC’s business entry projects. He has written manuals and guides on policy implementation for the OECD, World Bank, and IFC, including the Public Private Dialogue Handbook, and Guide to Contracting Out Government Services. Mr. Lowther has helped local and national governments develop and implement strategies and systems for economic development and financial markets and business environment reforms in Bulgaria, Croatia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uganda, and Ukraine. Mr. Lowther has designed and conducted training for national and local governments, business associations, and business service providers on policy reform, advocacy, public-private dialogue, and many other topics. Mr. Lowther has Juris Doctor and M.B.A. degrees from Whittier College, and a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Southern California.

Jason comes to J.E. Austin Associates with a 30-year career in international development, including most recently from McKinsey & Company. Previously, he worked at the State Department and as a senior executive at the U.S Agency for International Development where he served as Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, East Asia, and Afghanistan. Jason also was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin and worked as a senior manager for KPMG Consulting focused on financial sector reform. He has taught at a number of graduate universities including Georgetown, Princeton, Northeastern and George Washington. Jason received a Master’s Degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan.

Cheryl Wojciechowski has worked in international science diplomacy since 2006. Serving in several capacities with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and as a government contractor, she has extensive experience working with scientists and government personnel in the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, and Central Asia on collaborative cross-border research. She is currently the Chief of Party of USAID’s Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program technical services contract. The MERC Program funds peer-reviewed research grants from joint Arab-Israeli teams of scientists working on regional problems such as agricultural viruses, water scarcity and health threats. The goal of the program is to create and implement solutions to development challenges. One of her major roles on this program is to conduct thorough peer review panels to assess proposed work.

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Prior to her work in Washington DC, Cheryl Wojciechowski held simultaneous positions at the Museum of Science, Boston, and Harvard University Extension School. At the Museum she was responsible for explaining scientific advances to the public through exhibits, presentations, and television appearances. At Harvard she taught the Biochemistry I and II courses.

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Cheryl started her career with research on small molecules produced by plants for communication of other physiological processes for undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Boston College in 2002 working on antibiotic resistance and enzymology. Her post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute involved natural products and their effect on cancer cells. Cheryl continues her interest in plant-derived, naturally-produced compounds and their ability to have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. In addition to her career, Cheryl is an avid cyclist, boxer, and Mom to two kids

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Martin Webber is a strategic management and management consulting professional with twenty-five years of experience in economic growth, enterprise development, trade and investment 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 and value chain development in countries such as Armenia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Georgia, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda, Mr. Webber guides and facilitates business-led initiatives and policy improvement. 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.

Dr. Jim Barnhart joins J.E. Austin Associate as Senior Director for Agriculture with 40 years of global development experience. He spent over two decades at USAID, living and working across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia—overseeing programs in agriculture, economic growth, education, and water security. As Mission Director, he led USAID teams in Jordan, Albania, and Lebanon, and finished his diplomatic career as an Assistant to the Administrator, guiding the USAID Bureau of Resilience and Food Security during the pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He served as Co-Deputy Coordinator of the US Government’s Feed the Future Program, retiring as a Career Minister in the Senior Foreign Service. Most recently, Jim led Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center, outside of Seattle, WA, where he guided work in salmon-safe organic farming, riparian restoration and preservation, and experiential education programs. Jim has a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University, a Masters of International Relations from SAIS/Johns Hopkins, and a Bachelor’s degree from Furman University.

Michele has an international reputation as an economic development and sustainable tourism expert with strong experience in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.  She is the former President and CEO of the federal Crown corporation ‘Canadian Tourism Commission' ('Destination Canada'), and former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage for the Province of Nova Scotia.

She is currently leading JAA’s work to develop a Sustainable Tourism Management Strategy for the Town of Bar Harbor, Maine.

Michele has lived and worked across Canada, the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. She has developed sustainable tourism management strategies at the national and sub-national levels including Canada, Jordan, Tunisia, Nova Scotia, and Halifax. She has advised economic development agencies and private sector businesses in response to disruptions in their operating environments and in pursuit of business model innovation.

Michele has extensive governance and board experience, including with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (Pearson International Airport), Statistics Canada, Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail.

Michele is a graduate of Dalhousie University and holds an Honorary Degree from Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. She is Honorary Colonel Ret’d of the Canadian Army Reserve Unit 36 Svc Bn.  In 2017, she completed a one-year fellowship with Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative where her work focused in the impact of tourism development on indigenous communities in the MENA Region and Canada’s Arctic. In 2020, she was recognized by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mr. Isahakyan has 20 years of experience successfully contributing to a succession of competitiveness projects in the Europe and Eurasia Region, including Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia and South East Asia. He serves as Director of the E&E Region for J.E. Austin Associates, the company that introduced competitiveness initiatives to USAID in 1998. He has worked with 15 industry clusters including the information technology sector in Ukraine, Bosnia, Kosovo, Moldova, Armenia, the tourism cluster in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Tanzania, and creative and furniture sectors in Ukraine. He is also skilled at facilitating public-private dialogue having helped in the formation of the Tax Council in Armenia and most recently the Strategic Council on Creative Economies in Ukraine. He co-facilitated intensive training for Ukrainian leaders on comprehensive economic reform. Mr. Isahakyan is currently leading the competitiveness component under the Competitive Economy program in Ukraine. Experience in Eastern Europe is informed by lessons from outside the region in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. He holds an MBA from American University of Armenia and completed certificate program on Leadership and Interest based Negotiations at Harvard University.

Anu Jain is the Controller at J.E. Austin Associates. He is a technically skilled accountant known for accuracy, attention to detail and timeliness in managing disbursement functions for diverse-industry employers. His accounting career spans 20 years of experience in implementing financial systems, strategies, processes and controls that significantly improve P&L scenarios. Backed by solid credentials and proficiencies in generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP) as well as Deltek Cost Point 7, Timberline, Peachtree, QuickBooks, MS Office and Excel. He is an expert in establishing accounting functions, systems and best practices; cost-reduction, automation and tax strategies; and lasting business relationships to ensure goal-surpassing fiscal performance.

Mr. Rinck is an agricultural economist with over 30 years of experience in agriculture and agri-business development initiatives, including as Chief of Party, Program Manager, Senior Advisor, and Team Leader. His technical specializations include agronomic systems, commodity processing and marketing, trade and finance development, and agriculture sector competitiveness and governance. He has extensive commercial and development experience in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and former Soviet republics. Over the course of his career, he has worked with USAID, UKAID, World Bank, EBRD, IFC, the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and World Food Programme (WFC), and various CGIAR agronomic research institutions. Between 2001-2006, he represented Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) in Southern and Eastern Africa in a “learning alliance” of relief and development agencies to disseminate innovative strategies for adopting private sector approaches to smallholder agriculture and agribusiness challenges. Between 2006-2010, he served as Program Officer at the USAID East Africa Regional Mission providing technical and strategic oversight to agriculture, agri-business and trade programs. Subsequently, he served as Chief of Party at a State Department Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)-funded agricultural trade and investment development program in North Africa. He also served as Senior Agriculture Adviser at USAID Ukraine in 2023-24. Since 2007, he has been Senior Technical Advisor for Agriculture and Agribusiness at J.E. Austin Associates Inc. (JAA) where he has served as Team Leader for numerous market systems assessments, competitiveness analyses, and strategy designs. Between 2017-2020, he served as JAA’s Technical Adviser for Food Processing at the USAID-funded Competitive Economy Program (CEP) in Ukraine. In addition to these positions, 2000-2006, Mr. Rinck led the global Crisis to Relief learning seminars in collaboration with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to foster innovative approaches to global agriculture development challenges and has published a number of essays and articles on tropical agriculture, commodity market development, and other topics. Mr. Rinck holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago and is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and speaks Portuguese as well as limited Arabic and Russian.

Leila Calnan has over 30 years of experience providing strategic leadership and project management to complex international development projects, with a focus on sustainable tourism for organizations such as the European Union, EBRD, The World Bank Group, USAID, MCC, and the UK FCDO.  Most recently, she directed the $50M USAID-funded Visit Tunisia program with a team of 40 staff, providing tourism SME support, business development skills, marketing, and access to markets and finance — in particular to women and youth in underserved regions of the country.  Leila has conceptualized and tailored innovative development and tourism initiatives that generated commercial credit and private investment, created private sector jobs, and hundreds of new products and experiences. She has worked across numerous industries to improve business competitiveness through policy reform, institutional strengthening, workforce development, and direct support to SMEs including incubation and business-to-business mentorship programs. For private clients, mainly in the extractive industries, Leila has designed and implemented social investment programs, working closely with host communities to ensure maximum benefits from the activities and investments of private firms. Leila has worked in Egypt, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ecuador, Ghana, Greece, Jordan, Mozambique, Namibia, Palestine, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She holds master’s degrees in International Development and Tourism Administration, and is fluent in English, Arabic, and Spanish.

Ben Nussbaumer is the Director of Strategy and Competitiveness with J.E. Austin Associates specializing in strategy, competitiveness, and private sector development. He is experienced working on assignments to support functional market systems, strengthen public and private institutions, and create new economic opportunities for a variety of multilateral, bilateral, and private clients in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. He holds a master’s degree in international political economy and international economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Oregon.

Sophie Chao is the Project Manager for the Ukraine Harvest Activity with J.E. Austin Associates. She is experienced working with public, private, and non-profit clients on human rights, democracy, governance, trade, and logistics in East and Southeast Asia during her tenure with Freedom House, International Republican Institute, Pacific Bridge Medical, Edelman, and Ogilvy. She holds a master’s degree in International Economics and Middle Eastern Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and dual bachelor’s degrees in Diplomacy and Arabic from National Chengchi University.

Javier Moraleda is a Project Manager for J.E. Austin Associates, Inc., bringing forward experience in workforce development, entrepreneurship, and positive youth development. He previously served as a Program Officer at Education For Employment (EFE), where he supported the management of youth workforce development programs and business development initiatives across the Middle East and North Africa. Javier has a BA in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University and a BA in Politics and Government from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po). Javier also served as an Education and English Outreach Assistant at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, where he implemented social media campaigns and advised Algerian students preparing to attend university and enter the workforce. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and French, and proficient in Modern Standard Arabic.