A Practiced Guide
for Complex Challenges
My career in international development began with a graduate fellowship in Mahajanga, Madagascar, where I served as a Business Advisor on a USAID-funded agribusiness project. Helping communities and women's groups dry export-quality mangos while learning business skills and new technologies, protecting a national forest, and facing destructive natural disasters and political strife showed me that policies and social impact investments require holistic, cross-sectoral analysis and design tailored to the local context to ensure lasting and resilient results.
That experience has guided my work ever since, from field posts in Madagascar, Tanzania, Montenegro, India, Zambia, and Malawi to shaping U.S. Government food security and resilience policy as a Foreign Service Officer at USAID. I founded Traveler's Tree Consulting to put that range of experience, from communities to national and global policy, to work for governments, donors, and partners who want development assistance that is modern, efficient, effective, and lasting.
I help clients design and evaluate policies and programs that work across sectors, bring the right stakeholders to the table, and secure the resources to deliver. My sector expertise spans integrated cross-sectoral resilience programming, nutritious agri-food systems, climate adaptation, disaster risk management, adaptive social protection, and information technology adoption.
The best results come from strong teams. I am building Traveler's Tree Consulting to provide tailored expertise and to partner with specialists, organizations, and local leaders whose skills complement mine, to modernize impactful policy and social impact programming. I look forward to partnering with you.
Where I Add Value
Facilitating Multi-Sectoral Integration
I bring sectors, ministries, donors, and communities together around one plan. Highlight: I linked food security and disaster response with HIV care and treatment across Southern Africa, helping reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS, reduce food insecurity and malnutrition, and build resilient livelihoods.
Policy Design and Implementation
I turn evidence into strategy that guides impactful investments. Highlight: I served on the core team leading the resilience objective of the U.S. Government Global Food Security Strategy, guiding $2 billion a year in Feed the Future programming to reduce poverty and hunger and build resilience, and led over $200 million in procurements and program design.
Policy Advisory
I advise governments on evidence-driven policy analysis, strategy, and program design and implementation. Highlight: I advised Government of Malawi ministries for agriculture, social protection, disaster risk management, nutrition, and gender, facilitated a national multilateral task force, and drafted the National Resilience Strategy, a shared framework that has guided billions of dollars in government and donor investment, resulting in improved cross-sectoral coordination, risk management, response, and resilience to shocks and stresses.
Resource Acquisition, Partnerships, and Grant Writing
I win funding through strong design and competitive, lasting partnerships. Highlight: I secured over $2 billion in public and private funding by leading business development strategy, over 100 program designs, and grant writing for integrated food security, nutrition, and resilience programs, value chains, disaster response, and HIV and AIDS programs. I have also developed AI-assisted tools to streamline business development, paired with human-guided design and innovation.
Management and Leadership
I lead teams and budgets to results on the ground. Highlight: I led teams of over 80 staff and managed over $10 million in annual budgets, delivering over 2,500 earthquake-resistant shelters in India and Montenegro's first parent association.
More of My Work
See my full experience and selected projects.