Workgroups
One of the ways in which SID-Washington achieves its mission as a forum for the development community is through regional and topical workgroups. Regional and topical workgroups, the true foundation of the SID-Washington Chapter, convene monthly programs allowing development practitioners to informally exchange ideas.
In an effort to create online communities of practice in order to share development successes, best practices and lessons learned, the SID-Washington Workgroups are in the process of establishing Ning and/or Facebook sites.
REGIONAL WORKGROUPS
Africa
Our purpose is to establish an educational forum for communicating ideas and eliciting the diverse experiences and insight of participants on issues confronting Africa and Africans in the Diaspora; to continually raise awareness, foster exchange, and promote positive relationships and development in the region. The Africa Roundtable will accomplish its mission, in part, by accessing the resources and experience of all interested parties, with an emphasis on young people and African populations residing in the Washington Metropolitan area to mobilize local African constituencies. The members of the Africa Roundtable will network among existing organizations and individuals for the purpose of fostering a greater resource pool for providing information on issues affecting the African continent.
Chris Hennemeyer
International Development Consultant
(301) 775-1392
crshtrep@aol.com
Jocelyn Rowe
Rowe Global Consulting Group
(202) 641-4556
jocelyn@roweglobalgroup.com
Asia/Pacific
We seek to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, information, experiences and insights on issues relevant to the Asian region, focusing on current issues with historical viewpoints whenever appropriate. The Roundtable is now in transition, with new co-chairs and willingness to foster informal dialogue and new perspectives. Our focus will also be on increasing networking opportunities among persons and organizations interested in Asia in order to develop a greater understanding of current socio-economic development issues.
John Lipsey
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
(202) 572-9277
jlipsey@snvworld.org
Craig Tiedman
Oxford Research Associates, LLC
(202) 550-0616
ctiedman@oxfordresearch.biz
Asia/Pacific Workgroup Ning Site
Europe/Eurasia
The Europe and Eurasia Roundtable (previously known as the Former Soviet Union/Eastern Europe Roundtable) is composed of professionals with interests in the transition of societies, economies, and policies away from statist, communist systems. The group meets once a month for a brown bag lunch to hear from a speaker of interest, suggested by various members of the group. The speakers and topics are selected with a view to exploring what we conceive as the critical issues involved in the transition process.
Lori Brock
CARANA Corporation
(703) 788-3233
lbrock@carana.com
Dean White
PA Consulting Group
dean.white@tetratech.com
Latin America/Caribbean
Our mission is to create a forum to exchange ideas and information and to offer networking opportunities for groups and individuals interested in the region. Our goal is to promote better understanding of the region by fostering dialogue, helping to mobilize support and resources to tackle challenges facing the region, promoting new initiatives, and creating and maintaining linkages between the international community and governments, the private sector, civil society, local communities, and practitioners.
Joseph Lombardo
Independent Consultant
(703) 850-9541
jflombardo@gmail.com
Michael A. Beaulieu
Booz Allen Hamilton
(703) 377-7125
beaulieu_michael@bah.com
Middle East
Our purpose is to establish an educational forum for communicating information and knowledge, and exchanging ideas and experience among individuals to continually raise awareness of the importance of development to creating an environment more conducive for progress. To achieve its mission, the Middle East Roundtable will feature speakers who address specific issues related to social, economic, and political development.
Chris Allio
World Learning Capacity Building Services
(202) 223-4291 ext. 7330
chris.allio@worldlearning.org
Katherine A. Wilkens
AMIDEAST
(202) 776-9600
kwilkens@amideast.org
Middle East Workgroup Ning Site
TOPICAL WORKGROUPS
Corporate Responsibility
This group will serve as a forum for discussion and exchange of information on new directions of corporate responsibility including broader public private partnerships, supply chain management, global standards, and community engagement. Through periodic seminars the workgroup hopes to bring new thinkers, organizations and companies together to profile new models for development. By sharing best and worst practices the workgroup hopes to build an expanded network of Washington, DC-based professionals.
Kristi Ragan
Development Alternatives Inc.
(301) 718-8699
Kristi_ragan@dai.com
Megan Sibole
Mars, Incorporated
(703) 336-4762
megan.sibole@effem.com
Crisis, Conflict & Transition
Our goal is to provide a forum for people in the Washington DC area to learn about and discuss the causes of intrastate and international conflicts, methods of crisis prevention, the impact on refugees, and types of humanitarian relief.
Jamie Bay
Devex
(202) 361-4901
jamie.bay@devex.com
Rose Mary Garcia
Nathan Associates, Inc.
(703) 516-7721
rgarcia@nathaninc.com
Crisis Conflict and Transition Ning Site
Development Finance
This group’s mission is to: 1) provide a forum for discussion & dissemination of information, ideas, and trends in the area of development finance; 2) promote effective utilization of appropriate private and public approaches to financing development worldwide. The workgroup will accomplish this by: 1) sponsoring informal discussions and presentations by development finance practitioners, researchers, policymakers, etc. at workgroup meetings, conferences symposia, etc.; 2) producing publications that provide relevant information on development finance; and, 3) networking among various organizations and individuals in the development community in the Washington, DC area and elsewhere.
Elissa McCarter
CHF International
(301) 587-4700 ext. 1845
emccarter@chfinternational.org
Amanda O'Neil
International Resources Group (IRG)
(202) 289-0100 ext. 3450
AONeil@irgltd.com
Development Information
We serve as a forum for discussion and exchange of information about all aspects of development information. It is a group of information professionals working with all phases and aspects of information for international development, including information production, management and communication. Participants include librarians, writers and editors, computer professionals, telecommunications professionals, networking professionals, and professionals working in many specific discipline areas within the international development field.
Kenlee Ray
(202) 483-2423
kenleer@aol.com
Joe Pringle
Forum One Communications
(703) 548-1855
jpringle@forumone.com
Development Information Workgroup Ning Site
Education for Development
We seek to provide a forum for the discussion of issues, through a multi-disciplinary perspective, which relate to learning and development processes both domestically and internationally. We wish to examine how systems address basic education through the provision of efficient, equitable, and quality education. The workgroup will attempt to establish connections with other groups focusing on social issues that have a learning component.
Ana Florez
AED
(202) 701-7104
aflorez@aed.org
Sara Akbar
Oracle
(202) 721-4830
sara.akbar@oracle.com
Energy & Infrastructure
Nations must find means to properly develop and manage their energy resources and corresponding infrastructure in order to be economically viable on a global scale. As energy demand increases worldwide we seek to foster discussions on developing nations' ability to cope with increased energy needs and their ability to deliver viable energy resources to their public constituents. We also seek to provide a forum for dialogue that explores current energy topics and welcomes participation from professionals in all international energy related sectors, including private, non-profit, governmental and academic.
Patrick Doyle
DAI
(301) 771-7511
patrick_doyle@dai.com
Bjoern Fischer
3C Carbon The Carbon Credit Company
(202) 331-3363
Bjoern.fischer@3c-company.com
Environment
The mission of the Environment Workgroup is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the environment and natural resources management (NRM). In addition to regular presentations and panel discussions, the Workgroup strives to facilitate networking, foster constructive dialogue, communicate matters of interest, and encourage active involvement in other Environment and NRM related events and activities. The thematic focus of the Workgroup is on issues at the nexus of the environment and economic, social, and political development. Examples of topics addressed include climate change, biodiversity conservation, water and sanitation, urbanization, environmental governance, the role of the private sector, livelihoods development, natural resources and human rights, and many more.
Shari Bush
PACT
(202) 466-5666
sbush@pacthq.org
Kristin Clay
The Nature Conservancy
(703) 841-5300
kclay@tnc.org
Environment Workgroup Ning Site
Food Security and Agriculture
Our mission is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information relevant to agricultural development and food security. We recognize the interdisciplinary nature of agriculture, natural resources management, and economic development, as well as the need to both establish food security at the household, community, and national levels and expand trade. To this extent, agriculture and food security is set within a broad food systems and value chain framework that addresses crops, livestock, forestry, and fisheries – from production to post-harvest processing to resource recovery – and the systems that support these activities. We have a particular interest in strategies and innovations that encourage ecological sustainability and expand economic opportunities and social resilience for smallholders and rural communities. We will facilitate engagement through seminars, panel discussions, and other events and provide networking opportunities for those engaged in practice, policy, and research.
Jeffrey Gray
ARD
(703) 807-5700
jgray@ardin.com
Rafael Merchan
The Fabretto Children's Foundation
(703) 525-8716
merchanr@fabretto.org
Food Security and Agriculture Workgroup Ning Site
Gender in Development
SID/Gender in Development (GID) is a group of individuals actively committed to advancing women's roles in social, economic, and political development. SID/GID strives to: design programs on a variety of issues to attract and educate a diverse population; promote and facilitate coalition building for GID issues at the national and international levels in the form of partnerships and ad hoc commissions; identify successful solutions to obstacles facing women and facilitate the exchange of these ideas between international and local development professionals; serve as a resource of information and referral on women in development issues and activities; and provide a forum for those interested in these issues to create their own events and programs.
Janel Hoppes Poche
Juarez & Associates, Inc.
(202) 331-7825
jpoche@juarezassociates.com
Governance, Corruption & Rule of Law
Our mission is to be a “switchboard” of information and ideas for international development professionals interested in democracy, governance, rule of law, and related issues. The Workgroup is dedicated to promoting good governance practices and building effective institutions that are essential for achieving equitable economic growth, social development, and personal and national security. Through meetings, informal publications, speaker series, and Internet-based means of sharing information, the Workgroup explores ways in which the development of democratic governance can enhance the lives of ordinary citizens around the world, in part through establishing sound legal systems and string justice sector institutions.
Nicole Barnes
RTI
(202) 728-2484
nbarnes@rti.org
Tomas Bridle
DAI
(301) 771-7580
tomas_bridle@dai.com
International Health & Nutrition
Our mission is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to global health and nutrition. In addition to regular presentations and panel discussions, the Workgroup strives to facilitate networking, foster constructive dialogue, communicate matters of interest, and encourage active involvement in other health related events and activities. Topics to be addressed include such issues as HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, maternal/child health, family planning, malnutrition, health care delivery, health and sanitation, bio-terrorism, etc. The Workgroup also examines the health status and challenges of specific groups (e.g., women, refugees, victims of trafficking, indigenous peoples, etc.).
Annette Bongiovanni
QED Group, LLC
(202) 521-1979
abongiovanni@qedgroupllc.com
James L. Griffin
Chemonics
(202) 955-7540
jgriffin@chemonics.com
Knowledge Management
The Knowledge Management Workgroup brings together people in the Washington DC region interested in increasing the impact of development programs through efficient and effective knowledge sharing and learning. The Workgroup will focus on how knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge, is shared and applied so that it can drive development efforts. The group is interested in exploring opportunities and methods for more effectively sharing and using ideas, resources, and information within and among development organizations, projects, partners, and beneficiaries. Topics will revolve around the central theme of making development efforts more evidence based and more grounded in capturing, sharing, refining and applying evolving knowledge. They may include the following: institutionalizing learning in organizational culture and operations; ways to capture and use knowledge held by retirees and staff once they have changed assignments; evaluation and assessment approaches; and the use of social networking and new media tools. The workgroup will establish connections with existing international, national, and local initiatives in knowledge management for development.
Stacey Young
U.S. Agency for International Development
(202) 712-1182
styoung@usaid.gov
Tony Pryor
International Resources Group
(202) 289-0100
tpryor@irgltd.com
Knowledge Management Workgroup Ning Site
Security & Development
This workgroup serves to explore the intersection of development and security challenges, leading to a wide-ranging set of conversations. Recent topics of discussion have included the establishment of an Africa Command within the Department of Defense, terrorism and counterproliferation in the Latin American context, security in Darfur, peacekeeping and stability operations in conflict areas, the growing involvement of defense dollars in development efforts, and calls for a global arms trade treaty. Workgroup sponsors are always open to suggestions for future topics.
Eric Ham
3D Security
(202) 250-3458
eric@3DSecurity.org
Jeff Abramson
Arms Control Association
(202) 463-8270 ext.109
jeff@armscontrol.org
Security & Development Workgroup Ning Site
Urban Development
For the first time in human history the world’s population has shifted from a predominately rural to an urbanized world. In the middle of the 20th century, only about 3 out of 10 people lived in urban areas. Over the next generation, the world population is expected to grow from about half to more than 70 percent in urban areas. Today there are roughly 3 billion people living in urban areas, one billion of them are living in slums. In a generation, the number of people living in cities is expected to grow to more than 6 billion people. Against that backdrop, the SID Urban Development Workgroup hopes to facilitate lively debate amongst knowledgeable and committed professionals with differing points of view about development interventions in urban and pre-urban areas, about rural-urban development linkage, and about sustainable human settlements. We plan to bring thought leaders involved in urban development to share their experiences and practice from the field. We aim to provide an opportunity for networking for individuals and groups concerned and interested in sustainable urbanization, the impact of climate change, disaster response and mitigation in urban areas, and addressing poverty and slum upgrading in human settlements in the developing world.
Jane Katz
Habitat for Humanity International
(202) 628-9171 ext. 4906
jkatz@habitat.org
Mathew Chandy
CHF International
(301) 587-4700
mchandy@chfinternational.org
Urban Development Workgroup Ning Site
Young Professionals
The Young Professionals in Development workgroup is a group of young professionals working in the arena of international development who are dedicated to strengthening our impact both at home and abroad by building partnerships among peers, and by facilitating and empowering peer initiative. Their goal is to promote information sharing for professional development, including conference announcements, job networking, mentoring, the sharing of educational opportunities, and workshops designed to explore and challenge trends and developments in the field of international development.
Anya Solovieva
Management Systems International
(202) 484-7170
asolovieva@msi-inc.com
Jason Eisen
International Resources Group
(202) 289-0100
JEisen@irgltd.com
Young Professionals Workgroup Ning Site
Youth in Development
Recognizing the critical role of young people in societies, our mission is to foster stimulating dialogue on positive youth development issues, including current thinking, innovative approaches to youth programming, and effective methods for engaging young people in development. We will provide a forum for young people to represent their issues, visions, and challenges for today and the future.
Kate Raftery
International Youth Foundation
(410) 951-1547
k.raftery@iyfnet.org
Rachel Surkin
IREX
(202) 628-8188 ext. 115
rsurkin@irex.org
