Joseph F Lombardo's Page

What motivated you to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

The approaches to international development need to adjust to the context. Promoting economic growth, improving democratic governance, and reducing poverty in fragile or failed states, and in post-conflict and post-disaster situations present new challenges facing the world today.

Approaches to peace and conflict resolution within the development context are, thus, becoming important considerations for development policy, planning and management.

I joined this group in the hope of collaborating with others to find better ways to promote synergies between development and peacebuilding.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself (no more than 3 paragraphs)

I am working as an independent consultant focusing on strategic, operational and performance management of international development programs.

My career in international development began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras. Over nearly 30 years working in international development, I have held senior management positions with public and private organizations. Between 2005 and 2007, I managed education programs in Brazil and India, for the American Institutes for Research. At the U.S. Agency for International Development, I directed the Agency’s strategic and performance planning, directed development, economic and political transition and reconstruction programs in Latin America and Eastern Europe, supervised shelter and urban development programs in Central America, and managed cross-national evaluations of USAID programs. I also served as a policy and strategy advisor on the USAID Administrator's Task Forces for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Holding advanced degrees in Regional Planning from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, as well as Educational Psychology and Statistics from SUNY at Albany, I have played a leadership role in the development of the U.S. government’s strategic planning, project design, and performance measurement policies for programs to address critical economic, governance, and social sector issues. I am fluent in Spanish, and have worked in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise

Latin America and Caribbean
Europe and Eurasia
South Asia
Middle East

What is your current country of residence?

United States

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

Strategic Management Consultant

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.developmentex.com

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise?

Peacebuilding, Democratization, Development, Humanitarian Relief, Education, Civil Society, Organizational Development

Which are your primary skills areas?

Evaluation, Program Design, Program Administration

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

Current work includes public administration strengthening in Iraq; design of vocational education project in Georgia; and serving as an advisor to the International Housing Coalition.

If appropriate feel free to list several of your publications

I have several journal articles related to the demographic role of urban places, as well as numerous wording papers on project design and evaluation, strategic planning, and performance management planning. In recent years, I have presented at USAID program officer conferences, and at the Comparative and International Education Society.