James (Jim) Boomgard became DAI's President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2009. He has final executive responsibility for all aspects of DAI's performance: operational, financial, strategic, and marketing. A DAI employee since 1985, Jim has managed long-term projects overseas and in Washington and been a technical leader in the enterprise development and finance fields. Since 1998, Jim has served as Vice President of the former Finance, Banking, and Enterprise operating group; Vice President of Business Development; and Senior Vice President of Operations, before becoming Chief Operating Officer in 2005. In September 2006, he was appointed President, and as President and COO he was responsible for ensuring that DAI achieved its key annual performance targets and long-term strategic goals. He holds a B.A. in economics from Miami University, studied economics and the philosophy of science at the University of North Carolina, received a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Michigan State University, and completed the International Executive Program at INSEAD in 2005.

Robert (Rob) Dressen is a banker with 25 years of experience in microfinance, commercial banking, and financial advisory services. He worked for Meridien BIAO S.A. for three years and Chase Manhattan Bank for 15 years, where he specialized in trade finance, branch operations, and credit and risk management. On joining DAI in 1997, he served as Chief of Party for two U.S. Agency for International Development-funded microfinance projects in Haiti—projects that became the microfinance reference point for all donors working in Haiti. Subsequently, in the Bethesda office, Rob led DAI's technical service offerings in economics, business, and finance. In his current position, he is charged with ensuring professionalism, quality assurance, and efficiency in DAI's project delivery. Rob holds an M.A. in business administration from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Glendale, Arizona, and a B.S. in business administration from the University of North Dakota.

Kevin brings 30 years of solid experience to his new role as CFO, where he is responsible for all of DAI’s finance and accounting functions. Prior to joining DAI, he spent nearly 15 years with Ernst & Young and his own accounting firm. In addition, during his 10-year tenure with Computer Sciences Corporation, his increasing level of responsibility ultimately led him to the position of Managing Director of a business unit operating in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Most recently, Kevin was the Industry Controller for a $700 million business unit of a large Northern Virginia-based firm. Kevin has a B.A. in Russian History from Amherst College and an M.S. in Accounting from Georgetown University.

Cindy oversees DAI’s corporate HR function in Bethesda. She has 25 years of experience working in the HR field for public and private companies, most recently as the Senior Vice President, HR for IDX Systems/GE Healthcare. She has particular expertise in the implementation of talent management programs and HR six sigma programs to improve process and efficiency. Cindy is highly knowledgeable in all areas of HR management, including compensation, benefits, leadership development, diversity, internal communications, policy development, and executive compensation programs. She is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management and has earned a Global Professional Human Resource Certification (GPHR).

Elizabeth (Betsy) Marcotte was appointed Senior Vice President for Operations in September 2008. In this position, she leads DAI's core business operations, with overall responsibility for project technical excellence, project management and implementation, and business acquisition. Betsy's 30-year career working for private and public organizations around the world encompasses technical depth in the environmental arena and hands-on management experience overseeing various international environmental contracts for the U.S. Agency for International Development and multilateral lending institutions. From 2004 until her appointment as head of DAI's overall operations, Betsy served as vice president in DAI's agriculture and natural resources group, leading service areas ranging from natural resource management and climate change to agribusiness and alternative development.

Jean first joined DAI in 1990 after her tenure at First National Bank of Chicago. After six years of service with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), she returned to DAI in 2006. Jean has 25 years of experience in the economic development field. With USAID, she worked for two years as Senior Policy Advisor to the Millennium Challenge Account Secretariat, serving as the key liaison between USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Earlier, she served four years as the first USAID Representative in Hanoi since the end of the Vietnam War. She opened that office in September 2000. During her first 11 years at DAI, Jean led the firm into new technical services (privatization, finance and commercial services) and geographic areas (Eastern Europe). Her last position was as Managing Director for DAI offices in Hanoi, Bangkok, and Manila. Jean holds an M.A. in international law and economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, an M.B.A. equivalence certificate from the First National Bank of Chicago, and a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University.

Zan Northrip joined DAI in 1995 after field assignments on privatization and financial sector projects in Africa and Central Asia. Since then, he has worked extensively on DAI's bank management projects and has managed three global indefinite quantity contracts held with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He also served as Chief of Party for a Washington, D.C.-based project in value chain strengthening and impact assessment. Zan has led DAI's new business development function since late 2006. As Vice President of Acquisitions, he ensures that DAI proposals and business acquisition processes embody the highest standards of professionalism, quality assurance, and efficiency. Zan has a B.A. from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and an M.A. in international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He served on DAI's Board of Directors for two years.

Gary Kilmer has 40 years of international development experience, including many years as Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Operations Manager, and Country Program Manager leading enterprise development and agribusiness projects in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Kilmer was most recently DAI's Chief of Party on the Armenia Agribusiness Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Market Development Program (ASME), for which he also managed ASME's avian influenza program. He holds an M.P.I.A. in economic and social development from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ann Hudock has broad technical, institutional, and geographic international development experience, specializing in civil society development, media sector support, and gender issues. Before joining DAI, she most recently served as Deputy Country Representative for The Asia Foundation in Vietnam. Previously, she served as the Senior Advisor for Democracy and Governance at World Learning, overseeing a global portfolio of projects and a knowledge generation and management program including global research and analysis on good governance and economic development. Ann has served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She has also worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Global Bureau's Center for Democracy and Governance as a technical specialist on civil society development. She holds a Ph.D. in development studies from the University of Sussex in the U.K.

Jerry Martin has 25 years of experience managing, planning, developing, and implementing agricultural and agribusiness activities worldwide. In his current role, Jerry leads the Health Sector, mobilizing diverse DAI resources to tackle the challenges at the intersection of animal health, human health, and economic development. Prior to the creation of DAI's Health Sector, Jerry led an in-house team of avian influenza specialists and an extensive network of consultants and organizations to address the full range of animal and human health aspects of the disease. He holds an M.A. in applied anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Bruce Spake joined DAI in 1983 as a specialist on the North Shaba Agriculture and Rural Development Project in Zaire. After six years as a Program Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Zaire Mission, Bruce returned to DAI to serve as Chief of Party on projects in Bosnia, the Congo, and Sri Lanka. Since returning to Bethesda in 1998, he has served in various leadership roles within the organization, including as head of DAI's pioneering work in crisis and conflict mitigation, and in democratic governance. As Managing Director of the Stability Sector, he now directs DAI's service offerings in the emerging stability operations arena and in crisis mitigation and recovery. Bruce holds an M.A. in English literature from the University of Georgia and speaks fluent French, Swahili, and Lingala.

Andrew Watson manages the Nature Sector, which encompasses long-term projects ranging from biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and water supply and sanitation to environmental policy and impact assessment, improving rural livelihoods, and climate change and energy issues. Andrew is also the Chief of Party for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Capitalizing Knowledge, Connecting Communities project, which manages USAID's FRAME website. An internal member of DAI's Board of Directors, he sits on the Governance Committee. Andrew holds a D.Phil. in desert geomorphology from the University of Oxford in the U.K.

Said joined DAI in 1996 and led the launch of DAI Palestine in May 2004. He is currently Chief of Party on the USAID-financed Palestine Enterprise Development project. Said has 15 years of management and competitiveness consulting experience with manufacturing and services industries in the Middle East.

For 10 years, Nathanael Bourns has helped develop and implement DAI’s portfolio of microfinance and enterprise development projects in Latin America. Most recently, as Deputy Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded AFIRMA project in Mexico, he led the project’s work in value chain analysis, rural and agricultural finance, and conservation of biodiversity, working with stakeholders to design, implement, and demonstrate new approaches to expand access to markets and services. He holds an M.A. in international policy and certification in trade from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, and a post-graduate diploma in innovation management from the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico, where he also serves as an adjunct professor for innovation management.

Brian Brewer joined DAI's London office as Director of Crisis Mitigation and Recovery in February 2007. Originally an irrigation engineer, Brian has an M.B.A. in the strategic management of change, and held senior positions with Agrisystems, Booker Tate, and Minster Agriculture prior to joining DAI. He has 25 years of experience managing major projects for the European Commission, the U.K. Department for International Development, the World Bank, and recently the U.S. Agency for International Development. Brian was the honorary British Consul to Liberia from 1998 to 2001.

Zahid Elahi is an economist with more than 20 years of experience specializing in decentralized governance, microfinance, and integrated institutional and community development. Before joining DAI, Zahid served for four years as Governance Technical Advisor for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), where he coordinated projects between CIDA, other donors and nongovernmental organizations, and the Government of Pakistan. A native of Peshawar, Pakistan, Zahid in 1988 received his M.A in economics from Birkbeck College in London. He returned to Pakistan and served for eight years in increasingly responsible roles for the Government of the Northwest Frontier Provinces (NWFP), ultimately serving as a Chief of Section in the Department of Planning, Environment, and Development. Beginning in 1994, Zahid worked for seven years as a Section Chief and Chief Executive for three organizations in the NWFP that performed projects in credit and enterprise, food security, employment, and other public service areas. He then worked for the World Bank for 18 months as a Team Leader in City Development Strategy before joining CIDA. Zahid has conducted more than 30 consultancies and written extensively on community-level governance and finance, poverty alleviation, Islamic principles as applied to development, and food security. He received meritorious service awards from the Canadian Army and Government of Canada for his efforts during the South Asia Earthquake emergency and relief operations of 2005.

Jamal Al-Jabiri is tasked with broadening and deepening DAI's long history of delivering development results in Jordan. Originally a banker, Jamal received his M.B.A. from the University of Stirling in Scotland, and spent 10 years at The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance in Amman. Jamal joined DAI in 2008 after a distinguished 11-year career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jordan, most recently as Deputy Director of the Office of Economic Opportunities. As a Cognizant Technical Officer for USAID, Jamal designed and managed the largest USAID Economic Opportunities projects in Jordan and managed a privatization program that became the model partnership between USAID, the World Bank, and the Government of Jordan.

Since 1994, Job has played a significant role in the transformation of South Africa. In January 1994, he joined the Development Bank of Southern Africa as associate director of the Centre for Policy Analysis and Information. He was the first director-general of the North West Province (1994-1999), where he managed a R7 billion budget and reduced the overall province civil service by a third. Job also served as the director-general of the South African Management Development Institute.

Doug McLean oversees the company’s international offices in London, Palestine, Jordan, Islamabad, Mexico City, and Johannesburg, ensuring effective coordination with DAI technical sectors and support departments. From 2005 to 2008, he managed what was then the Private Sector Development Practice. He was responsible for program impact and quality, contract and corporate policy compliance, and profitability of 36 field-based projects with annual revenue exceeding $50 million. Over the course of his 20-year career, Doug has established and managed private and public sector consulting and training programs for microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks, credit unions, finance companies, and small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging economies. He has designed and managed numerous industry, association, and institutional development programs and provided direct assistance to small, medium-sized, and large industries interested in expanding local procurement via linkages and export opportunities. Doug has managed five multiyear projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

As Senior Director of Strategic Marketing, Tim is responsible for DAI's market research and positioning, external communications, and knowledge management. Before joining DAI, he served as Managing Director of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign (USGLC), a coalition of more than 400 major companies and nongovernmental organizations working in support of the highest level of funding for the International Affairs Budget. As Managing Director, Tim managed the USGLC's operations, coordinated government relations efforts, and implemented initiatives to build bipartisan support for international affairs funding. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Representative Clarence D. Long (D-MD), who was Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. Additionally, he served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN) and on the professional staff of the House Committee on Rules. Following his career in the U.S. House, Tim joined Fluor Corporation, the world's largest public engineering and construction company, where he led government relations and global marketing functions, and served as Chief of Staff for Fluor's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Larry oversees the information technology support provided by the Office of Information Management and Technology (OIMT), managing the development and implementation of systems that respond effectively to corporate strategies and objectives. He also coordinates activities between OIMT and the rest of DAI.

Joy White oversees DAI's international recruitment efforts for projects and proposals. Prior to her appointment as Director of Recruitment, Joy served for five years as a Group Manager and then Senior Group Business Manager in DAI's enterprise, banking, and finance practices. Before joining DAI, she spent four years as a consultant and team leader at Andersen Consulting; worked for the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Commerce as a financial and trade analyst, respectively; and served for five years as a Foreign Service Officer in Italy. A speaker of five languages, Joy holds a foreign service degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from George Washington University.

Dan has 24 years of experience in commercial credit, corporate finance, and transaction structuring for the public and private sectors. He is a senior DAI banker, having served as Vice President and as a Senior Corporate Finance and Commercial Lending Officer for the Chase Manhattan Bank. At DAI, he has led marketing and business development functions, and has managed numerous proposal teams in the pursuit of strategic business opportunities. He has served as the project manager for the Support for Economic Growth and Institutional Reform-Financial Services (SEGIR-FS) indefinite quantity contract, as a member of DAI's Board of Directors, and as a DAI Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) trustee.

Kent Piper joined DAI in 2003 after 13 years as a Senior Manager with Arthur Andersen, where he led process, technology, and change programs for Andersen's global organization. At DAI, Kent leads the business planning and budgeting functions for both home and field offices, providing timely financial reporting and tools to the Executive Team. Kent also oversees the treasury and financial management functions, financial aspects of the employee stock ownership plan, administrative functions such as facilities planning, and global security.

Gary Kinney has 25 years of experience in contract and grant management and project implementation for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Starting his international career as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, Gary served in various senior-level contract positions at USAID, including being named as the first USAID Procurement Ombudsman in charge of re-engineering the central contract process and overseeing outreach to the contractor and grantee community of project implementers. He subsequently served as Director of the Office of Contracts at USAID/Egypt, the largest USAID overseas mission at the time, and regional director of contracts and grants at USAID/Georgia, covering the South Caucasus region. After his USAID career, he spent two years as Director of Contracts and Grants at International Relief and Development. Gary holds a B.S. in English education from the University of Maine and an M.S. in international business from American University. He is a certified public contract manager and a member of the National Contract Management Association.