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Robert Gosende Senior Advisor, TPPA Mr. Robert Gosende served for over 30 years in the Foreign Service of the United States in the U.S. Information Agency and the Department of State before becoming Special Assistant to the Chancellor for International Programs at the State University of New York in December of l998. Mr. Gosende’s overseas experience includes tours of duty as a Cultural Affairs Officer in Libya, Somalia, and Poland, and as Minister-Counselor for Press and Cultural Affairs and Director of the U.S. Information Service in the Russian Federation in l996-98. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to Somalia during the height of the humanitarian crisis in that country in l992-93. He received Presidential Awards from Presidents Bush and Clinton for his service as USIA’s Director for African Affairs and as the U.S. Ambassador to Somalia. Mr. Gosende received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Mark Baskin, Ph.D. Director of Post-Conflict Development Dr. Baskin has over 20 years experience in post-conflict administration and reconstruction, civil affairs, peacekeeping, political innovation and immigration in transitional economies. Previously, he served as the Head of Research at the Lester Pearson International Peacekeeping Training Center, where he created an applied research program on peace operations. From 1993 to 2000, Dr. Baskin held numerous positions at the United Nations. As the Prizren Municipal Administrator, he managed international and local staff in Kosovo’s second largest municipality, where he implemented plans to reform the administration and city services, implemented regulations on urban planning and illegal construction, and coordinated with the Kosovo Force, UN International Police, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Dr. Baskin is fluent in Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovenian and French, and received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. Marc Cassidy Director of Democratic Institutions Mr. Cassidy has over 10 years of experience in legislative assessments in developing countries, and has worked with the State University of New York’s Center for International Development (CID), where he provided technical support and supervision for two USAID-funded legislative strengthening projects with the National Assembly of Bulgaria and the Parliament of Uganda. He also provided programmatic support to IDG’s legislative projects in Kenya and Zimbabwe. In addition Mr. Cassidy took part in legislative assessments in developing countries, new project design and development, marketing and outreach, and research and academic relations. He is currently working as Chief of Party in Bulgaria for a USAID sponsored anti-corruption initiative. Mr. Cassidy holds two M.A. degrees from the State University of New York at Albany in Urban and Regional Planning and Latin American Studies and a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York. Catherine Glennie Director of Leadership Development Ms. Glennie is a leader in bringing cutting-edge personal leadership training techniques to the South African public. Her innovative approaches have been used by government, not-for-profit agencies and private businesses, and have had a noticeable impact on the motivation and personal and professional development of people from all walks of life. In 1997, Ms. Glennie designed a series of interventions to transfer vital self-management skills to the highly disempowered South African public. Using various methodologies, these interventions affect transformation at the deepest level, significantly ramping up perceptions of personal power, ushering in heightened levels of creativity, productivity and concrete forward action. Her latest book, Ride the River, offers readers an alternative perspective of success, and suggests that human performance and leadership in all its forms is greatly enhanced through the incorporation of basic spiritual principles. Leon Irish, J.D., Ph.D. Director of Civil Society Law Dr. Irish has been a lawyer for over 35 years, specializing in international law, federal taxation, employee benefits, and non-profit sector development and reform. He received his Ph.D. from Oxford University, his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and his Bachelor’s degree in History from Stanford University. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Temple University Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, teaching courses in basic Federal Income Taxation, Employee Benefits, Tax-Exempt Organizations, and Comparative Not-for-Profit Law. Dr. Irish has spoken and published widely on development of civil society and the not-for-profit sector, international law and economic development, foreign direct investment, federal income taxation, employee benefits law and policy, and tax fraud. Dr. Irish is currently a Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of American in Washington, DC. James Kent, Ph.D. Director of Public Administration and Management Dr. Kent holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Chair of the Department of Management in the School of Management at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in management, ethics, finance and policy analysis. Previously, as a consultant to the Office of International Programs at the State University of New York Central Office, he developed an orientation program and legislative manual for the Zimbabwe Parliament and co-authored a manual on legislative development for USAID. Working as a fellow for the Center for Legislative Development at the State University of New York at Albany, Dr. Kent also prepared a needs assessment and action plan for a multi-year legislative development project for the Kazakhstan Parliament. James Ketterer, Ph.D. Director of Legislative Development Dr. Ketterer received his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. and has overseas training from the Boren Fellow-National Security Education Program and the King Fahd Advanced School of Translation. He is currently the Director of the Center for International Development (CID) at the State University of New York in Albany. In this position, he is in charge of parliamentary development projects in the Middle East and Africa, researches and writes articles on democratization, and coordinates development activities with foreign governments, the U.S. government and donors. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Ketterer has given presentations at a variety of conferences on topics including: “Assessing Democratic Representation: Is Democratization Always Democratic?,” “Presidential Design, Parliamentary Behavior: Zambia,” and “Moroccan Politics: A View from the Edge.” Dr. Ketterer is proficient in French and Arabic (Modern Standard and Moroccan Dialect). Vusi Knosi, LL.B. Director of Legal Affairs Mr. Knosi has been a facilitator in South Africa for the International Republican Institute since 1997, participating in workshops on the legal issues affecting local government, leadership, political party development and strategic planning. A practicing attorney and partner with Shepstone & Wylie in Durban, South Africa, Mr. Nkosi is considered an expert in local government and administrative law and procedures. His services include drafting legal documents, research, litigation and providing legal advice to various local government structures in the KwaZulu-Natal province. As the legal advisor to the KwaZula-Natal Local Government Association, Mr. Nkosi advises the Association on a variety of legal matters, including proposed legislation, which can directly or indirectly affect the local government in the Province. He received his L.L.B. degree from the University of Natal in Durban. Edward Lurie Director of Institutions and Policy Mr. Lurie holds an M.A. degree in Communications from the State University of New York at Albany, and has been professionally involved in virtually every aspect of government and politics for over 30 years, specializing in public policy, voter trends and communications. After participating for many years at the local level, Mr. Lurie worked for the New York State Assembly, New York Republican State Committee and the New York State Senate. He also has been active with the International Republican Institute, traveling to Cambodia in l993 and Mongolia in l998, where he led workshops on political party organization and development. In both countries, Mr. Lurie focused on how to organize a full-time political organization, and plan and implement effective political campaigns. In March l999, Mr. Lurie was named Director of New York State Senate Legislative Services. Nancy Palumbo Director of Public and Media Relations Ms. Palumbo has provided comprehensive training to numerous foreign public relations officials on the importance of communications as part of a larger public and community relations effort. Additionally, she has developed communications strategies for members of the legislature, focusing on the importance of targeted direct mail and the effective use of radio and television. Most recently, Ms. Palumbo conducted communications training seminars in Poland, Croatia and Mongolia. Assisting the Prime Minister of Mongolia, she helped establish public relations offices for cabinet members of Mongolia’s newly elected democratic government. She also provided comprehensive training to Mongolian public relations officials on how to communicate effectively and the importance of communications as part of a larger public and community relations effort. She is currently Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Ms. Palumbo received her B.A. degree from St. Bonaventure University in Orlean, New York. |