Brenda Lee Pearson
President
Brenda Lee Pearson, Founder and President of Cui Prodest is a seasoned global leader with an extensive track record in guiding large organizations to achieve social, economic and political change. She focuses on the organizational and strategic development of institutions, governmental offices, businesses and programs to efficiently and powerfully impact the lives of people. Brenda is a dynamic results-oriented executive with 30 years of proven success growing, managing and leading complex programs in more than 50 countries.
She brings wide-ranging international perspectives, problem-solving acumen, language fluency, high-level management and operational skills and creativity to deliver results. Brenda has managed programs with 50 staff and annual budgets of $70 million and published more than 200 policy documents, articles and conference presentations. She previously served as a D-1 level Director at the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome. Earlier in her career, she was a political director and communications advisor to American presidential and senate campaigns.
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Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Strategic Communications | Public Affairs | International Development | Cultural Heritage | Tourism | Organizational Change Management |
Women and Youth | Partnerships & Networks | Philanthropy | Grants & Technical Proposals | Government Contracts | Corporate Social Responsibility | Government Relations | International Organizations | Community Development | National Security | Reconciliation and Peace Building | Educational and Cultural Exchanges
Global experience | Middle East and North Africa | Asia | Europe | Central Asia | Africa | Central America
Networks | Global Philanthropies | Global Funds | UN Agencies | Bilateral Development Agencies | International Financial Institutions | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector
Languages | English (native) | Italian (fluent) | French (proficient) | Arabic (conversational)
Education | PhD studies (ABD) at Maastricht University, Netherlands | MA degrees in International Economics and American Foreign Policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Washington, DC
Dr. Maia Giorbelidze
Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analytics
Digital Transformations & AI
Strategic Communications, Organizational Change Management
Grants, Proposals, Fundraising
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Dr. Maia Giorbelidze grew up in the shadow of war in her native Georgia and is an expert in Eurasian and Russian politics. She has extensive experience in political economy analysis, data analytics, outcome metrices and results-based management in support of organizations and private sector companies. Maia created monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems to track progress and deliver evidence of achievements in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Yemen and the Philippines. She supports businesses in assessing existing operations and systems, sustainability of supply chains, ESG targets, and devising strategies to boost productivity and optimize workforces.
Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Digital Transformations & AI | Data Quality Assurance | Program Management | Organizational Change Management | Strategic Communications | International Development | Cultural Heritage | Women and Youth | Partnerships & Networks | Grants & Technical Proposals | Environmental, Social, Governance | United Nations | International Organizations | Community Development | Educational and Cultural Exchanges
Global experience | Europe | Central Asia | Africa | Middle East and North Africa | Asia
Education | PhD in Business Administration, and MBA degree from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia
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Dr. Andrew T. Greene
Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analytics
Digital Transformations & AI
Strategic Communications, Countering Disinformation and Malign Influences
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Dr. Andrew Green brings 25 years of applied research and academic experience in Economic Growth, Education, and the Governance sector, including rule of law, anti-corruption, civil society, election processes, media and organizational development. Andrew provides expert technical assistance to a wide variety of clients for strategic and programmatic planning and produces knowledge management products and platforms for adaptive management. He was the technical leader for USAID’s Analytic Task on Authoritarian Resurgence that assessed risks in closing civic space and corruption in infrastructure and extractives. He has been Team Leader for numerous Evaluations, Assessments and Political Economy Analyses in Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia.
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​Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Digital Transformations & AI | Data Quality Assurance | Program Management | Organizational Change Management | Strategic Communications | International Development | Youth | Partnerships & Networks | Grants & Technical Proposals | Environmental, Social, Governance | International Organizations | Community Development | Countering Malign Influences & Disinformation
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Global experience | Europe | Central Asia | Africa | Middle East and North Africa | Asia | Latin America & Caribbean
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Networks | Research Institutions | Universities, Academic Institutions | Bilateral Development Agencies | International Financial Institutions | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector
Languages | English (native) | Czech (fluent) | Russian & Slavic Languages (proficient)
Education | PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
Visiting Professor at Georgetown University
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Dr. Sarah Eissler
Monitoring, Evaluations, Data Analytics
Digital Transformations & AI
Rural Development, Environment, Natural Resources
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Dr. Sarah Eissler specializes in gender, rural development, monitoring and evaluation. She provides technical assistance in women’s empowerment, gender-sensitive analytics, gender-mainstreaming, social inclusion, gender and agriculture, and mixed method research designs. Sarah has designed and led impact evaluations for international development clients and academic institutions.
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Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Digital Transformations & AI | Data Quality Assurance | Program Management | Organizational Change Management | Strategic Communications | International Development | Youth | Partnerships & Networks | Grants & Technical Proposals | Environmental, Social, Governance | International Organizations | Community Development | Environment
Global experience | Europe | Asia | Africa
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Networks | Universities, Academic Institutions | Bilateral Development Agencies | International Financial Institutions | Public International Organizations
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Languages | English (native) | French (proficient) | Spanish (proficient) | Portuguese (proficient)
Education | PhD in Rural Sociology and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment from Penn State
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Dr. Lawrence Robertson
Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analytics
Digital Transformation & AI
Dr. Lawrence Robertson has led more than 50 performance evaluations the United Nations Development Program, USAID and other development agencies. He consistently finds innovative solutions to addressing closing civic space, network strengthening and activism. Post-conflict resolution and governance are the foundation of his career as a senior political economist with more than 25 years designing and leading reconstruction and stabilization efforts for the U.S. State Department and USAID, where he served as a foreign service officer for 8 years. He led political economy analysis teams in 6 countries, including Russia and Ukraine during his career.
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Areas of expertise | Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analytics | International Security | Digital Transformation & AI | Risk Analysis | Diplomacy & Peacekeeping | Partnerships & Networks | United Nations & International Organizations | Educational and Cultural Exchanges |
Global experience | Asia | Europe | Central Asia | Pacific Islands | Africa
Networks | UN Agencies | Bilateral Development Organizations | International Security | European Union | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector
Languages | English (native) | Russian (fluent) |
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Education | PhD in Political Science from University of California, Los Angeles | MA in Russian and East European Studies from Stanford University, California
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Claire Grimes
Claire Grimes guides our digital programming in support of open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems that advance democracy, counter digital authoritarianism, promote digital literacy and provide equitable access to underserved communities. She is an expert on strengthening communication and citizen participation in issues related to freedom of expression, empowering civil society, reducing corruption and building capacity of governing institutions and journalists and media actors to operate safely. During her 25 years with the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office and NATO, she served as NATO Deputy Director of Security Intelligence in Brussels. Earlier in her career, she served as a spokeswoman for United Nations Peace-keeping Missions in Gaza and West Bank, Macedonia and Croatia.
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Areas of expertise | Digital & Cybersecurity | NATO | International Security | Strategic Communications | Public Affairs | Risk Analysis | Diplomacy & Peacekeeping | Partnerships & Networks | United Nations & International Organizations | Educational and Cultural Exchanges | Peacekeeping
Global experience | Middle East and North Africa | Asia | Europe | Central Asia | Africa |
Networks | UN Agencies | NATO | Cybersecurity | International Security | International Media | European Union | | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector
Languages | English (native) | Arabic (fluent) | French (fluent) | Spanish (proficient) | German (proficient) | Farsi (proficient)
Education | BA in Arabic and Politics, University of Durham, United Kingdom | Diploma in Arabic Language & Literature, University of Damascus, Syria
Ghada El Sherif
Gender, Gender-based Violence, Digital Ecosystems, Corporate Social Responsibility, People with Disabilities, Middle East & North Africa Expert, Monitoring & Evaluation
Ghada El Sherif is an expert in gender equity and equality, preventing and mitigating gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, TVET, support to women entrepreneurs and inclusive workforce development. She has conducted 20 evaluations and baseline studies on gender and youth issues in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. Ghada collaborates closely with the Giza Systems Education Foundation to support people with disabilities in the use of digitally fabricated tools to marginalized communities. Ghada holds a MA degree in Planning from the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia. She speaks fluent English, Egyptian Arabic, and is proficient in other Arabic dialects.
Geoffrey Mazullo
Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analysis
Strategic Communications, Organizational Change Management
Cultural Heritage & Tourism
Grants, Proposals & Fundraising
Geoffrey Mazullo is an executive-level director of oversight and monitoring programs in corporate governance; corporate social responsibility (CSR); environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting; investor relations; socially responsible investment (SRI); and sustainable development in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Under his direction, he helped establish corporate governance structures at the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) and launched of long-term financial sector development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Egypt, Moldova, Poland, and Russia. He is an accomplished instruction designer and trainer who has delivered courses on sustainable finance in more than 30 countries. He holds a MA degree in Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BS degrees in Political Science and Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He speaks German, Russian, Polish, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, French and Italian.
Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Strategic Communications | Public Affairs | International Development | Cultural Heritage | Organizational Change Management | Partnerships & Networks | Grants & Technical Proposals | | Corporate Governance | International Organizations | Community Development | Educational and Cultural Exchanges | Capacity Building & Training | Sustainability
Global experience | Middle East and North Africa | Asia | Europe | Central Asia | Africa |
Networks | UN Agencies | Bilateral Development Agencies | Multilateral Financial Institutions | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector / Academia
Languages | English (native) | German (fluent) | Polish (proficient) Serbo-Croatian (proficient) French (proficient)
Education | MSc London School of Economics and Political Science | BSFS Georgetown University. Graduate studies in Germany and Poland
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Ellen Goldstein
International Diplomacy
Organizational Change, Results-Based Management
Leadership Mentoring and Coaching
Ellen Goldstein’s 35-year career as a senior executive with the World Bank included appointments as the Country Director for Bangladesh, Nepal, Burkina Faso, Western Balkans, Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR. Ellen led large, multicultural teams in the design and implementation of strategies to foster economic development and reduce poverty in low- and middle-income countries with complex social, political and historic contexts. Ellen is author of the 2023 highly acclaimed book "Damned if You Do: Foreign Aid and My Struggle to Do Right in Myanmar." As a certified leadership coach, she brings together results-based management theory and leadership coaching to help leaders and teams define priorities, build a shared vision, align institutions, improve team dynamics and overcome visible and hidden barriers to successful achievement of results.
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Global experience | Europe | Central Asia | Africa | Middle East and North Africa | Asia
Areas of expertise | International Diplomacy | Organizational Change Management | Results-based Management | Leadership Development | Coaching, Mentoring | International Development | Cultural Heritage | Partnerships & Networks | Philanthropy | |Environmental, Social, Governance | International Organizations | Community Development | National Security
Networks | World Bank | International Financial Institutions | Global Funds | Bilateral Development Agencies | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Private Sector
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Languages | English (native) | French (fluent) |
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Education | MA in Public Affairs, Princeton University, MPH in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
Dr. Nisha Onta
Applied Research, Evaluations, Data Analytics
Gender and Youth
Environment
Dr. Nisha Onta is an expert in gender and climate change. Her expertise in cross-cutting sectors of gender and climate change supports private and public sector clients. She has provided training in women's leadership, women’s economic empowerment and mainstreaming gender in programs and policies. Nisha has also provided technical support to conduct M&E, developing gender mainstreaming documents and facilitated discussions between investors and entrepreneurs in the context of gender lens investing. She is a guest lecturer for the Environment Development and Sustainability Interdisciplinary Program in Graduate School of the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Her PhD thesis title is “Gender and Caste Relations in Climate Change Adaptation: The case of Burgaon village, Humla district, Nepal.” She was a recipient of NORAD fellowship and UNDP Human Development Academic Fellowship. Nisha has been engaged in research in South Asia and Southeast Asia related to climate change adaptation, livelihood diversification and gender and climate change. .
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Areas of expertise | Applied Research | Evaluations & Data Analytics | Digital Transformations & AI | Data Quality Assurance | Program Management | International Development | Women, Youth | Partnerships & Networks | Environmental, Social, Governance | International Organizations | Community Development | Natural Resource
Networks | International Development | International Financial Institutions | Global Funds | Bilateral Development Agencies | Public International Organizations | Non-profits | Universities, Academic Institutions
Languages | Nepali (native) | English (fluent) | Hindi (fluent)
Education | PhD in Environmental Development from Graduate School of the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
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Dr. Laura McGrew
Gender & Inclusive Development, Civil Society, Mediation, Peacekeeping, Southeast Asia Expert
Dr. Laura McGrew has has played key roles in designing transitional justice initiatives and reconciliation activities for United Nations agencies, the US Department of State, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the European Union, and international NGOs in Cambodia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Guinea. As a global expert in conflict analysis and coexistence, Laura has led teams to measure impact of women’s and other peacebuilding interventions; she facilitated conflict assessment processes used in West Africa by community-based organizations to analyze conflict and make recommendations for interventions. Laura holds a PhD degree in Peace Studies from Coventry University, holds a MA degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International studies and a MSc degree in Medical Science from Emory University School of Medicine. She speaks French and fluent Khmer.
Sarah Farnworth
Democracy, Human Rights, Civil Society, Media, Peacekeeping, International Diplomacy
Sarah Farnsworth is an American expert who expanded and secured peaceful transitions of power and built democratic institutions during her 30-year career, with specific focus on Burma, Balkans, Ukraine, and Haiti. Sarah fosters locally-driven solutions that address threats to democracy and political process for countries undergoing democratic openings. She specializes in advancing civic and political leadership initiatives, and empowering citizen movements for collective action by strengthening these movements connections with each other and as well as access to expertise and resources from multilateral institutions, donors, researchers and civic actors. Earlier in her USAID career, Sarah guided the development of programs to assess the relevancy and implications of global social, political, economic, geographic, and military issues affecting the formulation and execution of U.S. foreign policy. Sarah has a BA degree in International Relations from Tufts University and is a certified Professional Life Coach.
Corinne Annalisa Scala
Corinne Annalisa (Corinna) Scala has five years’ experience in the field of heritage digitization,
documentation, digital technologies and capacity building training for young professionals. She supports
the creation of digital preservation strategies and risk assessment frameworks to safeguard global
cultural heritage. As a consultant to the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and
Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) she revised learning modules within the First Aid and
Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR) curriculum for implementing digital preservation
strategies to protect cultural heritage in active conflicts Ukraine, Sudan, and Ethiopia. She also
developed capacity-building initiatives for young conservation professionals to improve their technical
skills in preservation of recorded sounds and images—both analogue and digital. Corinna is a Technical
Advisor for Museum Mapping Giallorino Project at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington,
supporting conservation, scientific research and photography labs to explore 16 th century pigments,
painting techniques and structures of paintings on a microscopic level through infrared x-radiology. She
was awarded the highly competitive graduate fellowship at the NGA Italian and Spanish Painting
Department and studied at the Prado Museum in Madrid.
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Areas of expertise | Cultural Heritage | Museum Curation and Exhibitions | Data Analytics &Meta Data | Digital Transformation and AI | Program Management | International Development |Professional Capacity Building | Museum Management | Data Visualization | Photography |Coding | Partnerships & Networks | Philanthropy | Grants & Technical Proposals | Educationaland Cultural Exchanges
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Global experience | Middle East and North Africa | Europe | Africa
Networks | Global Philanthropies | Academic Institutions | UN Agencies | Bilateral Development
Agencies | Museums & Cultural Heritage Sites | Young Professionals Organizations | Non-profits |
Private Sector
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Languages | English (native) | Italian (native) | Spanish (fluent) | Latin (fluent) | French
(proficient) | Ancient Greek (proficient)
Education | PhD in History of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia | MA degree in History of
Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, United Kingdom