CORNELL GLOBAL SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY PRESENTATION

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1 2010 United Nations Public Service Day - Awards and Forum June 2010, Barcelona, Spain EXPERT GROUP MEETING Developing Institutional Capacities of Public Administration for the Achievement of MDGs in Post Conflict and Crisis Situations: Challenges, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned in Preparedness, Prevention, and Reconstruction SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Dr. Ignacio Armillas born in Mexico City holds a B.A. degree in Design Science from Southern Illinois University studying under R. Buckminster Fuller; an M.A. degree from the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University; and, M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Development from Columbia University. He holds a certificate in Management Development from the University of Chicago and in 2008 was inducted as an Honorary Member to Pi Alpha Alpha the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration in the U.S. Dr. Armillas started his professional career as Assistant Professor in what is now the School of Architecture of Dalhousie University in Canada. In 1974 he joined the United Nations Centre for Housing, Building and Planning where he provided technical backstopping to urban development and housing projects throughout the Middle East. In 1979 he transferred to the newly established UN-Habitat. During the next decade he was Technical Adviser to projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe. In 1989 he was appointed Coordinator of the Technical Cooperation Unit for Asia and the Pacific and in 1997 became founding Director of the UN-Habitat Office for Asia and the Pacific 1

2 in Japan. In the intervening years he held several temporary assignments within UN- Habitat including Acting Chief of the Administration Division, and Advisor in the Office of the Executive Director. He was Project Director of a post-disaster project in Mexico, and led post disaster assessment missions to Armenia, Iran, Philippines, Pakistan and China. Since retiring from the United Nations he has been Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Public Affairs at Cornell University; and consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank, private consulting firms, and to the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico at Xochimilco. He recently carried out an External Evaluation of the United Nations Center for Regional Development for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). CORNELL GLOBAL SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY PRESENTATION REBUILDING NEIGHBORHOODS IN PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI: A UNIVERSITY PROGRAM MANAGER PERSPECTIVE Christine Potter, Presenter Ms. Christine Potter is an international study advisor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she facilitates academic opportunities for students to study, research, and engage in public service in countries throughout the world. Interested in socially- and environmentally-responsible businesses, this past winter and spring she consulted for a natural products processing and trading company owned by a consortium of community-based forest enterprises in Nepal. Prior to moving to New York, she worked for nearly a decade in Denver, Colorado, consulting for non-profits, political campaigns, and small businesses. She founded and directed a government registered notfor-profit organization and promoted community-building, neighborhood preservation, and affordable housing efforts in Denver s low-income neighborhoods. In 2001, she was recognized for Outstanding Community Service by the Mayor of Denver. Ms. Potter holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She was born in Germany, and is a dual national of the United Kingdom and the United States. 2

3 George Stirrett-Wood, Co-Author Mr. George Stirrett-Wood holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and is a firstyear Master of Public Administration (MPA) Fellow at Cornell University concentrating in Environmental Policy. His research and professional interests involve the incorporation of ecological, economic, and social concerns into workable management strategies focusing on the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity. He engaged in programme development for a university in Southern Sudan this past fall, and helped to develop a neighborhood development strategy for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this spring. Prior to coming to Cornell, he worked with Canadian indigenous communities, as well as the Canadian government at the federal and provincial levels. He has an extensive scientific research background, including tracking wolf populations, monitoring populations of non-native plants, studying warbler communities, and surveying moose populations. He is currently interning at the UNEP Mission in Ogoniland, Nigeria, and will be completing his thesis on sustainable environmental policy in Nepal in the fall. Mr. Stirrett-Wood is a native of Canada. REBUILDING THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN SOUTHERN SUDAN: A CONSULTANT PERSPECTIVE Seth Eden, Presenter Mr. Seth Eden holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Sociology, and was awarded a Master of Regional Planning, with a concentration in International Planning from Cornell University in May While at Cornell, he consulted for two, fivemonth-long projects: one in Southern Sudan, and the other in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. One project developed an Agriculture and Extension Research Programme for The Catholic University of Sudan, and the other developed a Neighborhood Redevelopment Strategy for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bangladesh and Azerbaijan. In Bangladesh, he taught English, computer literacy, and worked for the Department of Youth and Development. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan, he worked with an USAID-funded agriculture project and taught technical capacity-building workshops. Mr. Eden hails from Ithaca, New York, and speaks Azerbaijani and Turkish. 3

4 Christine Hadekel, Co-Author Ms. Christine Hadekel holds Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, and is a Master of Public Administration (MPA) Fellow at Cornell University, concentrating in International Development, with a focus in international food policy. She was a consultant for the development of an agriculture extension and research programme in Southern Sudan last fall, and worked on the team that developed a neighborhood redevelopment strategy for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, this spring. She has a background in sustainable agriculture and community food systems, having conducted fieldwork in India researching the role of traditional knowledge in community food systems, as well as spending considerable time supporting sustainable food systems work in the Canadian Arctic, Belize, and Barbados. She currently works with the Cornell University Garden- Based Learning Program to support the development of school garden programs in the United States and abroad. This summer she will intern with the World Food Programme's Kenya office assisting in developing the country's national strategy for Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programs. Ms. Hadekel is a native of Canada. REBUILDING COMMUNITY IN POST-CONFLICT BOSNIA: AN IMPLEMENTATING AGENCY PERSPECTIVE Christopher F. Bragdon, Presenter Mr. Christopher F. Bragdon is the Executive Director for the non-profit organization Bosnia Initiatives for Local Development (BILD), based in Tuzla, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. He has been implementing humanitarian and development projects in Tuzla since Mr. Bragdon has been the Director of the English-for-Bosnia program at Cornell University, as well as the Director of Bosnia Projects for the Center for Balkan Development, managing the country office in Tuzla, of which BILD is the successor organization. He has conceived of, fundraised for, and implemented a wide range of projects in education and community development including an innovative World Bank-funded project focusing on building social capital and strengthening local level institutions. Mr. Bragdon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. He shares his 4

5 time between Tuzla, Bosnia, and Ithaca, New York, either implementing projects in Bosnia or fundraising for them while in the United States. Daniel Bell, Co-Author Mr. Daniel Bell was awarded a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University in May Anne Park, Co-Author Ms. Anne Park was awarded a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University in May