Simon Vickers

Simon Vickers is an experienced Project Director who has specialized in designing and managing programs in fragile and conflict-affected states for FCDO, UN, EU, Canadian and Dutch donors. He has experience in conflict management, peacebuilding, security and justice sector reform, local governance, research, CVE and stabilization; mostly across the MENA region and Sahel. Simon joined…

Dr. Mette Bastholm Jensen

Mette Bastholm Jensen has spent more than a decade working on and in fragile and conflict-affected environments. Combining a research background with extensive field and government experience, she has spent much of her career conducting and translating analysis into actionable advice, particularly in stabilization contexts. Prior to joining Chemonics, Mette served most recently as an…

3 Questions with Kouteba Al-Khalil on Creating Safe Education Systems for Syrian Girls

The challenge of protecting Syrian schoolchildren predates the ongoing, decade-long war. Before the start of the conflict in 2011, safeguarding practices were rare and legal frameworks non-existent. Physical and psychological abuse as forms of discipline were, sadly, commonplace. In many Syrian schools, these problems persist. In fact, over a decade of intense conflict has exacerbated…

Kouteba Al-Khalil

Kouteba Al-Khalil was formerly the program and safeguarding advisor on the Syria Education Programme. He specializes in child protection, safe programming, and capacity building. He has eight years of experience in establishing and operating child and youth protection programs and developing child safeguarding systems. His past work spans protection in emergencies, early childhood development, social-emotional…

Charlie de Rivaz

Charlie de Rivaz is an expert on transnational organized crime and conflict. He is currently the Research Fund and Uptake Director on the UK aid-funded Cross-Border Conflict, Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research program, the UK government’s largest-ever conflict research program. Before joining Chemonics, Charlie was a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute…

Bolstering Jordan’s Water Sector Governance

Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Experts predict the country will experience extreme water poverty by 2025 unless the water sector prioritizes governance strengthening, improved financial performance, and sustainable management of water supplies. USAID/Jordan’s Water Governance Activity (WGA) works with Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation to promote sustainable water…

Rapid Research and Behavior Change in Conflict-Affected Syrian Schools: An Oxymoron?

Tragically, corporal punishment, humiliation, and other negative discipline techniques are common practices in Syrian schools. Conflict traumatizes teachers and robs them of training opportunities, often giving rise to a culture of physical and mental punishment. The Chemonics-led Syria Education Programme, which has provided nearly half a million primary-school-age children with a safe and quality education,…

Tara Sabre Collier

Tara Sabre Collier is the Practice Lead for Climate and Private Sector Engagement at Chemonics UK. A sustainable finance advisor to governments and development finance institutions, Tara also leads the Chemonics UK-led MOBILIST policy platform and is the Director of Impacting Investing and Sustainable Finance at Chemonics UK. Tara has more than 15 years of…

Final Reports: Jordan Building Economic Sustainability through Tourism

Throughout the life of the project, BEST successfully created 4,748 tourism jobs and leveraged more than 116 million Jordanian dollars in private sector investments to support the Jordanian tourism industry. By the end of the program, there was an increase in the number of visitors to Jordan, tourism receipts, and the number of people employed…

Sarah Ahmed

Sarah Ahmed is a development professional with 17 years of experience in U.S. government-funded projects in democracy and governance, and peace, stability, and transition across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. As senior vice president of Talent, Learning, and Development, she is responsible for creating efficiencies through improved processes and guidance in the…

Bruno Bouchet

Dr. Bruno Bouchet is a senior director in the Chemonics Global Health Division (GHD) with over 30 years of experience in global health with a focus on health systems strengthening (HSS) and the application of quality improvement (QI) to address health systems issues affecting the performance of disease-focused programs (HIV, MNCH, Tuberculosis, etc.) in low…