Arthur B. Keys, Jr. is the president and CEO of International Relief and Development (IRD), a non-governmental organization, which he founded in 1998. As president of IRD, Dr. Keys oversees management of more than $100 million annually for development assistance around the world. Dr. Keys has been active in NGO and humanitarian aid work since the early 1980s when he worked in the former Yugoslavia for the World Council of Churches Urban-Rural Mission Program. Prior to forming IRD, Dr. Keys was president of Keys and Associates, Inc., a for-profit organization that raised over $150 million in grants and in-kind contributions for NGOs in international development. Dr. Keys earned his B.A. from Bethany College, M.Div. from Yale University Divinity School and a D.Min from Emory University. He speaks Serbo-Croatian and is the author of numerous articles dealing with public policy and the Balkans. He is married and the father of three children.

Jasna Basaric-Keys, director of the program operations, has been with the organization since its inception. Prior to joining IRD, she was a principal in Keys and Associates, a private consulting firm assisting non-governmental organizations to develop and design grant proposals in the field of humanitarian aid. Earlier she worked as a researcher in the health field at George Washington University and the National Institutes of Health. She received her master’s of public health from George Washington University and her bachelor’s of science in biology from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Karla Bonner, chief of special projects,  joined IRD in October 2003 as the Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing administration, human resources, and information technology.  In July 2005, Ms. Bonner added Director of the Human Resources and Logistics Support (HRLS) program in Afghanistan to her title, and in July 2006 became the Chief Special Projects Officer. Ms. Bonner has over 15 years of experience working with international development organizations. Prior to joining IRD, she was the Director of Procurement and Logistics for Population Services International. She also worked for several years with World Learning’s Projects in International Development and Training (PIDT) division as Director of Administration. Ms. Bonner earned her B.A. in sociology from The Catholic University of America. 

Ingrid Fitzgerald, chief administrative officer, manages and oversees IRD's administrative, information technlogy, and human resource departments. Prior to joining IRD she was the director of human resources and administration for Population Services International, where she had overall responsibility for domestic and international staff. Ms. Fitzgerald holds a B.A. in political science from American University in Washington, D.C., and speaks Italian fluently.

Jeff Jordan, chief of program development, joined IRD In May 2007. Mr. Jordan is charged with providing strategic leadership, vision, and direction for IRD’s program development efforts, as well as increasing IRD’s visibility in the donor and partner community. He brings to IRD more than 18 years of experience in international development, spanning both domestic and international applications in policy communication and constituency building, institution building, and applied policy research and analysis for FP/RH and HIV/AIDS. He holds a B.A. in economics from Davidson College and a M.P.A. in international development from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.

Elmer S. (Sandy) Owens, chief financial officer, came to IRD in 2003 from the USAID, where he had served for 32 years. His last position with USAID was deputy chief financial officer at USAID in Washington. From 1993 until 1997, Mr. Owens was director of finance for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, stationed in Rome, Italy. He received a bachelor of business administration and accounting from Troy State University and a master’s of applied public financial management from American University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Rick Santos, director of communications and advocacy, is responsible for integrated communications and external relations (marketing, public relations, media, public policy and advocacy). Before joining IRD, Santos was coordinator for strategic planning and technical resources as part of the senior management team at Church World Service. where he was involved in developing a web-based communications approach and helping to coordinate advocacy for issues in Asia. He also spent over ten years working throughout Asia, including as Country Director for a USAID-funded food program in Indonesia. He is currently finishing an M.B.A. at Johns Hopkins University and holds a master's of Theological Studies from Harvard and a B.A. in political science from George Washington University.

Elsie Tama, IRD’s chief technical officer, has been with IRD since its inception. She first served as finance director, then director of budgets and special projects, then deputy director for programs until moving to her current position. She served as finance manager for Keys and Associates for four years before joining IRD. Earlier she worked as a financial manager for Africare, an international NGO. A native of Cameroon, she received her B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, DC.