WHO WE ARE
Senior Staff
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 nearly $300 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.
Gulraiz Hassan, chief financial officer, joined IRD in March 2008. Mr. Hassan brings 27 years of experience in senior-level financial management with extensive experience working with firms specializing in government contracting. Prior to joining IRD, he served as managing partner for Government Business Consulting, LLC. He is experienced in corporate mergers, acquisitions activities and business valuations, has led systems design teams for manufacturing management and financial management systems, and has supervised and managed the finance, computer systems, and materials management functions for several companies. He holds a B.Sc. and a M.B.A degree from the University of Karachi, Pakistan and a M.B.A from the University of South Carolina.
Ingrid Fitzgerald, chief of administration, 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.
Jasna Basaric-Keys, chief of 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.
Michele Cato, chief of program development, 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. Ms. Cato is an expert in social marketing and communications for health with over 17 years experience in international development. Prior to joining IRD, she worked with Project HOPE as its Director for Business Development and at Population Services International (PSI) as its Vice President and Regional Director for francophone Africa. Ms. Cato has directed overseas field operations for over 10 years as Regional Representative for Central America, Country Representative for Haiti then China, Social Marketing Advisor for Guinea, and as Peace Corps Associate Director for Administration in Guinea. In addition, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for the “Women in Development” program in Costa Rica. Ms. Cato holds an M.B.A. in international marketing and a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington in Seattle.
Steve Anlian, senior program development advisor, is responsible for technical and management issues for program development. Mr. Anlian brings specific expertise in the areas of housing, land and urban development policy, as well as in infrastructure projects in large-scale, mixed-use new communities and commercial centers. He joins IRD from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where he served as director of Infrastructure covering countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. Prior to the MCC, Mr. Anlian was a Senior Associate with the Urban Institute, managing development programs in the former Soviet Union for USAID, the World Bank and the U.S. Department of State, among others. He also served as the first USAID Chief of Party with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in Armenia and Georgia. Mr. Anlian holds an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, a B.L.A. (Bachelor of Landscape Architecture) from Syracuse University and a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from the State University of New York, and is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Karla Bonner, chief of Iraq programs, oversees IRD's single largest portfolio. 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.
Thoric Cederström, senior program development advisor, is responsible for technical and management issues for program development in general and food and agriculture programs in particular. Cederström joins IRD from Counterpart International, where he was Vice President of the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Division as well as Global Health and Nutrition Programs. He has his Ph.D. in Development Anthropology & Agricultural/Natural Resources Economics from the University of Arizona in Tucson and is an adjunct professor at University of Maryland – College Park in the Department of Anthropology.
Gary V. Kinney, director of contracts and grants, joined IRD in April 2007 after 30 years of US Government Service. Mr. Kinney, a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Cote D’Ivoire, served for 25 years at USAID in various contract, grant and management roles. The first USAID Procurement Ombudsman, he subsequently served as Director of Contracts at USAID/Egypt, USAID’s largest mission at that time, and as Regional Contracting Officer at USAID/Georgia. He received his B.A. in English education from the University of Maine, and M.S. inInternational Business from the American University in Washington, DC. Mr. Kinney is a member of the National Contract Management Association and holds credentials as a public contract manager.
Adam Koons, director of Relief, has been working in development and relief for 26 years. He holds a Ph.D in economic and applied anthropology from American University in Washington, DC. Dr. Koons has worked for a wide variety of agencies, including the Peace Corps, USAID, CARE International, Save the Children, the United Nations, and President Carter’s Presidential Commission on World Hunger, as well as on numerous consulting assignments. Before joining IRD, he served for over three years as the Sudan Country Director for Save the Children, overseeing a $32 million program with over 1000 staff. Dr. Koons specializes in food security, economic development, and disaster relief, and has over 15 years of long-term overseas experience in countries like Haiti, Niger, Sudan, and Kenya holding a number of different positions, including technical training coordinator, evaluation director, food aid advisor, project and program manager, and agency country director.
Jim Lanning, director of acquisitions and logistics, came to IRD in January 2007 from ADRA International, where he served as Director of Acquisitions for 13 years. Prior to working at ADRA, Lanning worked in the development field, including for 11 years as vice-president of an architectural/engineering firm that specialized in health care. He holds two Bachelor of Science degrees, in business and health care management, both from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, MD. Married with three adult children, he is also a licensed jet rated pilot and certified flight instructor.
Mario Rizos, director of infrastructure, oversees IRD's portfolio of both large and small-scale infrastructure projects. Mr. Rizos joined IRD in May 2007 with 20 years of civil engineering and international development project experience, including feasibility analysis, design, project planning, monitoring and evaluation, and project management. He works closely with international donors as well as negotiating and partnering with government and private sector project counterparts, having undertaken donor-funded projects in West Bank-Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Angola, Yemen, Zambia, Cameroon, Kosovo, Pakistan and Greece. Before joining IRD, Mr. Rizos worked for Chemonics International, and also served as the Senior Infrastructure Officer in Jordan and Yemen for the European Union Relex office. He holds an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering and is fluent in Greek.
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 holds an M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, a master's of Theological Studies from Harvard and a B.A. in political science from George Washington University.
Natalija Stamenkovic, director of Democracy, Governance and Community Development, brings a wealth of expertise to the organization in democracy and governance, rule of law, and refugee assistance/asylum experience. Before joining IRD Ms. Stamenkovic served as the Senior Rule of Law Advisor for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Prior to that she served as a Senior Prosecutorial Reform Advisor to Lord Paddy Ashdown at the Office of the High Representative in 2004, and in 2000, she joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as a Legal Advisor in Bosnia Herzegovina. She also practiced law for five years in the State of Maryland both as a private practitioner and an Assistant Public Defender. Ms. Stamenkovic has a J.D. from American University and is fluent in Russian and Serbo-Croatian.
Elsie Tama, director of program resources, 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.
