Ep 9: USAID COVID 19 Task Force (Sept 2021)

Recorded: September 14, 2021

Join us for a virtual conversation with USAID's COVID Task Force. We look forward to hosting this event with their team to update the USAID partner community on their important work. This is also a great opportunity for new USAID partners to learn more about this crucial initiative.

Learn more about USAID's COVID response here:
https://www.usaid.gov/coronavirus

Panelist Bios:

Shanda Steimer, Director, Center for Nutrition at USAID

Shanda Steimer is a career member of the United States Foreign Service with more than 20 years of development experience. Ms. Steimer has worked for USAID since 2002 and is currently detailed to the USAID COVID-19 Task Force, serving as the Pillar Lead for Programs and Strategic Planning. She is a health officer by background and has served in Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Uganda, Washington and Zambia, managing a diverse range of USAID portfolios primarily in health, but also in education, Feed the Future, Energy, Food for Peace and the Environment. Before joining the Task Force, Ms. Steimer was the Director for the Center for Nutrition in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Steimer worked for various international organizations, the private sector and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea. Ms. Steimer has a Master of Public Health degree in maternal and child health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Stephanie Fugate, Program Operations, COVID-19 Task Force at USAID

Stephanie Fugate is currently the Program Operations/Management/Budget Lead for the USAID COVID Task Force (on detail from her role as Division Chief, Professional Development and Training). With over 15 years in international development, in both the public and private sector, she has served as Branch Chief/Supervisory Contracting Officer with USAID's Special Initiatives and Development Partners division, and Contracting Officer with USAID's Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. She also held the role of USAID's first Coordinator for the Acquisition and Assistance Innovation Lab and remains a USAID Agency Innovation Advocate (AIA) to this day. Previously she held Contracting and Program Officer roles with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance/Revenue Administration and Policy team which sits within the Treasury's International Affairs bureau where she was assigned to the Africa and Caribbean regions. Prior to joining the public sector, she worked for Chemonics International, Inc. where she was a Business Development Manager for the Africa region focused mainly on Eastern and Southern Africa.

Ms. Fugate is a member of the NCMA Board of Advisors and holds a BA in International Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a MA in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University.


Chuck Pope, A&A Strategy Lead, COVID-19 Task Force at USAID

Charles S. "Chuck" Pope is the Senior Regional Advisor for the Middle East at USAID. Prior to that, he served as Chief of Operations in the Global Health Bureau providing senior leadership to the COVID-19 Response and current and future Supply Chain programming. Previous to that, he served the bureau as Deputy Assistant Administrator leading policy, programs, planning, innovation and systems.
He started his career overseas in Russia as a Peace Corps volunteer attached to Moscow City Administration (Zelenograd Prefecture) working on NGO development. Afterwards, he went to work for IREX in Central Asia on the State Department's Internet Access and Training Program. IREX would later promote Chuck to Regional Director of the Caucasus overseeing all programs in the region.

Peace Corps subsequently hired him as Administrative Officer to restart the program in Uzbekistan, which had been closed following 9/11. The program would grow to become one of the largest Peace Corps posts, with Chuck also serving a stint as acting Country Director.

After his tour, the Peace Corps put Chuck in charge of training new Administrative Officers for overseas assignments. During this time, he also served the agency as the Financial and Administrative Officer of the Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts, the historic deployment of the Peace Corps domestically.

Chuck joined USAID's Foreign Service in 2007 and has served in Russia, Afghanistan, Tanzania and India.

Prior to public service, Chuck grew up on his family's farm in Kansas and was an accomplished athlete, winning collegiate national championships as both a player and a coach, and garnering all-American accolades at the junior college level before going on to start at Baylor University as center on the football team.

ABOUT THE HOST:

The podcast is hosted by Mike Shanley, Founder and CEO of Konektid International and AidKonekt Data, the leading USAID partner support firms that help clients to grow their USAID funding portfolios. Mike has nearly two decades of experience in working with USAID projects and funding opportunities. His USAID funding expertise has been recognized by the largest aid and development associations, partners, and conferences, including by USAID, Devex, British Expertise International, AidEx, and by the Society for International Development-US where he also serves as Board Member.

Websites:

Konektid International: www.konektid.com

AidKonekt Data: https://www.aidkonekt.com/usaid-biz-dev

Connect with Mike Shanley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konektid-usaid-specialists/