Robert Otto, President
Robert Otto has more than 25 years of experience in international development consulting and project management. Mr. Otto is highly experienced in providing consulting services and managing complex projects in private sector development, economic restructuring, and institutional development. He has first-hand knowledge and work experience in more than 45 countries in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Sub Saharan Africa, and South and East Asia.
His experience includes assignments serving as Consultant and Project Manager for economic development projects involving privatization, enterprise restructuring, information and communications technology (ICT), institutional reform and work process development, trade and investment development and promotion, and financial management and accounting reform. In addition, he has extensive experience working with governments in reforming and improving their processes that impact private sector development.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Otto served as Chief Private Sector Officer, Financial Analyst, Project Development Officer, and Chief Environment Officer for the US Agency for International Development. Mr. Otto holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Technology of Management from the American University.
Eric White, Managing Associate and Lead Economist
Eric White leads Integra’s Development Analytics practice and serves as a manager and consultant in the firm’s work on Agriculture and on ICT for Development. He brings eight years of experience in project management and international development consulting, and is a skilled practitioner of the Growth Diagnostics methodology, which he has implemented in five countries. Mr. White joined
Integra from the World Bank’s Africa regional agriculture team, and is co-author of the book “Structural Transformation and Rural Change Revisited,” released by the World Bank Press in July 2012. He has consulted directly to several African governments, as well as to the African Development Bank, and earlier in his career worked as a social entrepreneur in the ICT sector. Previously Mr. White was an economics instructor at Harvard University, and served as a Lieutenant in the US navy. He holds a Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia.
Magdelena Van Dusen, Director of Operations
Magdalena Van Dusen has over eight years of experience working in a range of financial, project management, and administration fields, including federal grant and contract administration, project accounting and subgrants management. Previously, a Senior Accountant at RAFFA, P.C., Magdalena provided a wide range of accounting services for not-for-profit clients, including financial reporting and month-end closing process. While an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Magdalena oversaw the firm’s support to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) monitoring efforts through comprehensive business compliance reviews of large facility projects. Previously, as a Financial Analyst at a development organization, Magdalena provided full service accounting and financial oversight for a portfolio of complex multi-million dollar international development projects sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Magdalena’s additional experience includes internal audit engagements, budget development and analysis, financial report preparation, training, and administrative systems design.
John Waugh, Environment & Natural Resources Management Advisor
John Waugh organizes and convenes processes to address challenges in environment and international development, with over thirty years of experience in natural resource management, planning, and policy. His current work is on participatory conservation strategies and planning, with a focus on the role of information in natural resource management, on sustainable finance mechanisms, and on mechanisms for the equitable sharing of benefits. He is the author of more than 20 books, chapters, or reports on environmental policies or protected areas, including Neighborhood Watch: Early Detection and Rapid Response to Biological Invasion Along US Pathways (IUCN, 2009). Recent work has included participatory mapping for climate adaptation in the Cook Islands, benefit-sharing mechanisms in Liberia, and community co-management of natural resources in the DRC. After completing the Intensive Humanities program at the University of Montana, he worked as a wildland firefighter, park ranger, Peace Corps volunteer, and for 20 years, as a policy analyst and program manager for IUCN. Current interests include analysis and replication of factors contributing to ecological and social resilience.
Kimberly Hamilton, Program Specialist
Kimberly Hamilton joins the Integra staff after recently completing a term as a GBI Intern. Prior to that, she worked with the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of EngenderHealth, to evaluate the Client-Orientated, Provider-Efficient (COPE) tool used within the ACQUIRE Tanzania Project (ATP); a USAID-funded project in reproductive health and family planning services. She also fieldwork experience, spending the summer of 2011 in Nepal on the increased privatization of higher education and it’s impact on youth. Enthusiastic about education policy and women’s health, Kimberly is particularly interested in how technology can be used to facilitate improvements in these areas. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from The New School in New York, with a concentration in Development.
Gabriel Thoumi, Senior Fellow
Gabriel Thoumi, CFA, LEED AP, has 13 years experience managing teams integrating three practices areas: institutional funds management and risk management, natural resources and climate science, and energy efficiency and the built environment. He has been engaged globally as a consultant in over 20 countries, with clients including Fortune 500 companies, foreign government ministries, numerous NGOs and Indigenous Peoples organizations, and small-medium enterprises. He is a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy. He received his MBA, MSc Sustainable Systems, and Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from the University of Michigan, and his MIM International Finance from the University of St. Thomas.. He speaks Spanish and has studied Indonesian.
