Mr. David B. Wright
The Amit Roy Outstanding Headquarters Staff Award
David Wright displays dedication, determination, and drive on a daily basis. He is a tireless worker who is friendly to everyone and is always willing to lend a helping hand. David has devoted well over 30 years of service to IFDC and has displayed the utmost professionalism during his tenure. Through those years, he has seen the hard times and the good times. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands during times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy. David’s attitude, demeanor, and work ethic have not faltered whether he was working in the pilot plant, store room, or mail room; transporting visitors; offering assistance to vendors; or recycling bookcases, journals, and publications. Through it all, David always has a smile to share and a kind word to give. He is the constant encourager of staff at IFDC Headquarters.
David often makes excellent recommendations for cost and time savings. He recommended the shipment of the quarterly and annual reports directly from the printer for the bulk and international mail, saving inbound freight costs and time required to repackage the publications. David was instrumental in the implementation of a cycle count program of the stock, publication, and supplies inventory in the storeroom, which produced a 75 percent inventory reduction while improving customer service from the storeroom. David has worked to lower IFDC’s courier shipment costs from DHL, FedEx and UPS to ensure the low-cost supplier is always utilized.
David envisions and creates positive change in his daily role. David helped shape the implementation of the current procurement policy. In preparation, he helped investigate and resolve numerous issues with old receiving reports and purchase orders in Accufund. He improved the receiving process to ensure that the procurements are closed and documented correctly. He embraced the change from a postage meter to stamps.com, saving IFDC $2,000 annually. David is open to suggestions, new ideas, and change. David willingly assumed additional duties to provide transportation for guests and training attendees. He assisted with the clean-up of the chases, maintenance hall, and garage areas for employee auctions. He has assisted the communications department in the disposal of materials by recycling several truckloads of paper products.
In his personal life, David enjoys traveling to remote locations, visiting baseball parks, attending concerts off the beaten path, and exploring the lesser known areas of the United States. It has been said that David embraces life. He has been an inspiration to many IFDC employees. He embodies a commitment to excellence every day. He provides a wealth of information to new employees and is quick to share IFDC’s history. David is a genuine ambassador for IFDC and our local area. David is a stellar example of an individual very committed to this organization and its mission.
Mr. Grahame D. Hunter
Chairman’s Outstanding Internationally Recruited Staff Award
Mr. Grahame Douglas Hunter joined IFDC in 2010 as Chief of Party (COP) for the Improved Livelihood for Sidr-Affected Rice Farmers (ILSAFARM) project in Bangladesh. After successful completion of this project, Grahame became the COP of the Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI) project where he continued until March 2014. During his tenure as COP, he proved himself as an outstanding international scientist of IFDC. He brings to his job a high degree of energy, commitment, flexibility, and professional conduct. This has helped facilitate a good name for IFDC and Grahame is well-regarded among policymakers, researchers, and donors. His capability in guiding the technical staff under his direct supervision contributed to the trusted image that IFDC enjoys in Bangladesh.
In April 2014, Grahame was appointed as COP of the Fertilizer Sector Improvement (FSI) project in Burma. IFDC entered Burma to implement FSI without legal operating permissions, staff, or infrastructure. Grahame quickly established relationships, initiated activities, hired key team members, and set strategies for the coming year. Today, the FSI project is widely regarded by USAID/Burma as one of the best-performance projects in the country. Due to Grahame’s dedication and diligence, the U.S. government extended the project for another three years with additional funding.
Grahame brings several unique perspectives to his role as COP including:
- Over 35 years of experience in agricultural research and development and agribusiness programs in Asia that allow him to combine a strong technical acumen with local agriculture sector knowledge.
- A broad program management skillset that enables him to build, manage, and motivate teams while setting and achieving project targets.
- A deep understanding of the region, its cultures, and its operating modalities, allowing him to understand how best to achieve success in this environment.
- A practical hands-on approach that appeals to project clients and donors.
Grahame always exhibits a deep understanding for the local situation and the suffering of the people of Bangladesh and Burma. His support, technical guidance, and stewardship for the local staff have always been an encouragement for them to work more efficiently to achieve the goals of IFDC. His professional contributions have reflected well on the achievement of IFDC’s mission of alleviating poverty and ensuring food security for the rural poor.
Mr. Addis Teshome
The Amit Roy Outstanding Outposted Staff Member Award
Mr. Addis Teshome joined IFDC in late 2013 as the National Cluster Advisor for the 2SCALE project in Ethiopia. The portfolio of public-private partnerships in Ethiopia, developed under his leadership, is among the best of 2SCALE. Addis is very knowledgeable about the agriculture sector and smallholder farmers. He is quite resourceful and has an extensive network of professionals and organizations in the agriculture sector. When dealing with very important stakeholders, especially from the government, his comprehensive knowledge of the project, its approaches, and activities on the ground helps Addis represent IFDC Ethiopia very well.
Under difficult circumstances, Addis has forged partnerships through inventive collaborative agreements. These partnerships reflect the tremendous strength of combining public and private interventions at both the producer and the market level. He used his experience with the government agricultural agencies to identify agribusiness opportunities and bring in the right partners to achieve the project goals. Addis employed innovative ways to encourage the participation of women in farmer groups, clusters, and SMEs. He is well-respected in the development community, and is able to liaise with senior officials to advance IFDC’s profile within the Ministry.
Addis has demonstrated excellent management skills by leading a team that is diverse in terms of experience and specialization. He has clarity on organizational objectives and inspires focus toward goals within the team at every interaction. His attention to detail is appreciable, and he has a unique perspective for challenges faced in implementing organizational objectives. He is known for innovative solutions and timely decisions that keep things running smoothly. For instance, his ability to tailor the project’s approach to the local situation without compromising core objectives helped IFDC efficiently and effectively implement 2SCALE in Ethiopia.
Addis has proven to be an extremely loyal, professional, and respected cluster advisor and team leader. Addis has demonstrated exceptional communication skills and professional integrity. He provides the extra boost and inspiration the team needs to keep up the hard work and achieve more results while maintaining a positive and productive spirit within the team. Under Addis’ leadership, the Ethiopia team will continue to grow and to ensure that IFDC makes an impact on agribusiness development and farm livelihoods.