Michael Thayer

Senior Director, Resilience and Growth Director, Food Security @Acdi Voca

Washington, DC, US

Effectively lead a portfolio of $100M+ United States Government-funded international development projects with the goal of increasing food security, resilience, enhancing biodiversity, and providing access to finance for vulnerable populations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.• Provide strategic direction and ensure successful execution across multi-partner teams.• Manage and develop project teams, facilitating clear communication between staff and leadership to ensure high-quality deliverables, reporting, and impact. Serve as a mentor and coach to junior staff, and provide ongoing feedback, and recommendations for professional development opportunities.• Oversee recruitment and staffing for projects, aligning talent with organizational needs.• Foster strong relationships with internal stakeholders, in the context of a matrixed organization, and with external stakeholders, including donors/partner organizations/sub-awardees, government representatives and direct beneficiaries.Select accomplishments include:• Received multiple Presidential Awards for initiatives requiring leadership and significant team collaboration at ACDI/VOCA, named a Top Workplace by the Washington Post in 2024.• Led the proposal effort for a $50M, five-year multi-sectoral, multi-partner food security project composed of multiple resource streams in West Africa.• Three projects in portfolio received multi-million-dollar cost extensions in the past two years, allowing for greater, deeper, and more sustainable positive impact for the populations served.

University of London

Short courses

School for International Training

Semester Abroad

American University

Bachelor of Science (BS)