Host Governments are becoming increasingly hostile to International Development Organizations and a pose unique risk to success of programs. Rapidly changing regulatory and legal environments in many countries have increased operational, financial, legal and reputational risks for many international NGOs. Our panel of industry experts will discuss how to identify and manage and top risks.

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PRESENTER: Joe Gleason | Risk Mitigation Consultant, AHT Insurance
With over 20 years’ experience managing operational risks globally, Joe Gleason brings a seasoned and practical approach to his role as AHT’s Director of Risk Management. In this role he works directly with AHT clients to develop, refine, and maximize the efficiency of their global risk management plans, procedures and resources. From initial risk strategy planning to continual risk management process, critical incident response and service examination, Joe’s expertise is a completely unique asset to AHT and its clients.

Joe joined AHT in 2015 with over 17 years of experience in global security and operations roles at a large NGO where he provided direct support for 60+ field offices in complex and developing countries, conceptualized and built the organization-wide security management function, and negotiated contracts and managed relationships with security, crisis support and medical assistance providers. In this role he managed the organization’s response to a range of crises and incidents, coordinating the effective employment of both internal and external resources.  His experience providing on the ground support to personnel and programs in a range of countries including Afghanistan, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Kosovo and Ukraine helps ensure a practical approach designed to enable activities and operations.

Currently on the board of directors of the International NGO Safety and Security Association (INSSA), Joe has been a member of professional risk and security organizations including the Overseas Security Advisory Council International Development Working Group (OSAC IDWG), the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) as well as INSSA. A recognized thought leader on NGO risk management and duty of care, Joe has spoken on a range of topics including evacuation, travel risk management, critical incident response and duty of care with Humentum, the Non-Profit Risk Management Center, the Worldwide Broker Network and others. He is the principal author of AHT’s Duty of Care blog that provides insight on a range of global risk management topics.

MODERATOR: Andreas Alexandrou | Partner, GRF
Andreas A. Alexandrou, CPA is an audit partner at GRF and has been consulting for and auditing tax-exempt organizations since 1996. Mr. Alexandrou's expertise includes audits and internal control reviews of nonprofit organizations including associations, international organizations, private foundations and other charitable institutions. He also specializes in federal compliance examinations required for organizations (domestic and international) funded by the US government and other pass-through agencies.

Mr. Alexandrou is responsible for all aspects of client service and engagement administration, and interacts with clients (and their boards) to plan engagements, resolve problems, and suggest procedures to improve the accounting process and internal controls. Additionally, he oversees budgeting and the supervision of audit staff to ensure the efficient completion of fieldwork.

Mr. Alexandrou travels abroad to oversee the completion of annual audit engagements for his international nongovernmental organization (NGO) clients.  He also provides consulting services to his non-audit international clients abroad, including the review of field office internal controls, field office accounting and reporting, operational best practices and compliance with donor requirements.  On occasion he visits remote regions where his international NGO clients maintain programmatic activities to review and advise on achieving organizational success. Over the years, Mr. Alexandrou has visited his clients in dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Brazil, Colombia, East Timor, Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Peru, Senegal, Uganda and numerous others.

Mr. Alexandrou has led presentations on appropriate financial stewardship of funds, including sub-recipient monitoring, indirect cost structuring, field office financial reporting and other best practices for his international NGO clients.

Mr. Alexandrou serves as treasurer of Freedom in Creation, an international humanitarian organization providing educational activities for children in Gulu, northern Uganda. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Greater Washington Society of CPAs and the Maryland Association of CPAs. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at the University of Maryland.


PRESENTER: Heather Waldo | VP of Finance and Accounting, Internews​​​​​​
Heather L Roche-Waldo, MBA, CMA/CFM, is the VP of Finance and Accounting for Internews, an international media support nonprofit. Given Internews’ diverse operations, Heather’s role has significant focus on adapting procedures to fit local requirements and restrictions, without degrading financial controls. Prior to her 10 years with Internews, she worked in management accounting in the finance and banking sector for over 15 years. In her spare time, Heather enjoys gardening and walking her “NewfieDoodle”, Otto.


PRESENTER: ​​​Jeremiah Centrella | Partner, Nichols Liu
Jeremiah Centrella advises INGOs and government contractors on the legal issues related to operating in high-risk environments, such as Syria, Somalia and Gaza. He is a recognized expert on counter-terrorism and sanctions laws as they relate to humanitarian and development operations. He is a member of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Strategic Policy, Terrorist Financing & Financial Crimes charities working group and regularly works with different U.S. Government agencies and the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He advises clients on setting up systems tailored for high-risk environments that comply with both humanitarian principles and applicable laws and on government and donor disclosure obligations, investigations and enforcement.  

JOIN US FOR THIS WEBINAR –
June 29th | 1 PM - 2 PM EST

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Trends and patterns of the issues impacting NGOs
   
• How organizations can identify and assess key challenges
   
• Best practices and resources for mitigating risks and responding to incidents when they arise

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