In accordance to the SID Constitution, the Council is responsible for determining SID major policies and strategies, setting the framework for its programmes and activities, supporting the development of the necessary resources, including financial ones, and maintaining oversight of their utilization and supervising the staff.

The members of the Governing Council for the 2017-2022 period are:

Larry Cooley - President

Larry Cooley (USA) is President Emeritus and Senior Advisor of Management Systems International (MSI), an 800-person international consulting firm he founded in 1981. A specialist in the fields of strategic management and organizational development, he has served as advisor to cabinet and sub-cabinet officials in 11 US Federal Agencies and more than a dozen foreign countries. For 11 years, Larry directed the Implementing Policy Change program that assisted organizations in more than 40 countries to manage various aspects of policy change. More recent assignments include directing a 5-year effort to help rebuild public administration in Iraq and a six-year program funded by the MacArthur Foundation to develop and test new tools for scaling up innovative pilot projects. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, served for 15 years as Chairperson of the Development Management Network, and received that organization’s National Award for Training Excellence. Before founding MSI, Larry worked at the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, Practical Concepts Incorporated, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He holds a BA (summa cum laude) in Social Anthropology from Colgate University, MA in Economics from Columbia University, an MPA in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and M. Phil. in Management from the Cranfield School of Management (UK) specializing in entrepreneurship development.

Lahcen Haddad - Vice President

Lahcen Haddad (Morocco) is expert in international development and serves currently (since October 2106) as member of Moroccan parliament. As Minister of Tourism with the Government of Morocco between 2012 and 2016. As Minister, he has overseen the shift of Morocco towards becoming a leading destination in the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East and a reference country with regards to sustainable tourism. Before joining the Government in 2012, he worked as international expert in strategic studies, democracy, governance and development, and as a certified expert in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, diversity and entrepreneurship. His involvement in programmes and studies of national and international importance endowed him with a mastery of geostrategic issues, economic development and public policy matters, international relations and issues of governance at local and international levels. Lahcen taught as a university professor for over 20 years with institutions such as Indiana University, Saint Thomas Aquinas College in New York, the School of International Training in Vermont, Mohamed V University in Rabat and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. At Management Systems International, he served as Morocco Country Director and as Chief of Party for various development projects in education, vocational training and enterprise support. At the World Learning School of International Training, he was for ten years Academic Director for the SIT Morocco Program and area thought leader for the Academic Directors community. His publications in English, Arabic, French and Spanish, both academic and journalese, span the topic areas of geostrategy, social sciences, development, communication and management as well as topics of general interest. An active member in civil society, he oversaw the creation and development of several CBOs and NGOs in the fields of girls’ education, development and poverty affiliation. Lahcen is also an active media expert with knowledge of new trends in digital means of communication and social media.

Diego Coatz

Diego Coatz (Argentina) is the Executive Director of the Argentine Industrial Union as well as its Chief Economist. An economist with undergraduate and graduate studies in the University of Buenos Aires, he has conducted postgraduate studies and courses on economic and development policies in the USA, England, Japan and Taiwan. At age 35, Diego is already a key referent in the field of industrial and macroeconomic policies for development in the country. His daily professional activity at the Argentine Industrial Union makes him an influential opinion and policy leader whose advice and expertise is highly regarded in government, congressional, business, diplomatic and academic circles across the country and the region. Diego has over the last decade been an active and ranking member of SID’s Buenos Aires Chapter (SID Baires) leadership, initially serving as Head of the Industrial Development Department and later as Executive Secretary. He is currently the Chapter’s First Vice-President. As a Chapter leader, he engaged in development promotion activities and has mentored several young Chapter members. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on economics at the University of Buenos Aires and coordinates, along with Mariano de Miguel, the Institute for Applied Economics at the UCES University in Buenos Aires.

Jean Gilson

Jean Gilson (USA) is Senior Vice President, Strategy and Information Technology at DAI, where she oversees strategy formulation and execution, communications and brand, and information technology. A member of the company’s executive team, she leads DAI’s engagement with the international development community on fundamental technical issues, pressing industry debates, and the global development agenda. She has been elected by her fellow employees to serve no fewer than three terms on DAI’s Board of Directors. She has also managed two overseas subsidiaries, managing DAI offices in Hanoi, Bangkok, and Manila. Prior to DAI, Jean served as USAID’s first Country Representative in Hanoi since the end of the Vietnam War. She opened that office in September 2000 and managed it for four years, earning distinguished service awards from both the Department of State and the Government of Vietnam - the first American to achieve such a distinction. Jean later worked for two years as USAID’s Senior Policy Advisor to the Millennium Challenge Account Secretariat. As a private sector executive and public servant, Jean has worked, lived, and traveled extensively overseas, gaining experience in all facets of bilateral and multilateral development programs and policy Jean holds a master’s degree in international law and economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; she earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. Jean has extensive experience and knowledge of the Society and of its main challenges as she is now serving her third two-year term on the Board and Executive Committee of the SID Washington D.C. Chapter. She also served as Vice President of the SID International Governing Council for the period 2013-2016.

Wendy Harcourt

Wendy Harcourt (Australia/Italy) is Associate Professor in Critical Development and Feminist Studies at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University, The Netherlands. Wendy joined ISS in November 2011 after 23 years working at the Society for International Development, International Secretariat in Rome as Editor of the journal Development and Director of Programmes. At SID, she led global research projects in her areas of interest and expertise: gender, development alternatives and global health. She had the opportunity to travel widely and learn from many members of the SID network both in practice and in policy. Her wide-ranging concerns about development can be viewed in over 120 Development journal editorials and articles which she wrote from 1988 to 2011. Under her guidance, the Development journal was seen as one of the most innovative development journals particularly in its exploration of timely themes and critical debates across different sectors. During her years at the SID International Secretariat she actively participated in transnational NGOs and social movements. She was Chair of Women in Development Europe 2002-4 and attended many UN and NGO conferences as a speaker and organizer. In her current position at ISS she is leader of the Research Programme ‘civic in innovation research initiative’ a new research initiative that looks at civil society’s contribution to development processes from a business, gender and political perspective. During her long career in development she has edited 12 books covering topics ranging from sustainable development to sexual health and rights, always applying a gender lens. Her monograph Body Politics in Development: Critical Debates in Gender and Development published by Zed Books in 2009, received the 2010 Feminist Women Studies Association Book Prize. She is series editor of Palgrave Gender, Development and Social Change and Routledge Gender and Sexuality in Development.

 

Betty Maina

Betty Maina (Kenya) is Principal Secretary for East African Affairs of the Government of Kenya. She previously served as Chief Executive of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) for the 2004-2015 period. Previously, Betty served in a similar position at the Institute of Economic Affairs. She also served on the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda as well as on the Danish Prime Minister’s Africa Commission, a Danish Platform for effective development cooperation with Africa (in 2008/9). At KAM, Betty played a major role in transforming the association into a dynamic, vibrant, credible and respected business organization with nearly 700 members and a professional Secretariat. At the Institute of Economic Affairs, Betty’s leadership and work contributed to opening up space for public debate on Government policies and legislative proposals. A noted achievement is in promotion of budget transparency which has now culminated in the establishment of parliamentary budget office that scrutinizes budget proposals in Kenya. Betty’s career spans nearly 20 years in public policy research and advocacy and has included engagements with various organizations namely the Centre for Public Integrity in Washington; Centre for International Private Enterprise, Washington, the Swedish International Development Agency, UNDP, Africa Futures, Kenya Leadership Institute, the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Royal Netherlands Embassy, Ministry of Local Government (Kenya), and the World Bank, among others. She holds a BA degree in Land Economics from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Science degree in Development Administration from the University College London. Betty has received several State Commendations from H.E. the President of the Republic of Kenya for her work in Kenya and also continues to serve on various boards in the public sector and civil initiatives.

 

Takyiwaa Manuh

Takyiwaa Manuh (Ghana) is Director, Social Development Policy Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Before joining ECA, she had been Professor of African Studies at the University of Ghana, where she also served as Director of the Institute of African Studies from 2002-2009. She is also a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was educated at the University of Ghana, Legon, (LLB. Hons, 1974); University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (LLM, 1979) and Indiana University, Bloomington, USA (Ph.D. Anthropology (2000). She has served on the boards of several national, regional and international organizations including the International Institute for Educational Planning; IDRC’s Commission of Regional Advisors for West and Central Africa; the International Network on Migration and Development; the External Advisory Panel of the UNFPA; the Scientific Committee of CODESRIA; SEPHIS (South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development); The Africa Gender Institute, ABANTU for Development, and the Media Foundation for West Africa. She has also served as a member of Ghana’s National Development Planning Commission. She has received several awards and recognitions, including the University of Ghana’s Meritorious Service Award, and the Republic of Ghana’s Order of the Volta (Officer Class), both in 2007, and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Sussex, the UK (2015). She has published widely in the areas of African development; gender and women’s rights and empowerment; contemporary African migrations; and higher education.

 

Norbert Noisser

Norbert Noisser (Germany) is a SID member since 1991, President of the SID Frankfurt Chapter and member of the Executive Committee and the Governing Council of SID International. In his professional position, he is Deputy Head for Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Economics of the German State of Hessen, in charge of the Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Northern Africa and Africa markets, of trade relations with Developing Countries and of the cooperation with International Organizations. His honorary positions include: advisor of the Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt on ‘International Affairs’, board member of the German-Shanghai Association, member of the Diplomatic Council. His academic functions include: Board of Trustees of the Interdisciplinary Centre for East-Asia Studies (IZO), Frankfurt University, Deputy Chairperson of the Advisory Council, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Africa (ZIAF), Frankfurt University; Member of the Advisory Council, Centre for international Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Gießen University; and, Lecturer at Fresenius University of Applied Sciences. In his previous positions, he was seconded from Hessen State Government to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, being the Deputy Head of the Education and Information Division and the representative of Germany in the Executive Council of the North-South-Centre of the Council of Europe (Lisbon). At the German implementing agency Capacity Building International, he built up the division for Development Education. Before, he was engaged at the development NGO World University Service (WUS) German Committee, and started his professional career in a cooperation programme with the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) Lusaka, Zambia, on behalf of the City of Bremen. Until 1991, he was President of Bremen Information Centre for Human Rights and Development. His academic education was in Economic Geography, Economics, Sociology, Political Sciences (Frankfurt University, University of Aberdeen (Scotland).

 

Gita Sen

Gita Sen (India) has over 35 years of experience working nationally and internationally on gender equality and women’s human rights. Her work has ranged widely spanning poverty, population policies, human development, labour markets, and women’s health. A citizen of India, Gita holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University. She is the director of the Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health at the Public Health Foundation of India; and is adjunct professor of global health and population at Harvard University. She is a co-founder, and now General Coordinator of the South-based network, DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era). She was Vice-President of SID during 1997 – 2000. Gita’s national and international work has helped to shape the global paradigm shift on population policies and programmes, and to advance gender equality and women’s health and human rights through a variety of positions, and with several partners – governments, multilateral and bilateral organizations, private foundations, and civil society. She has published extensively, and is a co-editor of the latest DAWN book, The Remaking of Social Contracts: Feminists in a Fierce New World (Zed Books, 2014). She was co-author of the first DAWN book, Development, Crises and Alternative Visions: Third World Women’s Perspectives (Monthly Review Press, 1987). She is also the co-editor of an open-access Special Issue of the journal Global Public Health, titled ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health for the Next Decades: What’s Been Achieved? What Lies Ahead?’ Her combination of advocacy, practical experience, activism and analysis has resulted in several awards and honours, including the Volvo Environment Prize for her work on women, population and development, and honorary doctorates from the University of East Anglia, the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm), the Open University (UK), the University of Sussex, and the University of Edinburgh.