Services

Over more than 20 years of service to worthy causes, I have developed skills and experience in the following areas:

• Management and Development
  • I managed the affairs of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) for several years beginning in 1986. In 1988, I became the organization’s Executive Director and set the goals of growing it from a 2-person operation to an organization operating an office in NY City and another in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
  • The NCHR gained an excellent reputation during this time as a credible human rights organization whose reports and findings on human rights and refugee protection were obligatory readings for advocates of fair policies towards Haiti and its people as well as those who opposed such policies.
  • I related to a diverse board of directors, a representative staff, major donors, foundations and government agencies providing funding for the NCHR. I interacted with US government and congressional leaders, as well as leaders of international institutions such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
  • And I led campaigns that involved coalitions of which the NCHR was one of many members.
  • Overall I have steered grant proposals to success from conception to development and implementation.
  • My formal association with the NCHR ended in September 2006. I had taken leave of the NCHR in December 2001, but, at the request of the Board of Directors, returned to direct its affairs again in November 2003.
  • From January to June 2007, I managed the affairs of the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network (NJIPN), as its board diligently searched for a permanent executive leader.
  • My knowledge and skills in steering small businesses are particularly helpful to groups and organizations wishing to grow their business and take it to the next level.
• Strategic Planning and Evaluation
  • In 2002, Jesuits in Africa requested my assistance in developing a strategy and a framework for a more active involvement in the struggle to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS in the countries where Jesuits operated. Following a five-day retreat in Nairobi, Kenya and 2-3 months of framing, refining and concept development, the Jesuits established the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN). The new organization was launched formally on December 10, 2002, in Togo. That date is recognized as International Human Rights Day (December 1 is International AIDS Awareness Day). Thanks to the strategy developed and the able leadership of Father Michael S. Czerny SJ, AJAN has grown on a solid foundation.
  • JMC STRATEGIES was commissioned to carry out a five-year organizational performance evaluation of AJAN. We consulted with a diverse group of stakeholders and beneficiaries, conducted focus group discussions, reviewed hundreds of pages of materials, finally boiling down to key findings and recommendations that presented the client with clear options.
  • I have planned and carried out focus group discussions on also carried out evaluations of Haitian-led organizations in Florida and New York and worked with some of them to build their capacity to size up the challenges and act accordingly in order to access public and private resources that enable adequate responses to community demands.
• Advocacy Strategy Development and Implementation
  • I specialize in breaking down campaigns in small, practical steps that build upon one another, utilizing both resources at hand and those resources that are indirectly available through flexible and strategic partnerships. Such an approach broadens the potential for success, usually leads quicker to the desired goals and often achieves significant savings, an important factor for groups that operate on a shoestring budget.
  • Leaders of a rural organization in Haiti dedicated to promoting children’s rights, in particular the elimination of child servitude/slavery successfully implemented under my guidance an advocacy strategy that I had developed in consultation with them. In less than two months and with few resources,  but with a solid organizational outreach, they managed to get virtually the entire adult community (about 13,000 people) to sign off on a petition embracing the elimination of child slavery, known in Haiti as the restavek system.
• Communications & Marketing Strategy
  • I  have been involved in all aspects of communications and marketing of social issues, such as those that I have been deeply involved with for more than 2 decades.
  • This includes:
    • Formulating and releasing press communiqués in manners that are timely and enhance their impact and circulation.
    • Background briefings
    • News conferences
    • Television and radio broadcasts
• Human Rights/Immigration/Refugee Protection Expertise
• Public Speaking
  • I am available to speak to audiences of various sizes, at policy and community forums, colleges and universities and before public and private sector associations.
  • I am also available for television and broadcast interviews.