Caitlin O'Donnell

Experience

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  Peace Corps

  Sept 2009 - Nov 2011

  Peace Corps Volunteer

  Focus on cross-cultural communication and exchange. Taught English to primary and secondary school students. Secured USAID funding to develop and facilitate a civic leadership program for secondary school students. Co-led a series of intensive English language learning camps for teachers and students throughout the northeast region. As Chairperson for the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Committee, headed meetings to approve grants and led trainings on grant writing and compliance for Peace Corps Volunteers and their Ukrainian counterparts. Show less

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  George Washington University

  Feb 2012 - May 2013

  Program Coordinator, Global Gender Program

  Focus on equipping future international affairs professionals with the knowledge and skills to apply a gender lens to advance gender equality in their future professional careers. Supported engagement with gender professionals and scholars. Managed team’s budget. Coordinated events, including a series on distinguished women in international affairs. Synthesized scholarly research and created online content related to gender and international development. Contributed to evaluation design and delivery and co-authored a report to assess the effectiveness of a local NGO’s women’s empowerment program for migrant workers from Myanmar in Thailand. Show less

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  World Resources Institute

  May 2013 - Aug 2014

  Research Analyst and Program Coordinator, Environmental Governance

  Focus on environmental governance and natural resource management. Supported partnership engagement and outreach for the Access Initiative, a network of civil society organizations dedicated to ensuring that citizens have the right and ability to influence decisions about the natural resources that sustain their communities. Provided research support for projects related to access to environmental information, public participation, and justice. Led grants management and coordination. Advocated for gender mainstreaming efforts in the organization, including conducting a gender audit and hiring a dedicated gender specialist. Championed gender integration efforts in the team’s programmatic work, including designing a pilot study on forest governance in Indonesia that brought together stakeholders in the forest and gender sectors. Show less

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  World Economic Forum

  Jul 2016 - Jul 2018

  Community Specialist, Food Security and Agriculture

  Focus on enhancing multi-sectoral collective regional and country-led action to accelerate food systems transformation to meet the needs of people and the planet. Facilitated partner engagement across business, government, and civil society to promote public-private collaboration in food and agriculture, with an emphasis on improving the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Supported event design and coordination for high-level convenings of leaders, experts, and innovators. Contributed to research on scenarios analysis for the future of food systems and on harnessing the power of technology and innovation to address food systems challenges. Show less

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  BRAC USA

  Jul 2018 - Dec 2021

  Focus on reducing extreme poverty through social protection and economic inclusion, with an emphasis on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Provided technical assistance and policy advocacy on the design and implementation of pro-poor social protection measures using the Graduation approach, a holistic livelihoods program pioneered by BRAC in Bangladesh that is designed to address the multidimensional needs of households living in extreme poverty. Strengthened the capacity of governments and their partners, including UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral institutions, and NGOs, to implement pro-poor social protection measures and elevate issues in women's social and economic empowerment. Synthesized research on impact and cost effectiveness to support evidence-based decision-making. Developed and refined tools for field-based application to conduct assessments, program design, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities. Created internal knowledge management processes to capture good practices and refine service delivery. Show less

  • Technical Advisor, Ultra-Poor Graduation, Livelihoods/Economic Inclusion and Social Protection

    Sept 2020 - Dec 2021

  • Technical Officer, Ultra-Poor Graduation, Livelihoods/Economic Inclusion and Social Protection

    Jul 2018 - Sept 2020
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  World Resources Institute

  Jan 2022 - now

  Learning Manager, Gender and Social Equity

  Focus on strengthening organizational practices for gender and equity integration. Identify and facilitate opportunities for learning and capacity strengthening to integrate gender and social inclusion in environmental programs and research. Equip program teams with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to understand how social norms, power dynamics, and inequalities based on factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, income, and others affect intended impact and vice versa. Develop evidence-based resources and knowledge products tailored for diverse roles, geographic contexts, and technical sectors (e.g., urban transit systems, energy access, forest restoration). Partner with operational and programmatic teams across an organization of over 1,900 staff in 10 country offices. Show less