IREX
International Research & Exchanges Board

Leadership

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Please follow the links below for specific information on IREX leadership.

IREX SENIOR MANAGEMENT

W. Robert Pearson, President
W. Robert Pearson has been president of IREX since November 2008. He brings to IREX strong leadership and management skills as well as impressive strategic vision. As Director General of the US Foreign Service from 2003 to 2006, he introduced critical changes in America’s diplomacy, earning awards for innovation and management improvement and preparing the United States for the challenges of the 21st Century. He served as Ambassador to Turkey from 2000 to 2003 during a critical period and was previously posted in Paris, Brussels, Beijing, Taipei and Auckland, New Zealand, in addition to other senior positions at the Department of State. He speaks French, Turkish and Chinese and brings a wide and deep understanding of the domestic and international foreign affairs scene. From 2006 to 2008, he headed the international business division of The Spectrum Group in Alexandria, Virginia. 

Paige Alexander, Vice President
Paige Alexander serves as the Vice President at IREX. Her guidance also led to the formation of IREX Europe as a partner to IREX. She has a long record of leadership in international development across Europe and Eurasia. Prior to joining IREX in 2001, Ms. Alexander was Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator at the US Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, providing overarching policy and program guidance for the department with 1,000 employees in 27 countries and $1.3 billion in annual program funding. Other notable positions include associate director of Project Liberty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and consultant to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Open Society Institute in Prague.

Michael Lavelline, Chief Financial Officer
Michael Lavelline is the Chief Financial Officer for IREX, providing the overall guidance on finance and administration. Before joining IREX in 2005, Mr. Lavelline was the Vice President for Finance & Administration at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). He has over 25 years of senior level experience in nonprofit financial management, including positions with Family Health International's AIDSCAP Project (Arlington, VA), the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, NY), and the American Friends Service Committee (Philadelphia, PA).

Larry Birch, Director of Development
Larry Birch has more than 25 years of professional experience designing, implementing, and managing international development assistance programs. He has broad experience in public policy, community development, citizen participation, local governance, and low-income housing.  Larry previously served as Vice President and Practice Manager of the Local Governance practices for both the QED Group, LLC and Development Alternatives, Inc. and was the Chief of Party of USAID’s Local Government Reform Program in Macedonia for DAI.  Mr. Birch served with USAID as the Local Governance Team Leader in Hungary and in Washington for the Office of Housing and Urban Programs.  He was the Deputy Director of USAID’s Russia Officer Resettlement Program, the country project manager for housing and urban development programs in Bulgaria and Romania and USAID’s Disaster Shelter Advisor.  An architect by training, Mr. Birch was an Associate Professor of Architecture and directed the Experimental Low Cost Construction Unit at Florida A&M University. 

Robert Cronin, Director of Civil Society Development Programs
As the Director of IREX’s Civil Society Development Division since 2007, Rob Cronin has over 10 years of leadership in NGO program development and management at local, national and regional levels with a focus on civil society development programs. Prior to the current position, he was the Director of Development and provided strategic direction for IREX. He is a skilled manager and fundraiser, having successfully designed, raised resources for, and implemented citizen participation, community development, and youth leadership initiatives. As the Chief of Party for the Civil Society Support Initiative, he successfully designed, implemented and managed a range of NGO capacity building trainings and activities, including coalition building, institutional development, grants management, network development, and community mobilization. He received an MA in Russian Studies from Princeton University, and a BA in Political Science and Russian Studies from Amherst College.

Joyce Warner, Director of Education Programs
Director of IREX's Education Programs Division since 1998, Ms. Warner provides leadership to IREX’s basic, higher, international, and professional education programs, totaling $20 million each year. She oversees a team of close to 100 staff working at IREX offices around the world. Previously, Ms. Warner served as the Deputy Director of the US-Ukraine Foundation's Community Partnerships Project, and a Program Manager at Wellstart International, working in the area of global maternal and child health protection. Ms. Warner has taught at the primary-school level overseas and at the secondary-school level in New York state, from which she received her Certificate of Qualification. Ms. Warner received her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. There, she studied Russian and French Studies, as well as Education, received the Undergraduate Excellence Recognition Award, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Ms. Warner holds an MA in Russian Studies and International Business from American University and a Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in Management Information Systems, from the Virginia State Polytechnic University.

Linda Trail, Director of Media Development Programs
Linda Trail has more than 15 years in international development experience, specializing for more than 10 years in media development. Deputy director of IREX’s Media Development Division from 2002 to 2010, Ms. Trail has managed USAID and US Department of State projects, supervised multi-million dollar program budgets, developed annual workplans, and articulated program monitoring and evaluation strategies. Prior to joining IREX, Ms. Trail worked in Moscow on a USAID-funded tax reform program and on the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) housing reform efforts in Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Ms. Trail received an MA in International Affairs (with concentrations in Economics and US Foreign Policy) from the American University in Washington, DC.

Mark Whitehouse, Director of Global Media Initiatives
Based in Copehnagen, Mark Whitehouse leads new media development initiatives, outreach, and strategy while also overseeing management and strategy of several projects. He has 15 years of experience in democratic and media development. As the Director of Media Development Division from 2001 to 2010, he managed USAID, US State Department, and privately funded media projects, working to facilitate effective collaboration between funder, expatriate media professionals, the US State Department, and local media. He helped develop program strategies, annual workplans, and led IREX collaboration with other international donors. Prior to joining IREX, Mr. Whitehouse worked for the Director of the Carter Center’s Commission on Radio and Television Policy; was a Development Associate at USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, and was Administrator of USSR Programs at ACTR/ACCELS. He also conducted research on ethnic politics at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ethnography from 1995-1996. Mr. Whitehouse received an MA in Political Science from Emory University, an MA in Russian and East European Studies and a BA in Government from Georgetown University at Washington, DC.