Jindra Cekan, PhD - Founder/President of ValuingVoices at CEKAN CONSULTING LLC
A 33-year expert in project design and evaluations, especially of post-project closeout sustainability, food security/ livelihoods and knowledge management, and fostering country-led development in 26 countries.
Dr Cekan has used participatory methods to learn from participants, ranging from villagers in Africa, Central/ Latin America, the Balkans to policy makers and foreign Ministers. This has informed strategic planning content, project assessments, baselines, midterms and final evaluations, best practices findings and organizational learning. Her M&E work is qualitative and Appreciative-Inquiry based. She has brought together and led multi-disciplinary mixed-method teams, always building and learning from national evaluators. In 2013 she founded Valuing Voices: Sustainable Solutions for Excellent Impact to raise up local and international voices for development projects’ long-term sustainability. More at www.ValuingVoices.com
She and her teams have served clients such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Intermedia, Johns Hopkins University, Lutheran World Relief on M&E and Learning/ Knowledge Management and Strategic Planning. She has supported great work at the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, Women Thrive Worldwide, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, Catholic Relief Services and the American Red Cross on food security/ livelihoods since 1994. She has combined Strategic Planning with facilitation at World Vision, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, OICI, among other clients. Dr. Cekan also is on three African NGO Boards and one DC Buddhist one.
She received a Ph.D. and M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (in cooperation with Harvard University) in 1994 and 1990, respectively. She was a University of Cambridge Research Associate (UK) and has presented at many conferences and meetings. She is a dual Czech-US citizen, speaks French, mothers two teens, and loves giraffes.