Nicandro Juárez - President and Founder, based in the Los Angeles office

Mr. Juárez is a Certified Management Consultant, having over 40 years of experience in project direction and management. He received an MA degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and keeps abreast of current trends and events in his fields of expertise. Fluent in Spanish and English, he personally oversees all corporate projects while making himself available to assist with staff support and project implementation at any stage, especially with maintaining close client contact. A long-time member of the Institute of Management Consultants, Mr. Juárez is a past president of the Los Angeles chapter.

Flavia Ramos - Senior Researcher, Washington DC

Flavia Ramos is the Director of J&A's Washington DC office and Project Director for the Assistance to Basic Education project with USAID. She has had over 20 years of experience in international and development education, consulting for governmental and non-governmental organizations in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Dr. Ramos has directed and implemented international participant training programs in the U.S. She has taught at American University, George Washington University and the School for International Training in Vermont. Her research focuses on issues related to the educational needs of underserved populations. She holds an EdD in Education Policy Research and Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Susan Shafi - Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel

Susan Shafi is J&A’s Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. She has advanced training and experience in management, law and tax, having both an MS in Management from UCLA and a JD/LLM from the University of San Diego School of Law. She supervises contracts as well as financial and accounting functions. Her experience includes extensive financial and accounting analysis within the Defense Contracting industry, negotiating and administering grants and contracts, developing public/private sector partnerships, and corporate business planning..

Jean Beaumont - Project Director, Kingston, Jamaica

Dr. Beaumont holds an EdD in Advanced Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University in Connecticut. She received an MS from that same university. After several years of being the Educational Technology Specialist for the precursor to the USAID-sponsored Expanding Educational Horizons project in Jamaica, she is now the Project Director/Chief of Party, working with the Ministry of Education and Culture on site in Kingston. She is responsible for technical oversight and management of all aspects of the EEH, including project activities, local staff and technical assistance providers. Prior to the present assignment, Dr. Beaumont was Instructional Technology Manager for the Primary Education Support Project in Jamaica.

Fernando Rubio - Project Director, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Mr. Rubio has had extensive experience in international development as a specialist and consultant for the World Bank and for USAID projects as well as private U.S.-based firms which provide international technical assistance. Currently he is the onsite project director for Proyecto MEDIR (Medición de Indicadores y Resultados, or Measurement of Indicators and Results) in Guatemala. His professional activities have included management information science, basic education for pre-adolescents and adults, higher education partnerships, assessment of individual and institutional performance gaps and training impact, planning and assessment of workforce development, applications of distance learning and information technology. Mr. Rubio received his MA in Psychology from the New York School of Social Research and a BA in Psychology from the Universidad de Panamá.

Elizabeth Juárez - Project Director, Los Angeles

Ms. Juárez is a specialist in the development, coordination and execution of market research and socioeconomic studies and surveys, from the original conceptual design through the final report. She is also experienced in business operations including finance and general management. Having received her BA in Political Science and her MBA from UCLA, she has gained experience encompassing the entire spectrum of survey research: proposal writing, conceptual design and sample selection, instrument development, field work supervision, data processing and analysis, and report writing.

Regina da Costa - Project Director, Los Angeles

Dr. da Costa is a Research Associate in the area of education and social science research. She obtained a Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, and an MA and BA in Sociology from California State University. Since completing her studies, she has engaged in professional activities involving the design, administration, coordination and monitoring of national and international development programs. The emphasis of her work has been in academic enrichment programs targeting under-represented student populations, teacher training and educational scholarship administration. Dr. da Costa speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Vanessa Shields - Program Manager, Washington DC

Vanessa Shields is the Program Manager in the Washington DC office for the ABE, WID, and EQUIP I USAID mechanisms. She has a MA (hons) from the University of Bradford, UK, in International Politics and Security Studies, and a BA (hons) in Communications and International Relations from Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ. Prior to joining J&A, she was based in the UK, working with NATO, UNDIR and a variety of think tanks specializing in post-conflict reconstruction and arms control.

Jimin Patel - Technology Specialist, Washington DC

Mr. Patel is a Computing/Internet Technology Specialist, providing technical services and remote assistance to a worldwide data monitoring tracking system for the U.S. Department of Labor. Mr. Patel has an MS with honors in Multimedia Information Systems from Brunel University in London and a BS with honors in Computer Science from Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, UK. Prior to joining J&A, he was Executive Director/Website Manager for Imfundo, a Partnership for IT in Education based in London.

Rita Rico - Research Associate, Los Angeles

Ms. Rico is pursuing a PhD degree in the Political Sciences at UCLA, while providing research support services to the firm in the areas of program evaluation, monitoring nationwide Head Start Programs, proposal preparation, and project support. Fluent in Spanish, she received an MS in Latin American Studies from the Universidad de Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, and a BA in Latin American Studies from Stanford University.

Jatzin Alvarado - Research Associate, Los Angeles

Ms. Alvarado is a project management and research associate who has gained valuable experience in recruiting, coordinating and reporting for focus groups to support research on behalf of public and private sector clients. In addition she assists with research and proposal preparation and backstops development projects worldwide. She received a BA in Science, Technology and Society with a focus in Work and Organization from Stanford University.

Amit Kumar:- Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, India

Mr. Kumar is a graduate in the area of Rural Development from Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi, India.  He has aa post graduate (M.A.) in Anthropology and a post graduate diploma in rural development.  He has over 15 years of experience working with national and international donor agencies.  Presently, he is looking after the Monitoring and Evaluation of J&A’s REACH India project, which aims at reaching and educating vulnerable children.

                      
Arpana Luthra -Deputy Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, India

Ms. Luthra has a post graduate (M.Sc.) in Community Resource Management & Extension graduate from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, India.  She has over 15 years of incremental experience working with national and international donor agencies, and is a seasoned trainer.  She specializes in conducting training sessions and developing monitoring and evaluation tools.  She is assisting the M&E Specialist (Dr. Kjell Enge) in monitoring the REACH India project.

Regino Chavez- Consultant/Senior Research Associate

Regino Chávez has over 25 years of experience in the use of quantitative and qualitative methodological strategies to examine service utilization and to explore new product/service development.  He has conducted research for policy studies, strategic planning, and the development of promotional campaigns for products and services as well as for social marketing campaigns.  He also brings more than 20 years of experience in the development and evaluation of education and health programs.

                      
Kjell Enge -Consultant/Senior Research Associate, Washington DC

Dr. Enge is an Applied Anthropologist with over 25 years of experience in education and health, carrying out evaluations, operations research and cultural assessments in the areas of basic education, maternal-child health, nutrition and population. As a consultant, he has been associated with J&A for most of those years. As a university professor, he trains students in a variety of methodological techniques and has set up field schools for practical applications of researchs.

John McNeil -Consultant Los Angeles

Dr. McNeil is an educator with extensive experience in the areas of curriculum and teacher education. He is Professor Emeritus in the Graduate School of Education at UCLA. He has served as an international consultant in curriculum and the development of instructional materials all over the world and has written more than 40 text books. Over the years, there have been four foci to his work: curriculum, the study and improvement of teaching, the teaching of reading, and the development of instructional materials to meet specific needs. Work within each is conducted at both the practice/application level and the theory/research level.