NEW PROGRAM SPECIALISTS JOIN THE ASIA TEAM AT IIRR

signal the rebirth of the Regional Center for Asia

We are pleased to announce the appointment of the following new program specialists at the Regional Center for Asia!

SHEILAH S. VERGARA, Program Specialist, Training and Capacity Development 

Sheilah served a three-year stint with IIRR in 2006-09 as Project Manager, Community Agricultural Technology Project (CATP). Sheilah has 22 years of work experience in the government, corporate and non-government organizations. With 13 years focused on implementing and handling international development projects all over the Philippines. She served as Training Officer for the AP Renewables Inc. (APRI) (Power Generation), Makati City, mainly responsible for designing, directing and managing a company-wide process of organizational development through superior workforce development, key employee retention, organization design and change management; direct a process of organizational planning that evaluates company structure, job design and personnel forecasting throughout the company; evaluate plans and make recommendations to HR Manager and executive management; oversee development of training programs, contracts, and budgets; perform needs assessments of the types of training needed; determine the best means of delivering training; responsible for the entire learning process to ensure that the course meets its objectives;  and evaluate training courses to understand how learning impacts performance.

Sheilah has a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Communication major in Development Journalism, a Masters degree in Management major in Agribusiness Management and Ph.D. units in Environmental Science and Management from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. 

FERNANDO J. BALMACEDA, Program Specialist, Agriculture and Natural Resources Management 

Prior to IIRR, Ferdie was a Field Program Coordinator (Bicol Region) of the Millennium Development Goal Fund (MDG-F) Joint Program, focused on ensuring food security and nutrition for children jointly funded by the UNICEF, WHO, World Food Program (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), ILO and the Spanish government.  Ferdie also served as a consultant to the Agrarian Reform Communities Project (ARCP2) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and to Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). From 2008 to 2009, Ferdie worked with Children International as Programs Manager, an international NGO focused on planning and implementing community-oriented initiatives on education, livelihood, health and nutrition.

Ferdie obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, major in Plant Pathology from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He has Master of Public Administration units from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. 

The new hiring reflects the rebirth of the Asia team and the move towards a new and more dynamic program with our partners to overcome poverty and improve the lives of our learning communities.