Arlene Lear

In 2011, Arlene Lear transitioned from her role as Senior Vice President to Senior Advisor of Counterpart International, a non-profit international development organization celebrating its 50th year in 2015. During her 37 years of experience in international development, 24 of them with Counterpart, she has demonstrated expertise in design, management and evaluation of multi-sectoral, civil society and NGO support initiatives in Eurasia, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America. From 1992-2010, she had primary responsibility for building Counterpart's Civil Society Practice, leading the development and management of more than $175 million of civil society initiatives in 10 countries -- creating the institutional and leadership infrastructure to drive social and economic development in ways that are sustainable and give all citizens a voice in shaping the services and policies that govern their lives. She has experienced both the challenges and opportunities of working in conflict and post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq; as well as experiential knowledge of the challenges and successes of ensuring that the rights and needs of marginalized groups such as women, people with disabilities, refugees, internally displaced persons, and ethnic minorities are heard and met. Throughout her career the projects under her leadership have proven the effectiveness of building local ownership of the development process through government, NGO and private sector partnerships that involve mutual investment for mutual gain and trust. Ms. Lear joined the Board of the Global Arts Corps seven years ago because of her belief in their mission of using the power of theater to shine a light on the psycho-dynamics of conflict that perpetuate hatred and revenge cycles over generations, and to enable empathy for “the other” as well as the perception of their humanity.