Global development expert to lead Creative’s business development

Feb. 13, 2013 – International business development expert Sharon Cooley has been named Senior Director of Proposal Development, Creative Associates International announced.

“Sharon is a strategic thinker with an outstanding track record of developing innovative proposals that ultimately improve the lives of our least fortunate neighbors around the world,” says Charito Kruvant, President and CEO of Creative.

Cooley has more than 18 years’ experience in proposal development, project management, and technical assistance provision. She is an expert in multi-level performance management, strategic planning, and local governance reform.

“I am honored to work with so many talented individuals who are truly committed to Creative’s mission and vision,” says Cooley. “I look forward to continuing to provide our clients with forward-thinking service that creates lasting change for communities.”

Previously, she was Creative’s Director of Proposal Development, for which she was named as the organization’s Senior Employee of the Year in 2012.

Before joining Creative, Cooley worked at the Urban Institute on international development and domestic performance management for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank and other multilateral funders. She has worked in Albania, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Pakistan, to name a few. In the United States, she worked in the Riverside, Calif., city government.

She has a B.A. in Russian Studies and East and Central European Studies from University of California at Santa Cruz, and an M.A. in Sociology from The New School for Social Research. She is fluent in English and conversant in Hungarian and Russian.