About Us

Mesfin Ayele has been a senior program manager with over 20 years experience in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, and previously worked for ACDI VOCA, Mercy Corps, FARM Africa, Save the Children, ACTIONAID, and CHF Partners. He has specific technical expertise in the design and management of food security, agriculture and pastoral development, market systems strengthening, disaster risk reduction, and institutional support programs with sound understanding of regulations and procedures, across a broad range of donors including USAID, DFID, EU, CIDA, Irish Aid, and the UN. Mesfin has good experience working with networks and joint forums to advocate for change and achieve results at scale. Mesfin holds an MA in Development Studies from Addis Ababa University, an MBA+ certificate on Entrepreneurial Leaders Program (ELP) from Portland State University, and a BSc degree in Animal Sciences from Alemaya University of Agriculture, Ethiopia.

Email: Mesfin.Molla@tufts.edu

Dr. Lotira provides technical support to coordination and evidence-based learning efforts of USAID implementing partners, implementing partners of other donors under the Karamoja Development Partners Group (KDPG) and to coordination efforts and policies implemented by the Office of the Prime Minister (Government of Uganda) in Karamoja. Raphael also provides operational and analytical support to reviews, studies and evaluations undertaken by KRSU.

Dr. Lotira has 18 years of experience in the design, technical, policy and management support to government and donor funded development and humanitarian livestock programs in the pastoral areas of East Africa and the Horn of Africa and has previously worked for GIZ-IS, Land O’Lakes, Farm Africa, VSF-Belgium and the Catholic Diocese of Torit. He has published various reviews, studies and evaluations on animal health, livestock marketing and pastoral livelihoods and resilience with a bias on the use of participatory methodologies.

Dr. Lotira holds an MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics and a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He also holds a PhD in the Social Ecology and Economics of Pastoral Livelihood Systems with special focus on pastoral collective livestock marketing, also from the University of Nairobi.

Bryan is a seasoned finance professional skilled in Business Administration and Tax Revenue Administration with over 10 years working experience in the various finance competences in Accounts, Auditing and in the Tourism Industry. He holds a Diploma from Makerere University Business School and Degree in Business Administration attained at Nkumba University and a Professional Diploma in Tax and Revenue Administration from the East African School of Taxation. Prior to joining the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit he worked with Mercy Corps and Jordan Solutions.

Linda Lilian holds a PhD in Philosophy, a Masters in Ethics and Public Management and a Degree in Mass Communication and Political Science. She has worked with the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, the National Council of Science and Technology, Mountains of the Moon University and also in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene Sector with Simavi Netherlands, the EC WASH Projects under NETWAS Uganda and the Dutch WASH Alliance.

Lomuria Vincent ferry support coordination of KRSU activities in Karamoja. He holds a degree in Development Studies from Kampala International University and has worked for the five years in the field of development, particularly in Karamoja. Lomuria has garnered experience in the areas of land rights, rangelands management, conflict transformation, modelling community organizing and human rights. Through his work, Lomuria aims to elucidate the problems of regional development policy, government interventions, and aid programs in Karamoja.

Judith Moru is a Junior Researcher working with the KRSU II/Tufts Project. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Development Studies. She is an Alumni of Uganda Christian University located in Mpigi Uganda. Judith is skilled in participatory research methods with expertise in undertaking research assignments within the Karamoja Sub region and the neighboring districts, which she did prior to joining KRSU and continues to do.

Tracey Ainebyonna is an Administrative and Accounts Officer working with the KRSU II/Tufts Project. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance attained at Kyambogo University Kampala Uganda. She holds Administrative and accounts experience having worked with Armstrong Consulting Engineers Limited prior to her appointment to KRSU II.

Apio Ziporah holds a Uganda Certificate of Education Form Four and has 1 and a half years working experience in her role as an Office Support Assistant with the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit.

As a team member of KRSU, Patrick supports programme staff and consultants in all field-based-related logistics and movements, and assists in procurement processes and mobilization of research respondents. He also provides maintenance and safety of KRSU vehicles and transportation of authorized passengers and goods. Patrick has 10 years of experience in driving and has previously worked for various governmental, development, and humanitarian organizations in Karamoja sub-region, Western Uganda, and Northern Uganda. These include KRSU/USAID, Action Africa Help, Save the Children International, Makerere University Joint AIDS Programme, Action Against Hunger, Parliament of Uganda, and Golden Gate Construction Services Ltd. Patrick is a trained professional driver with driving permit class B, CM, DL and has a further training in defensive driving, fleet management, road safety, and personal safety and security.

Jacob Benon Ogwang is a professional driver with 17 years’ experience and a class B and DL permit award. He has worked with the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Danish Refugee Council and Catholic Relief Services before working with the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit.

Dr. Catley provides research, policy and analytical support to the KRSU and is the Principal Investigator for the project at Tufts. He has worked as a practitioner, policy adviser and researcher on issues in pastoralist areas of Africa since 1993 and supported the global Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) project as Chair of the LEGS Steering Group between 2005 and 2015. He holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh.

Email: andrew.catley@tufts.edu

Elizabeth’s work focuses on the intersection between violent conflict and livelihood strategies and on how livelihoods shift over time in situations of chronic conflict or vulnerability. She is particularly interested in how people’s livelihood options—or lack thereof—lead to adaptations or choices that contribute to violence or exacerbate vulnerability. Her work focuses on differences by gender and generation, and she studies intra-household decision making and trade-offs, including how decisions that may be in the interest of the household as a whole may act against the well-being of certain members. She is very interested in rural to urban and circular migration, and different experiences of migration by age and gender. She has worked in the Karamoja region of Uganda since 2006, leading projects funded by multiple donors and with a wide range of organizations. Within Uganda she has also conducted research in the Acholi, Lango and West Nile sub-regions. Over the past twenty years she has also worked in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nepal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. Elizabeth holds a BA from Wesleyan University (USA), a MA from the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and a MALD and PhD from Tufts University (USA).