Chris Skopec

Accomplished executive with a track record of effective, enterprise-level management of multi-million global health projects backed by a reputation as an astute, entrepreneurial, high-energy operations leader orchestrating large-scale emergency response operations and institutional growth and expansion. Deep understanding of the dynamics of the global development sphere and extensive experience at the country level and the field delivering effective programming through efficient operations. Talented team builder who can cultivate high-quality, crossfunctional global teams. Strong communicator, facilitator, and exceptional relationship builder to create strategic alliances.

EXECUTIVE STRENGTHS: Operations Management • Emergency Response Strategy and Execution •Strategic Business Planning • Finance Strategy • Complex Project Management • Process Improvement • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion • Global Supply Chain • Resource Mobilization •Impactful Media Representation • Fluent Russian Speaker

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS and ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Executive Leadership. A transformative leader who played an influential role in turning Project Hope into one of the world’s recognized and respected global emergency response organizations, delivering record financial returns for the company.
• Global Footprint. Led planning and management of over 25 emergency response operations in all continents of the world and directly managed 30 country offices.
• Empowering Talent Management. Leads with purpose, genuinely cares about people, holds employees to high performance standards and influences positive outcomes for company’s success. Founding member of Project HOPE’s Duty of Care group that focuses on staff safety and well-being.
• Relationship Management. Built trust with senior leaders across diverse organizations worldwide to ensure strategy alignment.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

PROJECT HOPE ǀ Washington, DC 2016 – Present
Executive Vice President, Global Health

Leads all aspects of Project HOPE’s global health programs, including strategic vision, growth, partnerships, operational excellence, and monitoring and evaluation.

•  Overhauled the organization’s mission, vision, brand, global priorities, and 5-year strategic plan in 2017. Operationalized the strategic plan and exceeded 5-year targets within the first 3 years, growing the team from 20 to 55 people in the headquarters and over 1,000 field-based staff, increasing revenue by $44 million.
• Established the organization’s disaster response unit and successfully deployed first-response health teams to assist in the rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation of an average of two large-scale disasters a year, including those caused by earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcanos.
• Led Project HOPE’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, beginning with the delivery of assistance to front-line health workers in Wuhan, China, and continuing through 2022, with tens of thousands of healthcare workers trained, millions of pieces of PPE delivered worldwide, and volunteer medical teams deployed throughout the US.
• Managed the close out of the warehouse and transition of the organization’s medical supply chain to a third-party warehouser, reducing overhead costs by $1.5M annually while continuing to meet program needs for donated medical supplies.
• Oversaw 200% growth in program portfolio from Latin America to Asia, covering infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, and outbreak preparedness and response.
• Recovered HOPE’s reputation and relationships within Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, and established funding relationships with dozens of public, private, and government agencies.

IMPACT SNAPSHOT:
• Charged with leading a highly successful turnaround of the company preventing a near bankruptcy and massive employee layoffs. Reversed a decade-long decline in financial health and company reputation, enhanced program performance and outcomes. Relocated company headquarters from
Winchester, VA to Washington, DC.
• Led HOPE’s emergency response efforts in Houston (Hurricane Harvey), Puerto Rico (Hurricane Maria), Indonesia (earthquake/tsunami), Mozambique (Cyclone Idai), Covid-19 Pandemic Response, Ukraine invasion, Turkey/Syria (earthquake), among others.
• Established new country offices in: Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, US domestic, Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Poland, Romania & Moldova), Ghana, Haiti.

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS ǀ Various Locations +2008 – 2016
Senior Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response – Washington, DC ǀ 2015 – 2016

• Provided overall leadership and strategic direction for emergency response efforts through an empowered management structure that harnessed the full capacities of the organization’s headquarters and field-based units.
•  Ensured that emergency response efforts were delivered with maximum impact in the shortest  timeframe, met internationally recognized standards, with full transparency and accountability of financial and other resources, promoted local capacities to respond and recover, and were effectively coordinated with key stakeholders.
• Also served as agency focal point for the Global Health Security Agenda and served for over four years as a representative of the NGO humanitarian community on the Inter-Agency Standing Commitee’s Emergency Directors’ Group, advising senior leadership within the donor community
  and the IASC principals, and helping to strengthen the humanitarian architecture in crisis contexts around the world.

Director, International Operations – Washington, DC ǀ 2011 – 2015
Managed five regional desks responsible for programming in all IMC countries of opera􀆟on, inclusive of 30 country programs, 6,000 field staff, 310 active projects, and over $260 million in annual project work.

•  Managed growth of global budgets by 90% and expansion into six new country programs.
• Oversaw a department of 35 that includes program units from US and UK corporate offices, field logistics unit, humanitarian accountability unit, and global roving operations staff.
• Through close collaboration with the business development unit, successfully transitioned multiple country missions from emergency and humanitarian interventions to transitional or developmentfocused programs.
• Developed or contributed to multiple internal guidelines and trainings to streamline business processes and improve field-based project management, including budget management, accounting, assessments, and management of new business opportunities.
• Organized and led numerous regional meetings and training to promote more consistent and higher quality programming and coordinated strategic growth plans for country programs.

Country Director and Regional Emergency Response Team Leader – Amman, Jordan ǀ 2008 – 2011

Transitioned to Country Director in April 2008 to oversee all program and administrative components of a $5 million portfolio targeting Iraqi refugees and vulnerable Jordanians.

•  Managed a team of 80 with seven expatriate staff in the sectors of comprehensive primary health care, mental health, and psychosocial support.
• Expanded partnership with the US Department of State and established partnerships with UNHCR, UNICEF, and Australia Aid, effectively tripling the operational budget within the first two years.
• Established IMC as the lead agency for psychosocial coordination, facilitating monthly working group meetings and quarterly workshops for representatives from over 40 national and international agencies.
• Conducted institutional capacity building for multiple local NGO sub-grantees, including the establishment of financial, administrative, and programmatic systems.
• Coordinated and led regional IMC conferences.
• Successfully negotiated direct partnerships with the Ministries of Health, Social Development, and Education.

IMPACT SNAPSHOT:
• Strengthened communication among corporate offices in Washington DC (Programs and Logistics), Santa Monica (President’s Office and Corporate Services), and Split, Croatia (Finance) introducing company-wide global operations consistency.
• First boots on the ground and in charge of the emergency response operations in Libya (February –April 2011), Yemen (October 2009-February 2010), Gaza (January-June 2009), Georgia (August-September 2008). Led emergency response operations for Ebola and Syria civil war resulting in over $200 million funding.
• Successfully positioned Jordan country office as a regional hub for supply chain and logistics operations, program technical support, and security.
• Built the capacity of a small indigenous NGO in Jordan turning it into a multi-million-dollar emergency response partner.

Early Roles: Regional Coordinator, Middle East/Caucasus/East Africa, Washington DC (2007-2008) »
Country Director, North Caucasus, Russia (2004 – 2005)

CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS ǀ Sacramento, CA 2005 – 2007
Communications Director

Gubernatorial appointee for a state department that promotes youth job development and environmental conservation, operating on an annual budget of $65 million. Managed all media relations, external communications, and outreach efforts for the department. Directed and developed CCC’s international exchange programs. Worked with CCC Foundation on board development and fundraising.

•  Launched a state-wide earned media campaign to raise the department’s profile, including the production of a nationally televised program on the TV Guide channel.
• Established and managed a food distribution program for Relief International as seconded staff in Pakistan for one month period following the ’05 earthquake.
• Organized 30th-anniversary fundraising event for CCC Foundation, including participation by Maria Shriver and Jerry Brown.
• Established an alumni program with over 1,500 initial members.
• Coordinated two annual international exchanges, created a model and initiated pilot programs for national exchanges, and authored desk manuals for program implementation.

EARLY BACKGROUND:
Grants Coordinator ǀ INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE, North Caucasus, Russia ǀ 2003 – 2004
Program Coordinator ǀ WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL, Portland, OR ǀ Jan – Dec 2000
Volunteer ǀ US PEACE CORPS, Taraz, Kazakhstan ǀ 1997 – 1999

EDUCATION and PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Master of Arts (MA), Eurasian, Russian, East European Studies, Georgetown University Bachelor of Arts (BA), Anthropology, University of California, San Diego Additional Training: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) – eCornell ǀ Foreign Politics, International Relations and the National Interest – MIT ǀ Thunderbird Executive Education American Express Leadership Academy – Thunderbird School of Global Management ǀ Strategic Financial Management for NGOs – Inside NGO ǀ African Studies – University of Legon, Ghana.

MEMBERSHIPS and BOARDS

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Partnership of Quality Medical Donations (PQMD, (2023-Present) Member, InterAction’s Humanitarian Leadership Commitee (2019-present) Member, READY Initiative’s Strategic Advisory Group (2019-Present) Chair of Disaster and Humanitarian Response Commitee, PQMD (2018-2020).

SELECT PUBLICATIONS, KEYNOTE SPEAKING, and PRESS

• Skopec, Chris. “Lessons from Jordan: Challenges Facing the Integration of Mental Health into the Primary
  Health Care System.” 2010 World Congress of Social Psychiatry. October 23rd-27th, 2010, Marrakech,
  Morocco.
• Baca, Mary Jo and Chris Skopec. “Anticipating the Unexpected: Urban Refugee Programming in Jordan.”
  Transatlantic Cooperation on Protracted Displacement: Urgent Need and Unique Opportunity. Eds. Dr. John
  Calabrese and Dr. Jean-Luc Marret. Washington, DC: Middle East Institute, 2012. PP. 210-220.
• Skopec, Chris. “The South Caucasus: A Guide to Humanitarian Development Efforts of InterAction Member
  Agencies in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.” InterAction Member Activity Report. December 2002.

Global Keynote Speaker with audiences of up to 500 people
PQMD GH Forum • InterAction Forum • World Congress of Psychiatry • Clinton Global Initiative
Frequently quoted or interviewed in:
CNN Live with Anderson Cooper • MSNBC • CBS Face the Nation • BBC World News • National Public
Radio • FOX Business