Lamar Cravens is an expert on decentralization and public administration reform and a seasoned manager of complex development assistance projects. Trained as a lawyer, Lamar has learned what he knows about governance through experience. For instance, he worked on service delivery in Iraq, Bangladesh and Tajikistan; worked with professional associations in the Kyrgyz Republic (lawyers, judges and law students) and Bangladesh (village and municipal chairmen); with micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (the Philippines and Egypt) and citizens’ groups (Iraq, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Jordan) as well as with elected officials (the Kyrgyz republic, Iraq, Bangladesh, Jordan). And he has worked with ministers and secretaries general (Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan) and the senior staff in the offices of prime ministers (Iraq, Jordan) and presidents (Tajikistan). in Iraq, he led the largest governance project in USAID's history, the $807 million USD Local Governance Program (2003-2011). In addition to his native English, he speaks Russian and Arabic.