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“Those of us who made a career in either domestic or international economic development consulting have been fortunate to work in such an intriguing and challenging field. We have the opportunity to expand the limits of our professional training in an interdisciplinary environment, work with extraordinarily diverse and talented people, travel to fascinating locations and be a part of the history making events and trends of our times. If that weren’t enough, our work is dedicated to the noble cause of improving the human condition through economic and social development. I find exercising the full extent of our abilities in pursuit of noble goals especially fulfilling.”
Dennis De Santis is well known in the international development community. He began his international career in 1974 with the Peace Corps in Swaziland and later with a consulting company in Iran in the late 1970s. After a three-year stint teaching business and management at Youngstown State University and Mount Union College, he returned to international development in 1985 with Technoserve in Rwanda. Since 1988 he has worked in Washington as a Division Director with DAI where he managed Consulting Services and launched the Public Administration practice. After concentrating on Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States of the Soviet Union with Abt Associates, Dennis joined ACDI/VOCA in 1997 as Senior Vice-President for the Europe and Asia regions. The Europe region grew fourfold under his stewardship, implementing primarily economic growth technical assistance projects in nearly every country of the former Eastern Bloc and accounting for more than half of the organization’s revenues.
Dennis has traveled to more than 100 countries completing approximately 50 consulting assignments in enterprise development, finance, microenterprise/credit, association development, regulatory environment and local government. Over the years he has conducted more than 75 management and marketing trips in support of projects for nearly all of the principle unilateral and multilateral donors. He holds a BA in History and an MBA in Management, speaks French and is working on his Russian. When not traveling he makes his home in Great Falls, Virginia.
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