Technology and Diplomacy Panel Series
Digital Adoption in the Developing World
April 19, 2022
12 to 1 p.m. EDT
Live Streamed
Explore how digital technology is transforming how people around the world access information, goods, and services worldwide during the Digital Adoption in the Developing World event. In this compelling panel discussion, experts from across academia, government and industry will discuss the digital transformation impact on USAID, its mission and the associated challenges.
Join us virtually on Tuesday, April, 19th from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST, to hear from:
• Michelle Parker, Digital Strategy Lead at U.S. Agency for International Development
• Aasit Nanavati, Adjunct Professor, Digital Development, George Washington University and Director of Strategic Partnership at DevResults
• Judy Schnurr, Senior Solution Architect, Federal Civilian CTO Office, GDIT
• Paul Chandler (moderator), Sr. Director, GDIT
The Digital Adoption in the Developing World event is part of the Technology and Diplomacy series hosted by GDIT and The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. The series brings together industry, academia, and government to discuss important transnational issues that impact our national security and the vital diplomatic interest of the United States.
Speakers
Michelle Parker is a career Foreign Service Officer with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), currently serving as Senior Policy Advisor in the Bureau of Democracy, Development, and Innovation’s Technology Division. She manages the implementation of USAID’s first ever Digital Strategy, launched in April 2020. Ms. Parker is a Council on Foreign Relations Term member and former International Affairs Fellow based in the RAND Corporation, where she authored multiple products on the role of International Development in security challenged environments and civil military coordination. She has an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, and a BA in Political Science from Georgia State University.
Aasit Nanavati is an epidemiologist by training and has worked across the international development sector over the past decade. In 2012, Aasit supported work on the prevention of violence against women and children in Dharavi. As a 2013-2014 Global Health Corps Fellow, Aasit led the integration of technology tools to communicate data collected via the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) methodology to district health leaders across Uganda. He continued his career in India by leading the growth and scale of what is now India's national campaign for tuberculosis awareness in 2015. After returning to the United States in 2016, he worked on the USAID Health Finance and Governance Project, with Abt Associates, supporting the implementation of the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) in Cambodia and managed the USAID Asia Bureau portfolio for the Project.
Currently, as Director of Strategic Partnerships, Aasit has led the growth and scale of DevResults, a best-in-class monitoring and evaluation software platform used by government agencies, private sector implementing partners, and non-profit organizations across the international development and humanitarian sectors. Aasit is also an Adjunct Professor at the Elliott School for International Affairs at George Washington University where he designed and teaches a course on the intersectionality of technology in the development space.
Judy Schnurr is a Chief AI/ML Solutions Architect at General Dynamics Information Technology. Proven IT service delivery expert with over twenty years of experience and 20 certifications that include AI/Data Analytics, Client-centric leadership, ITSM Instruction, ITIL v. 4, ITIL v4 Managing Professional, ITIL v4 IT Strategist: Direct, Plan, Improve, Agile Scrum, DevOps, and Lean Kaizen. Leads customer service offerings with highly visible, large scale, mission critical initiatives across federal, state, public sector, and global market known for implementing “workable wow factors”. Passionate about a client-first orientation and act as a trusted collaborator, consultant, and coach across programs, giving 100% in a signature fashion that has won awards, provided opportunities as a key-note speaker at conferences worldwide. She has served on the IT Leadership Team for both the Winter Olympics and the World Cup, written 50+ articles for Support World Magazine, and trained over 1,000 professionals in ITIL with a certification pass rate of over 98%. Government sector thought leader/consultant for UN (World Health Organization), numerous government-classified programs such as GSA, FEMA, Navy, NIH, and VA.
