Vision and Mission

Vision: ACT’s vision is to provide innovative expertise that results in sustainable outcomes.

Mission: ACT’s mission is to provide superior expertise and project management support to domestic and international clients. We believe in meaningful work that enhances people's lives and promotes lasting change in the international development community. We pride ourselves on achieving sustainable results, offering high quality service, and maintaining a reputation for responsiveness and professionalism.

Values

Integrity

We ACT with the highest professional and ethical standards.

Innovation

We ACT in pursuit of innovation that creates value for our clients.

Teamwork

We ACT in collaboration with our clients to maximize results.

Founding Partners

Theresa F. Weber

Terry has over 30 years of international business, development, and project management experience.  She is a private sector development expert who has developed, managed and assessed projects on small and medium business development, e-commerce, trade and investment, defense conversion, public administration and education in 40 countries. Originally from New York, she worked in advertising, banking, management consulting and at the Council of Foreign Relations, a leading think tank.  Terry's donor experience includes the US Agency for International Development (USAID), US Department of State (DOS), US Department of Defense (DOD), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Trade and Technology Network (GTN) and private and public companies.  An entrepreneur who has started businesses in the USA, Middle East and Asia; she served for eight years as Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She has served on Boards of companies, non-profits and schools. Terry holds a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, Washington, DC and an MA from University College London, England. She also studied at the London School of Economics, England; University of Stirling, Scotland; and the Warsaw School of Economics, Poland (formerly the Central School of Planning and Statistics SGPiS).  She speaks English and Russian.

Gina Volynsky

Gina has over 25 years of international management experience, working in both the private and public sectors.  She has managed, evaluated and designed international projects in 20 countries for different organizations including Deloitte and Touche, the World Bank Group, USAID, and UNDP. Her fields of expertise include: trade and investment, competitiveness, SME development, private-public dialogue, and micro-credit.  Gina is a proven leader who has grown programs by identifying the best people and achieving sustainable results in the most cost and time effective manner.  Gina holds an MBA from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; a BA from the University of Ottawa, Canada; and a diploma in International Business and Marketing from St. Mary's University, Halifax, Canada.  She speaks five languages: English, Russian, French, Hebrew and Italian.

Jody Thomas Uyanik 

Jody has over 30 years of international development and management experience.  She is a project manager, development specialist and trainer who has worked in 17 countries on:  strategic planning, entrepreneurship training, micro-finance, monitoring and evaluation, municipal development, NGO development, and democracy and governance.  Experienced in the design and delivery of programming, curriculum and training materials in various country and corporate contexts, Jody has a strong background in project design, management and evaluation.  She also has experience in setting up and managing her own retail import business.  Jody holds an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, Washington DC; a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and has studied at the Universite de Friborg, Switzerland.  A native English speaker, she is proficient in Russian and French, and has working knowledge of Turkish and Spanish.

Partners

Sophia Grifferty 

Sophia has over 10 years of experience working on sustainable economic initiatives, social enterprise projects and innovation in Africa, the Middle East and the United States.  A business and social entrepreneur, she has worked for start-up accelerators, consulting firms, nonprofits, state governments and multilateral organizations. Examples include MassChallenge, Teneo Holdings, BuffaloGrid, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations. Sophia holds an MS in Management and Entrepreneurial Leadership from the Babson Graduate School of Business, Wellesley, Massachusetts and a BA in International Affairs, Global Social Entrepreneurship, and Journalism from Northeastern University, Boston. She also studied at The University of Auckland, New Zealand and the Tertiary School in Business Administration, Cape Town, South Africa. She speaks English and French.

Stephen Lauzon 

Steve has over 25 years of international business development experience. He has owned and managed small businesses in the import-export, hospitality, human resources, and real estate markets in Eastern Europe and North America. In Russia, he helped establish a highly successful business support center, which provides SMEs with technical assistance and training on a variety of business issues including trade, financing, management, and business plan development.  Steve also joined the management of Russia's largest market research firm to develop its internal and B2B operations. In Canada, he helped lead a manufacturing firm in turning-around its operations and entering new international markets.  Steve was also responsible for all domestic and international marketing activities of 10 industrial divisions of a large holding company.  He is adept at passing on operational business skills, providing pragmatic international trade development expertise and general sales and marketing skills.  He holds an MBA and speaks English. 

Regina Annet 

Regina has over 25 years of experience as a licensed clinical social worker in the behavioral healthcare field working in consulting, direct practice, managed care, and program development.  She has experience working with for-profit and not-for profit organizations and has managed multi-million dollar insurer plans in the United States on both regional and national levels. Dedicated to improving performance, Regina developed a new integrated care database which was used as the national model for the largest privately owned managed care company in the US.  She has also administered integrated care programs for both public and private entities, conducted trainings and worked in multi-cultural settings in the US and Asia.  Regina holds an MS in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work, New York, New York; a BS in Business Administration from Georgetown University, Washington DC; and a Master’s Certificate in Health Management and Policy from Benedictine University, Mesa, Arizona.  A native English speaker, she has a diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Consultants 

Team

ACT maintains the highest level of quality in its work by ensuring that its consultants are the best in the business.  Our professional team is comprised of 30 international development experts. Hailing from three continents - North America, Europe and Asia - our team of consultants has the depth and range of experience to deliver sustainable results.  

In order to maintain our high standards, consultants are added to our database by invitation only.  We do not accept unsolicited resumes.

Name and Logo

Alexandria 

Alexandria is the feminine form of Alexander, meaning "defender of mankind."

Consulting 

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people." --Eleanor Roosevelt

Team

"Upon the conduct of each, depends the fate of all."  --  Alexander the Great