Center for International Development Appoints New Director

New CID Director Gina Volynsky chats with a member of the Chamber of Commerce in Lehore, Pakistan.

ALBANY, N.Y. (February 4, 2016) — Gina Volynsky, a 25-five-year veteran in the field of international development, has joined the University as the new director of the Center for International Development (CID), part of the University’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy.

During the course of her career, Volynsky has designed and implemented programs in more than 29 countries, working with donors such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the World Bank, the U.N. Development Programme, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In making the announcement, Rockefeller College Interim Dean R. Karl Rethemeyer noted Volynsky’s impressive range of accomplishments in strategic planning, new business development, relationship management, project management and communications.

“Gina is uniquely positioned to lead CID’s efforts to grow and expand its development portfolio over the coming years,” said Rethemeyer. “She has tremendous experience both in Washington with USAID, the single largest funder for the Center for International Development, and in the field as ‘Chief of Party’ (team leader) on projects in Eastern Europe and Russia.”

Most recently, Volynsky served as vice president at Dexis Consulting, leading the firm’s institutional support contract for the USAID Global Development Lab’s Center for Transformational Partnerships in reconsidering how the U.S. should configure and prioritize its foreign development aid. Prior to that, she was director of business development at CARANA Corporation and held similar positions at Crown Agents USA and BearingPoint International.

CID’s Impressive Portfolio
CID has operated field offices on five continents and implemented more than $300 million in international development projects over the past quarter century, including large, multi-year and university-based technical training projects; focused multi-year institutional capacity building projects; research-intensive assessments and evaluations; and internships, roundtables and study tours in the U.S. and abroad. It is now a trusted nonprofit partner to multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, national and local governments, universities, and civil society organizations.

“CID is one of the most established university-based international development organizations that works globally. It has an excellent reputation and an amazing team already in place,” said Volynsky. “The fact that CID is part of the University at Albany and by extension part of SUNY, means that in addition to the great work that CID has already been doing, there’s so much more to do by increasing the synergies and connections between CID, the University and SUNY. A university is the perfect environment for bringing together the top scholars with the knowledge to help developing countries in almost any sphere, from health to science to public policy.”

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