From Public Service to Private Impact: The Roadmap Behind Launching ALD Strategic Advisory

For more than a decade, I worked inside USAID, building partnerships that connected governments, businesses, and communities across the world. I believed in the mission, and I still do. USAID was a place where public policy, economic development, and global engagement intersected meaningfully.

But USAID, as many of us knew it, no longer exists. The dismantling of the agency under the Trump administration was not just a bureaucratic shake-up—it was the end of an era. The tools we had to address long-term development challenges, support local enterprise, and drive economic growth through partnership were fractured. And the space for smart, sustained engagement between the public and private sectors shrank.

It was a loss. But it was also a turning point.

The Foundation: What Public Service Taught Me

While at USAID, I worked at the heart of private sector engagement, both in Washington and overseas. In Guatemala, I led efforts that brought in over $250 million in private investment, created thousands of jobs, and helped small businesses access the financing and tools they needed to grow.

I managed flagship initiatives like the Guatemala Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (GEDI) and the Creating Economic Opportunities (CEO) project. These weren’t abstract development goals—they were targeted, measurable efforts that helped build stronger local economies and gave people real alternatives to migration, poverty, and stagnation.

Before that, in Washington, I worked on the Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) Initiative—partnering with accelerators, investors, and social enterprises across emerging markets to bridge the early-stage capital gap.

Throughout all of it, I saw what worked: partnerships rooted in local ownership, business models aligned with impact, and policies that made private capital more accessible.

Why I Started ALD

The idea for ALD Strategic Advisory didn’t emerge overnight. But when USAID’s capacity to operate meaningfully on this front disappeared, I knew it was time to take the work forward in a different way. I started ALD because the problems haven’t gone away. Businesses still need capital. Governments still want to attract investment. Donors, even if fragmented, still aim to do more with less. And people in emerging markets still need good jobs, inclusive growth, and access to opportunity.

What’s missing now is a connector—an honest broker who understands how government works, how investment flows, and how to design initiatives that serve both.

That’s what ALD is here to do.

What I'm Building

ALD Strategic Advisory sits at the intersection of development and business. We work with government clients looking to structure investment-ready policies and pipelines. We help entrepreneurs and local businesses access financing and expand into new markets. And we support donor and philanthropic initiatives that want to do more than write checks—they want to build systems.

Our work is focused on three main areas:

• Government affairs and policy design

• Investment mobilization and blended finance

• Entrepreneurial ecosystem development

This isn’t about creating another think tank or another report. It’s about practical solutions that are designed to scale and built with staying power.

What Sets Us Apart

We bring the inside knowledge of how USAID worked—how deals were structured, how policies were shaped, how partnerships were built—but now we operate with the flexibility and urgency that today’s landscape demands. I’ve been in the room with ministers, CEOs, grassroots organizers, and impact investors. I’ve led programs, built ecosystems, and moved capital. That experience translates into a rare mix of strategic insight and execution support that we offer to every client we work with.

Looking Ahead

The dismantling of USAID didn’t end the work. It made it clear that new models are needed—models that are faster, leaner, and more grounded in the realities of doing business and development in a changing world. ALD Strategic Advisory is my way of continuing the mission, just outside the old system. We’re here to help governments and businesses do more together—smarter, faster, and with purpose.

If you're looking to build something ambitious, solve something challenging, or move something forward, I’d love to talk. Let’s build what comes next.