Millennium Partners is a woman-owned small business certified by the US Small Business Administration. The principal owners of the company are Dr. Esther W. Hannon and Brian C. Hannon. Millennium Partners is based in Charlottesville, Virginia and benefits from a close association with the University of Virginia.
Millennium Partners has undertaken projects in every region of the world under rule of law, economic growth, and democracy and governance programs. Since 2005, Millennium Partners has been awarded over $60 million in programs in Moldova, Ethiopia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Egypt, North Macedonia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Niger, Ecuador, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Liberia, and Benin, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC),the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State.
Our Mission and Approach
Millennium Partners is committed to building just societies that provide opportunities to all of its people by means of effective and accountable government institutions. Our approach does not forsake attention to detail for speed but recognizes that in a fast changing world the window for reform is often short and the need for results critical. From experience we have learned that empowering local leaders and communities is the most effective way to achieve effective and sustainable results.
Who We Are
Brian Hannon has over 30 years experience in international development has developed and managed over $280 million in fully funded USAID and other donor funded projects in the areas of economic growth, democratic governance, anti-corruption, and rule of law.
Prior to 1995 he led the start-up of Booz Allen’s USAID portfolio. There he managed large USAID privatization and economic reform programs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Previously, Mr. Hannon served at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where he directed the Center for International Enterprise (CIPE) program for Eastern Europe and Soviet Union that was funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and USAID. Earlier in his career he served in the U.S. Government for the USAID Administrator, Alan Woods, co-authoring Development and the National Interest; he also worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce on international trade policy, and at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. He co-authored a chapter in Foreign Aid and the National Interest for the former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios with Dr. Esther Hannon and Yung Whee Rhee in 2002.
Esther Hannon has worked in international development for over 25 years, specializing in democratic governance and human rights, Latin American politics and development, gender equality, and rule of law. Her management experience includes projects involving good governance, civil society development, anti-corruption, legal reform, human rights and access to justice. She has a Ph.D from the University of Virginia, where she has also taught courses on international economic and political development, the politics of corruption, global development, rule of law and development, and Latin American politics.
Esther Hannon
Partner
Brian Hannon
CEO
Our Team
Home Office
Cristina Malai Turturica
Vice President for Technical Direction and Business Development
Cristina Malai brings over 20 years of technical leadership and program management experience to Millennium’s global portfolio of projects. She has extensive justice sector reform experience, having managed, as a highly effective COP, the development of an integrated case management system (ICMS) for Moldova’s courts and working with Moldova’s judicial leaders to advance people-centered justice and transparency. She provides technical direction on a diverse range of international projects for Millennium including in Ethiopia, Egypt, and Bosnia. Under the Millennium’s global, regional, and country anti-corruption project, GAP/SNA, Cristina provides program management support and strategic advice. She received her Certificate of Project Management Professional (PMP) in 2020, and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from the University of Illinois College of Law, and a J.D. from Moldova State University Law School.
Cathryn Michie
Vice President of Finance
Cathryn Ritter Michie, CPA, joined Millennium Partners in 2020 and serves as the Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Millennium Partners, Ms. Michie served as Chief Financial Officer of the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Development Board from 2015-2020. During her tenure with the Workforce Development Board, Ms. Michie managed over 24 Million Dollars in federal funding and managed the finance, budgeting, payroll, human resources, contract management, property management, and information technology functions for the Workforce Development Board. Ms. Michie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from James Madison University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Virginia.
Emily Donner
Senior Accountant
Emily Donner, CPA, joined Millennium Partners in 2020. She earned her BS in Accounting from George Mason University. She has worked in both the public and private accounting sectors. Her experience includes real estate tax, foreign earned income reporting for expatriates, small business accounting, and project management.
James Hannon
Senior Associate
James Hannon joined Millennium Partners in 2019. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a major in Behavioral Economics. James provides program management support, research and analysis, business development, and database development and support.
Kayleigh Zigler
Associate
Kayleigh Zigler received a B.A. from the University of Virginia double majoring in Global Studies, with a concentration in Security and Justice, and Middle Eastern Studies. As an Associate at Millennium Partners, she provides program management and operational support to the firm’s donor-funded projects. With a strong research background, she contributes to the firm’s business development efforts, helping to secure new contracts and grants worldwide. Additionally, she plays a key role in home office communications, developing and posting social media content and news articles to highlight Millennium Partners’ overseas projects and company news.
Cyrus Ward
Associate
Cyrus Ward is a recent graduate from the University of Virginia with a major in Politics. He provides program management support, research for proposal development, and monitoring and evaluation.
Interns
Sadie Rogerson
Millennium Intern
Sadie Rogerson is a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy, pursuing a double major in Public Policy & Leadership and Global Studies with a concentration in Security and Justice. With prior internships dedicated to renewable energy policy research and advocacy for Environment America and conducting legislative research and analysis for The Nature Conservancy’s Global Conservation Campaigns team, Sadie brings excellent experience to our team.
Sarah Menchavez
Millennium Intern
Sarah Menchavez is a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Security and Justice and minoring in Data Science. Sarah brings valuable research experience, having been engaged with local Charlottesville nonprofits on the topic of democratic engagement as well as international nonprofits addressing conflict, climate, and mental health. Currently, she is developing a capstone thesis evaluating tech transformations in Humanitarian Action by means of digital information safety, opportunities for AI, and the threat of techno-colonialism.
Our Team Leaders and Experts
GAP/SNA
Victoria Ayer
Chief of Party, GAP/SNA
Victoria is currently our Chief of Party for the USAID Global Accountability Program/Strengthening National Architectures (GAP/SNA) to counter corruption activity. She provides skilled direction for this highly complex multi-country and regional activity and managing large teams across the globe. Ms. Ayer has excelled in leading and managing multi-country program teams, advancing rule of law and accountability, generating inclusive anti-corruption strategies, and promoting innovations in numerous countries in conflict and in transition in the Balkans, Southeast Asia, and Africa. She has provided support to 24 USAID Missions in design, evaluation, and implementation of anti-corruption, rule of law, and accountable governance programs. These engagements have given her an in-depth understanding of USAID processes, policies, mission, and partnership building among stakeholders.
Ingrida Kerusauskaite
Knowledge Management Lead
Dr. Ingrida Kerusauskaite, stands as a seasoned expert in democracy, rights, and governance. As an anti-corruption scholar, she possesses exceptional skills in research, program design, and leadership. She has designed a range of donor anti-corruption programs, contributing written works that explore donor approaches to corruption in developing countries, and exhibiting programmatic expertise across more than 20 countries.
Joel Levesque
Tasking Manager
Joel Levesque serves as the GAP/SNA Tasking Manager. He brings over 10 years of expertise in the subject areas of trafficking in persons and justice sector capacity building. Mr. Levesque received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Sussex and Master of Laws (LLM) from Queen Mary University of London. His past clients include UNDP, the American Bar Association, and the U.S. Department of State, among others.
Ross Herbert
Communications & Outreach Director
Ross Herbert is an accomplished Communications and outreach professional with over 30 years of communications experience on a range of topics focused on government accountability, transparency, and anti-corruption. Mr. Herbert has made significant contributions to USAID, private clients, the South African Institute of International Affairs, and various media organizations. He has published key assessments and studies for USAID and the World Bank and numerous additional works on international development.
Joshua Kpelewah
MEL Director
Joshua Kpelewah is an accomplished Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L) professional with over 10 years of experience. He has a strong background in the rule of law, access to information, and justice programming. With extensive field experience, Joshua has successfully coordinated and monitored field staff and partners, providing training on the usage of ME&L tools aligned with donors’ approved program Monitoring and Evaluation Plans.
Nilantha Alexander
Finance Manager
Nilantha Alexander is the GAP/SNA Finance Manger. Formally, he served as the manager for Millennium’s Civil Society Rule of Law Initiative (CSI.ROL) in Sri Lanka and provided finance, grants and procurement management and oversight for Millennium’s rule of law projects, particularly the Feteh Activity in Ethiopia. He provided oversight on all procurements, subcontracts and grant making and ensures the appropriate policies and procedures are in place.
Nurhayati McNally
Grants & Subcontracts Manager
Nurhayati McNally has over 27 years of proven experience in grants management, project operations, and financial management with international development programmes. Nurhayati has held several senior operations and project management positions on a number of large international and donor – funded projects . She has worked extensively with FCDO/UKCCU and USAID – funded programmes in Indonesia
USAID/BiH E-Governance Activity
Emir Ramadanovic
Chief of Party, E-Governance Activity
Emir Ramadanovic is currently our Chief of Party for the E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is an IT professional with over 30 years of experience, including 14 years in the United States. Prior to his current role as Chief of Party for the USAID funded E-Governance Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was the Director of Engineering for Authority Partners in Sarajevo which had multiple clients in the US and Europe. Mr. Ramadanovic has also worked as an independent IT and management consultant for various projects in Europe and US. He was the Senior Principal Consultant for Oracle in BiH and also worked for Microsoft securing multiple contracts for them with the BiH government among other accomplishments.
Elmira Pasagic
Senior Legal Advisor, E-Governance Activity
Elmira Pasagic is currently our Senior Legal Advisor for the E-Governance Activity in Bosnia where she has been instrumental in developing and shepherding critical legislation into force in support of e-governance adoption. She has over 10 years of experience in comprehensive justice sector reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina including more than three years with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) Independent Judicial Commission (IJC)), first as judicial reform officer, then as Head of the IJC Sarajevo Field Office, and then as Head of the IJC Restructuring Department (2001 – 2004), and over 5 years as Executive Director of the Secretariat of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of BiH.
DRL Addressing Hate Crimes in Moldova (AHC)
Olivia Pirtac-Goaga
Chief of Party, AHC Project
Olivia Pirtac-Goaga is currently our Chief of Party for the DRL Addressing Hate Crimes Project (AHC) in Moldova. Under her leadership, the AHC is tackling discrimination and hate-based crimes in Moldova by enabling civil society to protect and advocate for human rights for all, focusing on supporting marginalized groups who are victims of hate-based crimes, and building the ability of institutions and legal professionals to address hate-based crimes efficiently and hold perpetrators accountable. Project gains will create ecosystems based on respect for human rights for all. She is a seasoned rule of law professional with over 20 years of experience managing donor funded projects in Moldova, specializing in media law, civil society monitoring and capacity building, and human rights. Ms. Pirtac previously served as the Millennium Partners’ COP for the DRL Access to Justice Project which broadened the scope and reach of justice services for vulnerable populations in Moldova. Ms. Pirtac’s solid project management portfolio also includes implementation of various USAID-funded and UN-funded projects.
Elena Stajila
Senior Legal Expert and Program Manager, AHC Project
Elena Stajila is the Senior Legal Expert and Program Manager for the DRL Addressing Hate Crimes Project in Moldova. An attorney, she has extensive experience as an advocate and successful litigator defending the rights of persons with disabilities. Elena served as the Program Director for the Centre for the Rights of People with Disabilities in Moldova and as Senior legal advisor for the Equality Council. She is a highly dedicated and effective human rights advocate and brings in depth understanding to the needs of vulnerable populations and the impact of hate crimes on Moldovan society.
USAID/Ethiopia Feteh (Justice) Activity
Mandefrot Belay
Deputy Chief of Party, Feteh Activity
Mandefrot Belay served as Millennium’s Deputy Chief of Party for the Feteh Activity in Ethiopia. He is a renown legal expert with many years experience in justice reform, legal institutional capacity building, legal education and legislative drafting. He served as Country Director for the Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association Legal and Judicial Reform and Capacity Building program in Ethiopia from 2008-2013 where he was responsible for setting the strategic direction of the country program including planning, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluating of projects. He has published numerous articles on justice sector reform in Ethiopia. He has a Master of Laws from Nagpur University, India; was a Post-Graduate Fellow for Governance and Democracy University of Birmingham and European Center for Diplomacy and Security Studies UK; and received a Post Graduate Diploma in International Law and Organization for Development, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands, 1998.
Technical Experts
Ecaterina Televca
Senior IT Adviser
Ecaterina Televca has over 20 years of professional experience in software architecture, design, development and implementation for various governmental information systems. These include case management systems, and an array of e-government systems from permitting to tax and health systems. Ecaterina and her company Intellia Software Solutions joined the Millennium Partners team in 2020 to provide technical assistance on Millennium Partners’ projects involving e-governance and integrated case management systems.