David Holiday
Curriculum Vitae

dlholiday at yahoo.com

 

Employment History

 

Director, Citizens’ Participation and Governance Project, Creative Associates International, Inc., (CAII), San Salvador, El Salvador, 2000-2005

·        Responsible for leadership and oversight of a five-year, $8 million dollar cooperative agreement with USAID, ending March 31, 2005.

·        Oversees funding and training provided to civil society projects that advocate for public policy reforms.

·        Responsible for USAID mission’s key transparency initiatives.  Supervised an assessment of transparency in El Salvador.

·        Supports the formulation and implementation of a code of ethics for public servants.

·        Works closely with local municipalities in the passage and implementation of municipal laws related to information access and citizen participation.

 

Senior Analyst,Creative Associates International, Inc. (CAII), Guatemala City, Guatemala, October 1997-1999

·         Responsible for monitoring and evaluation, political analysis, general program support and (grants management and technical assistance).

·         Reported for a four-year, USAID-funded project (Proyecto INCIDENCIA) to strengthen civil society advocacy organizations in Guatemala. 

 

Representative in Central America, Human Rights Watch, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1991-1993

·         Based in San Salvador, traveled throughout Central America to report on human rights and political developments for the U.S.‑based human rights organization.

·         Public representations before governments and non-governmental organizations of the region.

·          Wrote and contributed to reports on El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

 

Associate, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Washington, DC, March 1987-December 1990

·        Traveled frequently to El Salvador to monitor the political and human rights situation for this Washington D.C.‑based organization that provides members of Congress and their staff, the media and the public with information and analysis of U.S. policy toward Latin America.

·        Other responsibilities included monitoring the foreign‑aid process, editing the organization's newsletter, and public speaking.

 

Assistant, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Washington, DC, March 1986-February 1987

·         Assisted in the preparation of reports and conferences on human rights and political issues related to U.S. policy toward Latin America.

 

Publications

(selected publications available for download at http://davidholiday.com/publications.htm)

 

            "El Salvador’s ‘Model’ Democracy," Current History, February 2005.

 

            "Broad Participation, Diffuse Responsibility: Peace Implementation in Guatemala," co-authored with William Stanley, Ending Civil Wars:  The Implementation of Peace Agreements, Boulder: Lynne Reiner Publishers, 2002.

 

            "Guatemala's Precarious Peace," Current History, February 2000.

 

"Under the Best of Circumstances: ONUSAL and the Dilemmas of Verification and Institution Building in El Salvador," co‑authored with William Stanley, Peacemaking and Democratization in the Western Hemisphere, Boulder: Lynne Reiner Publishers, 1999.

 

"Peace Mission Strategy and Domestic Actors: United Nations Mediation, Verification and Institution Building in El Salvador," International Peacekeeping, Summer 1997, co-authored with William Stanley.

 

"En la Mejor de las Circunstancias: ONUSAL y los Desafíos de la Verificación y el Fortalecimiento Institucional en El Salvador, Estudios Centroamericanos, Junio 1997, UCA, San Salvador, co-authored with William Stanley.

 

"Guatemala's Long Road to Peace," Current History, February 1997.

 

            Toward a New Role for Civil Society in the Democratization of Guatemala, International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, co‑author with Tania Palencia, July 1996.

 

Separating Facts from Fiction: The Work of the Tripartite Commission in Nicaragua, Human Rights Watch/Americas, October 1994, principal author (with David Dye and Cynthia Arnson).

 

Human Rights in Guatemala During President De León's First Year, Human Rights Watch/Americas, June 1994, contributed research.

 

The Economist Intelligence Unit Country Report on El Salvador (2nd & 3rd Quarters, 1994), correspondent.  Also, The EIU'S Annual Report on El Salvador 1994‑1995.

 

A Negotiated Revolution?  A Two‑Year Progress Report on the Salvadoran Accords, Hemisphere Initiatives, March 1994, author of section on police issues.

 

            Human Rights Watch World Report 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, contributed to or authored chapters on Central America.

 

            The Lost Agenda: Human Rights and U.N. Field Operations, Human Rights Watch, June 1993, co‑authored chapter on El Salvador.

 

            Clandestine Detention in Guatemala, Americas Watch, March 1993, author.

 

            "Building the Peace: Preliminary Lessons from El Salvador," The Journal of International Affairs, Winter 1992‑1993, co‑authored with William Stanley.

 

            "La Construcción de la Paz: Lecciones Preliminares de El Salvador," Estudios Centroamericanos, Enero‑Febrero 1993, UCA, San Salvador, co‑authored with William Stanley.

 

            Endgame: A Progress Report on Implementation of the Salvadoran Peace Accords, Hemisphere Initiatives, December 3, 1992, contributor.

 

El Salvador:  Peace and Human Rights: Successes and Shortcomings of the United Nations Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL), Americas Watch, September 2, 1993, co‑authored with Cynthia Arnson.

 

The Need to Remember: The Massacre at El Mozote, Americas Watch, July 1992, co‑authored with Cynthia Arnson.

 

Fitful Peace: Human Rights and Reconciliation in Nicaragua, Americas Watch, July 1991, co‑authored with Cynthia Arnson.

 

El Salvador and Human Rights: The Challenge of Reform, Americas Watch, March 1991, co‑authored with Cynthia Arnson.

           

A Step Toward Peace? The March Elections in El Salvador, Washington Office on Latin America, March 1991, author.

 

            Police Aid and Political Will, Washington Office on Latin America, 1988, contributor and editor.

 

Relevant Consultancies

 

International Center for Transitional Justice, NewYork, October 2003-August 2004

·         Author of case study on El Salvador for a comparative research project on vetting in countries undergoing a transition to democracy.

 

Conflict Research Unit, Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, The Hague, August-October 2003

·         External reviewer of two case studies on El Salvador and Guatemala, “Democratic Transition in Post-Conflict Societies: Building Local Institutions.”

 

Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, San José, Costa Rica August 1999

·         Participated in a team that evaluated NORAD's support to the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in Costa Rica.

 

USIA-Nicaragua, Visiting Speaker,  January 1998

·         Invited by US Embassy to speak to broad sectors of government officials, political parties and civil society organizations about the experiences of Offices of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Central America, in preparation for the creation of a similar office in Nicaragua.

 

Catholic Relief Services, Guatemala City, Guatemala, February-June 1997

·         Prepared proposals for projects that included support for the Bishops Conference's migration office, an inter-diocesan human rights coordination, and a research and dissemination project on policies and problems of migrants along the Guatemala-Mexico border.

 

PACT, Washington, DC, March-June 1997

·         Meetings and representations with civil society actors in Guatemala.

·         Contributed to the preparation of a response to an USAID request for application on civil society strengthening in Guatemala.

 

Danish Center for Human Rights, Guatemala City, Guatemala, April 1997

·         Served as interpreter and resource person for a delegation seeking to implement a strategic planning process with the justice sector in Guatemala.

 

United Nations Development Program, Guatemala City, Guatemala, May-July 1997

·         Conducted an evaluation of UNDP's NGO institutional strengthening program, in addition to a stocktaking exercise of UNDP's working relationships with NGOs and civil society.       

 

Analysis and Documentation Unit of the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala, January-February 1996

·         Conducted interviews within MINUGUA and with a wide range of Guatemalan and international political actors in order to analyze MINUGUA's internal efforts to evaluate its impact and to propose a framework for future efforts.

 

Inter-American Development Bank, Guatemala City, Guatemala May-October 1996

·         Prepared a report on civil society organizations in Guatemala for the IDB representation.

·         Follow‑up work to prepare a conference between IDB, government, private sector and civil society organizations.

 

Management Systems International, Washington, DC, October 1996-January 1997

·         Member of team contracted by USAID to assess the state of democratic consolidation and governance in Guatemala.

·         Prepared a strategy for the Office of Democratic Initiatives, 1997-2001, in Guatemala.                 

           

United Nations Volunteers, Geneva, Switzerland, November-December 1995

·         Carried out an evaluation of a regional UNV human‑rights program in Central America, as well as proposed new roles for UNV specialists in support of the Guatemalan peace process.

 

Freedom House, San Salvador, El Salvador, February-April 1995

·         Assisted in the preparation of two delegations of U.S. municipal leaders, and served as a resource person accompanying the delegations.

 

Human Rights Watch/Americas, El Salvador and Guatemala, 1994-2000

·         Occasional consulting for HRW/Americas in Central America, including authoring the El Salvador chapters for Human Rights Watch World Report in 1994, 1995; the Guatemala chapters for 1996, 1999 and 2000; and research on the human rights situation in Guatemala.

 

International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Montreal, Canada, February-December 1994

·         Co-authored a report assessing the role of civil society in Guatemala.

·         Based on interviews with Mayan, women, human rights and development organizations, as well as government officials and diplomats, the report was published in English, French and Spanish.

 

The Economist Intelligence Unit, London, UK, Correspondent, March-June 1994

·         Covered El Salvador for the 2nd and 3rd Quarter reports, as well as for the 1994‑1995 annual report.

 

Education

 

A.B. in Politics (Honors), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1984

·         Winner of the Lyman H. Atwater Prize for Politics for the best senior thesis in the Politics Department, a political biography of civil libertarian and university professor H.H. Wilson

 

Masters in Nonprofit Management, Regis University, Colorado, expected in 2005

·         Coursework begun for a twelve-course program designed to develop and enhance the management and leadership capabilities of professionals in the nonprofit sector.

 

 

Lectures, Public Appearances, Grants

 

Public speaking at forums and seminars in the U.S. and Central America, including Smith College, Princeton University, Middlebury College, New York University, Columbia University, the University of Texas at Austin, Hollins College (Va.), Virginia Tech, Texas Christian University, the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque), North-South Center of the University of Miami, the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), the U.S. Department of Justice, USIA Speakers Grant (Nicaragua), and the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS).

 

Together with Prof. William Stanley of the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque), recipient of a two-year grant (1984-1986) from the United States Institute of Peace to look at the role of the United Nations mission (ONUSAL) in peace-making and postconflict peace-building in El Salvador.

 

 Professional Associations

 

Latin American Studies Association (since 1991)

 

 Languages

 

English: Fluent

Spanish: Fluent

 

 References

 

Available upon request

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