About Weidemann AssociatesWeidemann Associates, Inc. is a leading international firm working in microenterprise development, economic development, Information technologies, and agriculture/agribusiness/rural development in the U.S. and developing countries. The firm has worked on projects worldwide, from Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Caucuses, to Africa, Asia, and the Near East.
Founded in 1986, Weidemann Associates adopted a strategy and management structure to support growth while maintaining consistently high quality work. Principals of Weidemann Associates have experience in over 60 countries working with international organizations, as well as private businesses, state and local governments, and non-governmental and community development organizations.
The company implements both long and short-term projects, with expertise in microenterprise and microfinance; agriculture, environment, and natural resources; economic analysis; business development; community and economic development; gender analysis; education and training; institutional development; and online grants management and results reporting systems. The firm is known for its socio-economic research and analysis, its technical documents are regarded as state-of-the-art in the field. The firm is experienced in all phases of the project cycle including project design, implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation.
As part of most projects, Weidemann Associates develops effective online results reporting services and a start-to-finish grants management system. Improved timeliness and accuracy of reported data and real-time online monitoring of performance for program administrators are the results. Also, in the information technology arena Weidemann Associates supports microfinance institutions in the evaluation and installation of management information systems. Dr. Wesley Weidemann President of Weidemann Associates, Inc., oversees all company programs and activities. As a technical advisor on the USAID-funded MicroServe Indefinite Quantity Contract he provides technical guidance on microenterprise and microfinance assistance, training, research, advisory services to USAID Missions and Bureaus, and communications and outreach services to the USAID Office of Microenterprise. He has participated in and provided technical supervision on implementation and quality control of 17 microenterprise and microfinance projects for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and USAID. Dr. Weidemann has worked in 11 African countries: Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and Zambia; as well as India, Pakistan and other countries in Asia and Latin America. Dr. Weidemann has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics and business management from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Arvin Bunker Vice President, specializes in micro and rural finance, firm and industry development, and microenterprise business development. He has more than 25 years of international and domestic financial and marketing experience. In Bolivia, he directed the startup of an agricultural and rural credit company. In five years, Dr. Bunker grew the company's clientele to 4,000 customers with a loan portfolio more than $10 million, and achieved a self-sustaining financial institution for the agricultural sector, with low loan delinquency rates that were among the best of any Bolivian financial institution. Dr. Bunker was CEO of a leasing company in Romania from 1997 to 1998 that provided agricultural and manufacturing equipment financing. He specializes in strengthening and improving rural and microfinance institutions by evaluating their business and regulatory environments, supporting their strategic planning, and developing alternatives for their administration and operations. He also has extensive experience with agricultural and credit cooperatives. Dr. Bunker has M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois. He is also a Microsoft Certified Professional and Systems Engineer with expertise in the design of microfinance management information systems. Dr. Bunker is fluent in Spanish. Back to top. Dr. Celia Jean Weidemann President Emeritus, founded Weidemann Associates, Inc. and served as president of the firm from 1986 to 2000. She has 28 years of experience in more than 30 countries on five continents in: Financial Systems and Enterprise Development; Agriculture/ Rural Development/ Environment, particularly Agricultural Extension Systems; Education and Training; and Population. She has extensive experience in gender analysis and is skilled in all phases of the project cycle from identification to evaluation. Dr. Weidemann has special expertise in survey and qualitative research, especially in the field of microenterprise; policy analysis; socio-economic impact; and institutional development/ analysis. She has held consultant/staff positions with the World Bank, USAID, United Nations, US Congress, Asian Development Bank, Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA), Ford Foundation, International Statistical Institute, National Academy of Sciences/National Science Foundation, universities, private firms and foreign governments. She is the author of more than 40 publications including the UNDP guidebook, Supporting Women's Livelihoods: Microfinance that Works for the Majority, with D. Burjorjee and R. Desphande. Dr. Weidemann was a founder, board member and president of the 1200 Member Association for Women in Development (AWID). For the 7,000 member umbrella organization, Coalition for Women in Development, she served on the steering committee and on task forces for the Beijing Women's Conference and for international financial institutions. In 1997, she helped found the advocacy group, Women's EDGE, for gender and trade issues. Back to top.
Marialyce Mutchler Marialyce Mutchler is the Principal Associate for Economic Growth and Enterprise Development for Weidemann Associate Inc and has 15 years of experience working in emerging markets and developing economies. Ms. Mutchler is an expert project manager having managed USAID contracts valuing over $50 million. She has demonstrated success in the identification of new opportunities; her leveraging of resources has helped secure more than $100 million in new business activities during her career.
Currently, Ms. Mutchler directs the USAID Business Growth Initiative (BGI) project, which provides research, design, training and technical support to USAID enterprise development activities worldwide. In her role as director, she leads various research, design and assessment activities. She led research identifying economic growth opportunities in Yemen and participated in the USAID/Yemen country strategy development. In 2008 she was team lead on the USAID/Indonesia Economic Growth Portfolio Assessment. Most recently, Ms Mutchler was the team leader on a four person assessment team for USAID/Armenia mission that evaluated SME financial sector and potential value chain and sectors. Ms Mutchler’s additional field experience includes design and delivery of market driven technical assistance for small and medium enterprises development.
Before joining WAI, she worked as a Director in the Latin America and Caribbean Division of Chemonics International providing leadership to enterprise development projects in Paraguay and the Dominican Republic. Ms Mutchler also served as the Small and Medium Enterprise Export Promotion Manager on the USAID Guyana Economic Opportunities project where she supported farmers and agro-process through firm level technical assistance that improved product quality, business processes, and market access. Ms Mutchler has worked in over 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America and the Caribbean and conducted long term assignments in Botswana and Guyana. Back to top. Julie Lostumbo Managing Associate, Ms. Lostumbo has been working in international development for seventeen years, with a focus on economic growth and enterprise development. Ms. Lostumbo is currently managing the USAID- funded RAISE Plus IQC, which includes the Farmer to Farmer task order. Recently she was fielded as the team leader for a RAISE Plus Task Order in Guatemala for the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative for Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Meeting, where she facilitated and managed the meeting and developed proceedings. Ms. Lostumbo has also performed technical work in the area of enterprise development for the USAID Business Growth Initiative project including: researched and authored Economic Growth Alliances in the Asia & Middle East Regions, a research paper that investigates the effectiveness of past and present public-private alliances, including field visits to Egypt, Sri Lanka and Vietnam; designed and facilitated sessions at USAID Jordan/Business Growth Initiative (BGI) workshop for USAID economic growth officers; and designed and wrote the scope of work on building alliances and public private partnerships through extensive research and on-site interviews for the USAID Jordan Mission. Prior to joining Weidemann, Ms. Lostumbo worked for Peace Corps for six years, the last two of which she was stationed in Fiji as the Program & Training Officer (PTO). As the PTO Ms. Lostumbo managed the program and training team which included oversight of project design and development, systems and procedure development, direct management of the business project, training design, and overall volunteer support. She has a Bachelors of Arts from the College of Wooster and a Master of Business Administration in International Business/Economic Development from Kogod School of Business at American University. Field experience includes: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Egypt, Fiji, Honduras, Jordan, Guyana, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Panama, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Back to top. Carolyn Kirchhoff Program Associate, provides technical support and project backstopping to the Business Growth Initiative. She is responsible for updating and managing the project’s website, coordinating local and international events for the project, and providing research assistance on topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship and enterprise development projects. Ms. Kirchhoff received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with majors in International Studies and Spanish and minors in Geography and Political Science. Back to top. Jessica Barrineau Program Associate, provides technical and project support for the Business Growth Initiative. She is responsible for day-to-day project administration, managing and updating the project website, coordinating local and international events and providing research assistance on the topics of best practices for small and medium sized business in developing countries, entrepreneurship and innovation and enterprise development. Prior to joining Weidemann Associates, Ms. Barrineau worked at the Brookings Institution, serving as an assistant in the President’s Office. She received her B.A. in international relations with a concentration in development and minors in Spanish and economics from the University of Delaware in 2008. Back to top Andrew BakerProgram Associate, joins Weidemann Associates with over six years of practical experience in training, project design, implementation, and management in the private and public sector. Mr. Baker is currently assigned to the Raise Plus IQC/ Farmer to Farmer task order and brings with him his experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Suriname, South America. In Suriname Mr. Baker worked as a project facilitator and change agent focused on identifying and expanding potential markets, as well as improving planting techniques and food security in various projects located throughout the country. His experience working in the field includes implementing, monitoring and evaluating projects in rural communities, and in the capital as a member of the IICA team, writing proposals and managing budgets, has given him a diverse, well-rounded understanding of work in the agricultural development sector. Prior to Joining the Peace Corps Mr. Baker worked as a business analyst for Hewitt Associates. He has a bachelors of arts in sociology and anthropology from Knox College, and a Master of Arts in multicultural and organizational communications from DePaul University. Back to top Matt Pierson Matt Pierson, Program Associate, joins Weidemann Associates with over five years of experience in international development. Mr. Pierson will be working on the Raise Plus IQC/ Farmer to Farmer task order and will use his experience from living and working throughout Latin America, the Caribbean as well as West Africa and East Asia to help make an impact at Weidemann Associates. Mr. Pierson first developed an interest in international development while living in Venezuela and seeing the drastic inequalities that existed there. Later, in Colombia Mr. Pierson worked with local NGOs to analyze the effects of Plan Colombia on everyday citizens as well as examining USAID projects in the area focusing specifically on value chain development and alternative livelihood planning. In Liberia Mr. Pierson worked with a local NGO crafting project proposals, facilitating trainings and conducting peace building workshops. His various experiences from project development to implementation and evaluation give him a balanced understanding of working on a wide range of development issues. Mr. Pierson comes to Weidemann from the United States Institute of Peace where he worked for two years as a Program Assistant in the Center for Sustainable Economies. He has Bachelors degrees in Spanish and International Studies from Seattle University and a Masters degree from American University in International Peace and Conflict Resolution. Back to top Alysia Whitcomb Associate Operations Manager, is responsible for the administrative flow within the office. Ms. Whitcomb carries out general accounting and human resource needs in collaboration with the accounting and HR consultants, creating and maintaining policies and procedures, and working with the senior staff on various company tasks. In addition she tracks project revenue, assists with new business proposals and project support when needed. As the Associate Operations Manager Ms. Whitcomb has streamlined accounting procedures, developed job descriptions, and is currently working on creating additional policies and procedures to help ensure smooth operations at Weidemann. Ms. Whitcomb graduated from Western Washington University in December 2008 with a B.A. in political science, after completing an internship with The Institute for Public-Private Partnerships, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Back to top | Our Team |