As Director of the DAI Maker Lab, Rob Ryan-Silva builds hardware and capacities around building hardware in support of DAI’s projects worldwide. Previously, as Project Director for the RESPOND project, Rob worked with government ministries, academia, multilateral organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and donors in Africa and Southeast Asia to create new opportunities to build the capacity to prevent and respond to outbreaks of emerging infectious disease. He has led DAI’s Governance practice, worked on redevelopment in Iraq and Afghanistan, and managed efforts to contain avian influenza. He attributes his success in these disparate areas to an approach that emphasizes understanding the perspectives and incentives of partners and using that understanding to create space for collaborative work toward common objectives.

He has experience working with projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan, Egypt, El Salvador, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Pakistan. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.