From 2007 to 2009, Zach served as a Community Health and Youth Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Nakulyaku, Uganda. There, he focused efforts on HIV awareness, stigma reduction, mentorship and income-generation for at-risk youth. After Peace Corps, Zach earned a Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts in International Relations degrees from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. While in school, he backstopped for two Near East Foundation projects aimed at reducing rural poverty and mitigating the outbreak of conflict in Sudan. In May 2011, he joined the International Organization for Migration counter-child-trafficking team in Ghana, conducting regular outreach in four coastal communities and assisting the constructive reintegration of rescued children. During the summer of 2012, he helped Partners for Democratic Change by carrying out comparative research and interviews before compiling a report outlining best practices in monitoring and evaluation among similar “networked” organizations. Since August 2012, Zach has been providing 100 percent dedicated data analysis and reporting support to the American Red Cross Haiti Assistance Program as an Information Analyst.
Field placement: FHI 360
Lilongwe, Malawi
Zach Andersson worked with FHI360 in Malawi coordinating the country-level rollout of a referral system connecting clinical health and nutrition services to community-based economic strengthening, livelihood and food security services in Balaka District. Zach was responsible for continuous engagement of a diverse group of stakeholders from civil society organizations, health facilities, and district and national government in both Balaka and the capital, Lilongwe. He also supported the development of referral system tools and provided extensive training for referral focal persons at each participating service provider. Throughout the entire process, Zach documented activities, challenges and key processes from Balaka to optimize the project model and support its eventual expansion to Karonga District in Malawi, as well as five additional countries.
Policy placement: FHI 360
Washington, D.C.
Based in Washington, D.C., Zach continued to support FHI 360’s LIFT II project in Malawi, while applying lessons learned to inform implementation in Lesotho, Tanzania, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo. As Country Manager, he led efforts to expand LIFT into Cote d’Ivoire, working closely with FHI 360’s Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance project (FANTA). Zach contributed to development of global project strategy, created knowledge and information products that highlight the full suite of technical assistance LIFT provides, and built relationships with key stakeholders on multiple levels. Zach was part of a team that encouraged him to become involved in additional Food Security and Livelihoods Practice projects and initiatives within FHI 360’s Economic Development and Livelihoods Department – he took their advice to take advantage of opportunities to be involved in research and evaluation.