Testimonials

“Chris was the assigned Contracting Officer for MEDS’ first USAID contract. As USAID’s requirement for critical HIV/AIDS drugs grew rapidly, he regularly met with us, explained complex regulations and willingly offered useful advice to better serve HIV/AIDS patients in the region. Chris was a wonderful officer to work with, available on short notice for any technical consultation and quite focused in his approach to work.”

url=”http://www.nyumbani.org/”]“I have known Chris O’Donnell since 2009 during the period he was a Regional Contracting Officer for USAID Kenya. As the Agreement Officer for our USAID grant 2009-2012, Chris was extremely helpful to us, clearly explaining every aspect of the grant budget, clauses and audit. His availability, generosity with time and pleasant interpersonal relationships were particularly supportive for us during the task of preparing our proposal. He was always available afterwards to be of service whenever we needed any further assistance with the grant. Because of our success in managing the grant and audits, this has helped us to successfully leverage funding from other interested donors in Kenya.”

“Working with Development Essentials has been an amazing learning experience, a great confidence builder and financially beneficial. Chris O’Donnell guided us through the grant process; teaching us how to understand the donor application, how to write proposal content that addresses the questions in the application yet stayed true to our mission, the importance of documenting our submission date and time, and finally the art of follow-up. Development Essentials taught us the process – not just how to fill out the application. Thank you Chris!”

“When Indiana University received a large USAID grant under full and open competition, Chris explained USAID regulations, visited project sites and was responsive to our requests to purchase HIV drugs. As a former USAID Agreement Officer, Chris genuinely wanted to make our program a success in addressing the HIV pandemic in Kenya.”