Blue Law International

Matthew Burns is a project manager in the Human Rights and Inclusive Development Practice. He supports projects in Egypt and Indonesia, and has experience managing contractual, financial and administrative compliance for a variety of donors and clients, including USAID and the Department of Defense. Matthew graduated from the College of William and Mary with a double major in Philosophy and Chinese Studies. He spent more than a year and half studying Mandarin Chinese throughout China, and speaks proficient Chinese.

Ms. Coleman is a seasoned development professional with more than 20 years’ experience in business development, contract and grants management and compliance, finance, personnel and administrative systems, technical assistance and strategic planning, and research and report writing. She oversees contract and finance compliance on several BlueLaw projects, as well as systems for overall corporate management and internal control. She has undertaken long-term field assignments in Egypt and Iraq, and short-term assignments in West Bank, Sudan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Bosnia, Nigeria and Rwanda. Prior to joining BlueLaw, Ms. Coleman worked for 12 years with Chemonics International in the home and field offices, in conflict and post-conflict environments, and technical, operational and business development roles. She holds a MSc. in development studies from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. in English and sociology from Creighton University. Ms. Coleman speaks fluent Arabic.

Kathleen Coogan is a justice sector reform specialist with more than 15 years of experience. Prior to joining BlueLaw she co-founded a Brazilian non-profit that promotes business mediation and youth conflict resolution initiatives. She previously served as project director at the National Center for State Courts, where she managed access to justice, court administration and other justice reform projects in Latin America and Africa. She completed several assignments for American Bar Association (ABA) international programs, including one year as ABA Rule of Law Liaison in Uzbekistan where she facilitated the creation and sustainability of professional associations for judges and lawyers. She has served as legislative counsel to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and as an attorney in the Financial and Securities Litigation Group for Sidley & Austin in Chicago. Ms. Coogan has taught university and professional courses in the U.S. and abroad on community organizing, environmental law and policy, mediation, public law, torts, and training of trainers. She holds a J.D. from Boston College Law School and a B.A. in French and business administration from the University of Notre Dame. Ms. Coogan speaks Portuguese and basic French and Spanish.

Ms. deFranco directs projects in BlueLaw’s Human Rights and Inclusive Development practice area. She brings expertise in international education law and policy, disability law and policy, and disability inclusive development programming. Ms. deFranco has worked with major donors and organizations such as Rehabilitation International, the National Council on Disability, Disability Rights International, Disabled Peoples’ International, and the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, to design and implement disability inclusive democracy and governance, public health, and education programs throughout the world. She researches and writes on domestic and international disability law, conducts legal analysis and writes reviews of political participation, assistive technology, inclusive education, disability inclusive development, and disability support reform. She holds a B.A. from Bates College, a M.S. from Syracuse University School of Education, and a J.D. from Syracuse University School of Law.

Ms. Fowkes is a knowledgeable project manager with experience working with the Department of State, USAID, and the private sector. She has administered projects in Burundi, Egypt, Morocco, Albania, Ukraine, Indonesia, Haiti, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and in security sector reform. She is currently an M.A. candidate in International Education at The George Washington University’s School of Education and Human Development, with a concentration in international exchange and education in development. Prior to joining BlueLaw, she received her B.A. in French Language and Literature from The College of William and Mary. Ms. Fowkes speaks advanced French and basic Spanish.

Ms. Gajarsa is an international development professional with eight years of experience working with USAID, the U.S. Department of State, the U.K. Department for International Development, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and privately funded organizations. She is the lead researcher and drafter of a series of technical program management guides and tools for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to joining BlueLaw, Ms. Gajarsa developed and managed monitoring and evaluation systems for human security and community development programs in Liberia and Afghanistan. She earned an M.A. in conflict resolution from Georgetown University, where she concentrated in international security and African studies. She has a B.A. in anthropology from Hampshire College.

Mr. Martin is a seasoned project manager and international development professional with 10 years of experience working with, the Department of State, USAID, the Department of Defense, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the private sector. He has experience implementing projects in Ukraine, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, Georgia, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Prior to joining BlueLaw, Mr. Martin was a Senior Consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he managed several high profile programs on institutional reform, anti-corruption, and the rule of law. He also was the in-country operations manager for the Ukraine-TIBA project in Kyiv, Ukraine. Mr. Martin has supported management reform initiatives with several government clients, including the U.S. Army National Guard, the US Navy’s Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine prior to earning an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University, School for Advanced International Studies, where he concentrated in strategic studies and international economics. He has a B.A. in History from James Madison University. Mr. Martin speaks proficient Russian, basic Ukrainian and basic Spanish.

Mr. Munson is a seasoned marketing and branding professional with 17 years expertise in marketing, proposal development, program support, and office IT systems. At BlueLaw he provides program management assistance to USAID and the Department of State, including: coordination of overseas deployment, invoicing and program logistics, as well as proposal authoring and budgeting development. Mr. Munson has also worked with clients on website development, creation of logos and promotional materials, and office IT development and maintenance. Has previously served in the Marketing department at NTELOS (and a subsidiary) for eight years as Product Planner and Director of Sales and Services, where he managed information technology and internet-related product lines. Mr. Munson has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Virginia, and is presently completing an M.B.A. at Franklin University.

A specialist in international law, human rights, transitional justice, and legal system reform, Mr. Solomon has more than a decade of experience conducting fieldwork and managing rule of law-oriented projects throughout Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central and South Asia, and Africa. Prior to joining BlueLaw, he was a Foreign Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of the Brookings Institution’s Project on Internal Displacement, where he formally supported the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Internal Displacement. He has also held senior positions at the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI). Mr. Solomon worked in the legal departments of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and the Washington Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR). He has extensive international experience in electoral administration and has been deployed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) as a legal analyst and election observer in more than 15 observation missions throughout Europe and Eurasia. He received a J.D. from the Catholic University of America; a M.A. from American University; and a B.A. from Temple University. Mr. Solomon speaks Russian and Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian languages.

Mr. Walker is a Program Associate in the Human Rights and Inclusive Development Practice and provides backstopping and proposal support on a variety of BlueLaw’s projects. He is a recent graduate from Loyola University of Chicago, who also spent a year working in New Zealand, Australia, and South Asia.