Tetra Tech Country Risk Director Afghanistan (CRDA)
April 8, 2013, Vance worked with Patricia in different groups
Ms. Patricia Leidl served as Communications Director, Tetra Tech ARD Alternative Development Program (ADP-SW), a USAID-funded agriculture project based in Farah, Province, Afghanistan for an extended period of time beginning mid-2010 until the end of the project in February 2011. As the Cash for Work Team Leader I had direct daily contact with Ms. Leidl.
Patricia was directly involved in contributing to the successful implementation of our program by designing key communications strategies supporting each staff component. Her record of successfully communicating program accomplishments through a series of weekly, monthly and quarterly reports enabled key leaders and staff supervisors the ability to effectively monitor and report our progress through both oral and written communiqués chronicling success stories. This provided our client and key government institutions such as the Directorate of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) with direct and timely knowledge as to our program’s impact to support and enhanced Agricultural development throughout this key strategic area within Afghanistan.
Completion of large-scale engineering and infrastructure projects, such as the one million dollars new farmer’s market in Farah and a similar yet less expensive farmer’s market in Uruzgan province enhanced economic development across the agriculture sector with those provinces. Patricia’s enthusiasm in capturing our program’s success stories was both refreshing and infectious. Her attention to details and ability to articulate opinions shared by community members, local farmers and provincial administrators provided a broad narrative whereby others were able to grasp the full extent of our program’s positive contributions in supporting priority agricultural development initiatives throughout Farah, and Uruzgan provinces.
Ms. Leidl’s professionalism, dedication and sheer willingness to conduct field trips into often times dangerous areas in an effort to gain firsthand knowledge on the stories was viewed as an essential enabler in our ability to effectively communicate our program’s successes. She was an invaluable member of our team and I would strongly recommend her for similar positions given her skills and experience. I would wholeheartedly welcome another opportunity to work with Ms. Leidl in the capacity of communications specialist or director of communications for which she is well suited.
Respectfully, Vance E. Purvis