Liana Gertsch

As Chief of Party of an early grade reading and math project in the Kyrgyz Republic, Liana Gertsch is responsible for the project start-up, development of administrative systems, recruitment, strategy, compliance, and oversight of all technical areas such as program, MEL, and communications/ICT and budget oversight.

Before joining RTI, Ms. Gertsch served as the Director of Programme Quality and Development at Save the Children in Malawi. She co-led the development and successful implementation of strategic plans. She oversaw quality assurance in all aspects of the program and communications and advocacy at the corporate level. In addition, she led a project known as Reading Enhancement for Advancing Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which operated in 19 districts and nearly 50 sub-districts. From a business development leadership perspective, Ms. Gertsch has a proven track record of delivering results for programs like the Children’s Book Initiative, designed to develop a sustainable market in bilingual books.

Previously as Project Leader at Oxfam Novib, Ms. Gertsch collaborated with the Ministries of Education in Mali and Uganda, teacher trade unions, and civil society coalitions to improve the quality of teaching at the primary school level. This project was implemented in Mali and Uganda and won the UNESCO Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for Outstanding Practice and Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teachers.