Mirette Seireg Ohman, M.S.

VP of Government Relations, Homeland Security Careers & International Community Resiliency Consultant

Mirette Seireg Ohman has over 30 years experience developing strategic designs for large community projects.  Early in her career Mirette founded a 501 c(3) private non-profit organization. Under her direction, over $1million of charitable donations were raised annually, sister-city pairings were formed, education, training and development programs flourished and she assumed a leadership role that engaged publicly elected officials and heads of state. During the following two decades of international development work she led efforts to strengthen public, non-profit, academic, and private organizations.

On behalf of hundreds of communities living in extreme poverty, she designed and validated simple monitoring and evaluation tools as well as training and behavior change techniques. These methods led to community empowerment and continuous improvement of operations. To fuel her passion for making a difference, Mirette heavily employs her expertise in applied research, strategic planning, and organizational development as well as her strong networking and leadership skills.  Weaving together concepts from a multitude of disciplines is one of her core strengths.

For example, Mirette led a World Bank multi-disciplinary team in a Constraints Assessment Study, designed to take a hard look at obstacles interfering with performance among 40 programs, six commissions and three laws. The study was designed to determine why sizeable resource allocations and public health legislation were not leading to desired impact. Recommendations were adopted and included in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for a Central American Government.  This three year effort allowed her to develop innovative program designs for the United States Agency for International Development, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and a host of Private Voluntary Organizations. Her recommendations continue to be implemented nearly a decade later.

Mirette exemplifies the process of reaching goals where no clear precedent has been set. Adversity is not a deterrent; in fact most of her work was performed in the midst of war, natural disasters and during times of severe economic and political crises.  She firmly believes that a bold vision, strong team-work and shared leadership are key to developing community resiliency. Her work has been featured in the local, national, and international press and she is the author of numerous scientific publications and technical reports. Mirette received her under-graduate and post-graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.