Matt Van Geest

Matt is the newest addition to the Vibrant Village team and will head up the growing Haiti program. He has 15 years experience with various NGOs in Canada, the US and abroad. He has worked and traveled extensively throughout Central America, Asia, East and West Africa, including a year in Senegal. His specific expertise is on program management with a wide variety of technical interests, but especially agriculture and small business development. Matt has a degree in Business and Sociology with a Master’s Degree in International Development Studies. Matt, along with his wife Esther, have lived in Haiti much of the past eight years, where Matt worked for several different organizations, including the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), where he managed a community-based reforestation program, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), where he was responsible for a $92 million USAID-funded public infrastructure program. Esther’s work in Haiti has focused on reforestation and environmental education, as well as promoting local agriculture and production.