Mihir Desai (Chief Executive Officer)

Mr. Desai is Chief Executive Officer of Dexis. A former World Bank private sector specialist, he has worked on investment climate reform programs in over 30 countries.  Through his leadership, Dexis has implemented over 200 assignments in over 45 countries through its 25-plus staff worldwide. Mihir serves on the board of the George Washington University Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER).  He holds an MBA from The George Washington University and a BA in Economics from Macalester College.

Linda Nemec (Executive Vice President)

Ms. Nemec is Executive Vice President at Dexis and Project Director for Technical Advisory Services for GDA (Global Development Alliance) at USAID. Prior to joining Dexis, she was Practice Manager for Enterprise Development, Manager of Strategy Development, and Manager of Business Development at DAI. In the mid-90s, she was director of business development in Moscow for Sprint International as they expanded their network. Afterwards, she managed overseas distributors to sell telecommunications equipment. Ms. Nemec also has ten year’s government experience, including establishing BISNIS at the U.S. Department of Commerce to help U.S. companies navigate in countries of the former Soviet Union. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a BA in Economics from Allegheny College.

Paxton Helms (Director, Technical Services)

Mr. Helms is Director of Technical Services at Dexis, responsible for providing technical services in the field and leading strategy and new business development. Before joining Dexis, Mr. Helms worked as a consultant to USAID and USAID-funded projects in Washington, DC, the Balkans, and Africa. Previously, Mr. Helms worked as a strategy and operations consultant and was an analyst for VenEconomía magazine in Caracas. Mr. Helms holds an MBA from UCLA where he was an International Management Fellow and a BA with honors from Wake Forest University. He also completed two years of a PhD in political science and sociology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain.

Jennifer Simancas (Manager , Contracts Administration)

Jennifer Simancas serves as contracts manager for Dexis projects worldwide. Since joining Dexis in 2004, she has served as the primary liaison with partnering companies, consultants, and field offices, and is responsible for contractual compliance with USAID, the World Bank, and government regulations. Before joining Dexis, Ms. Simancas supervised two media studios in Washington, DC and the media lab department for Catholic University of America. Previously, she worked with the City of Alexandria and the United Hispanics of Virginia. Ms. Simancas holds a B.A. in Media Studies from the Catholic University of America and is fluent in Spanish.

Monilka Airing (Specialist, Public-Private Partnerships)

Monika Aring presently serves as Manager for Corporate Outreach for USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) Technical Advisory project.managed by Dexis. A public-private partnership specialist with experience in over 40 countries, Ms. Airing has advised leading organizations including The Conference Board, Starbucks, Nike, Manpower, Silatech, EDC, Whirlpool, and The World Bank. Previously, she was senior lead for partnerships at RTI International and EDC, generating over $54 mil multi-stakeholder partnerships. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Brooklyn College, and has a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and speaks five languages.

Melle Patrick (Manager, Technical Services)

Melle Patrick is the Manager for Technical Services at Dexis. Prior to working for Dexis, she worked as the compliance officer for Orphans International Worldwide, initiating and monitoring projects in Sri Lanka and other countries throughout Asia. She also worked as program advisor at the Society for International Development in Washington, DC. Ms. Patrick has performed investment opportunity appraisals and capacity development initiatives in a wide variety of countries. She holds a M.Sc. in Local Economic Development from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from the College of William and Mary.

Megan O'Donnell (Specialist, Public-Private Partnerships)

Megan O’Donnell currently serves as the Technical Research Director for USAID’s Global Development Alliance (GDA) Technical Advisory project. Before joining Dexis in 2005, she worked with venture capitalists, private equity firms and other investors in business strategy and investment promotion. On the public sector side Ms. O’Donnell with economic development agencies in a range of countries. Ms. O’Donnell has performed more than 20 technical consulting assignments for Dexis. Most recently, she developed business strategies for the Rockwell Group, an international architecture/design firm in New York. She holds a BA in Economics and a MA in International Economics from Stanford University.

Ronnie McDaniels (Director, Finance (Acting))

Ronnie McDaniels serves as senior accountant and currently acting Director of Finance at Dexis. A specialist in regulations and allowances for USAID and State Department, Ronnie is also a certified advanced user and trainer on Deltek accounting system. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked as accountant and controller at leading government contractors such as Northrop Grumman. A former budget officer with the US Army, Ronnie holds a BS in finance from Alcorn State University, a certified finance and accounting training from US Army Officer Training School, and is currently enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Maryland.