With 23 years of experience, Maris Mikelsons is a senior democratic governance and public policy expert skilled at public administration practices in local, regional and national governments. He has designed, procured and led, as manager/director, significant projects in fifteen countries in the areas of decentralization, system design, legislative reform and organizational/capacity development along with other reform processes at the central and regional/local levels. In the U.S, transition and post-conflict countries, Mr. Mikelsons designed, initiated and directed complex programs and projects for a variety of clients, and formulated innovative and successful approaches to reaching expected project outcomes. His work in the area of policy reform focuses on decentralization, governance and urban development. Mr. Mikelsons is a senior professional accustomed to working with high-level counterparts in ministries, parliaments, regional and local governments. He has distinguished publishing record that includes peer reviewed articles, chapters in books, along with numerous reports and other publications.