1. USAID Capacity Development Program
Kabul, Afghanistan Phone: +93-(020) 220-3905
www.usaidcdp.org Fax: +1 (480) 751-1520
August 21, 2008
To whom it may concern:
It is a genuine pleasure and honor for me to recommend Marshall Posey. Marshall worked
for me in the public sector/project management Department at Bearing Point/CDP for 1 year
during his deployment to Afghanistan. Our project, one of the largest USAID programs in the
world, is dedicated to building the capacity of Afghanistan’s government ministries and
agencies to manage themselves effectively and to provide better services to citizens.
Marshall began here as a project manager for a nationwide employee records database
implementation for Afghanistan’s Civil Service Commission. Later he also took over a
second project managing a training needs assessment project for the Commission which
interviewed over 3500 local civil servants to determine their needs for capacity development.
There are several strong points that Marshall will bring to any project:
First, he is results-oriented. He is able to focus on objectives and deliverables and manage
human resources to achieve results efficiently and on-time. The employee records system that
he has developed for the Civil Service Commission has been a complicated and sensitive
project with delicate political ramifications. It came in on time, is a quality product, and is
now in the process of implementation. His leadership of the team of local employees set a
standard for them to follow in future projects and represented capacity development at its
best.
Second, Marshall is able to deal creatively and effectively with stress and tension in troubled
projects. At one point this year we had to remove a team leader from a training assessment
project involving several ministries. Marshall stepped in, reorganized and refocused a large
team of local Afghan employees, and achieved the results we were seeking on time. He
handled this difficult situation with energy and diplomacy. When the project was completed,
the leadership of the Civil Service Commission was effervescent in their praise of his work
and his ability to work productively with them in a difficult political environment. They
regard him as one of our project’s most useful and productive contributions to capacity
development in the 360,000 member civil service.
Third, Marshall is generous with his time and support—he is a genuine team player. Even
though his primary assignment was with the Civil Service Commission, he was always ready
to volunteer his time and expertise to assist other teams in different areas—in my case, in
higher education. When I needed someone to test an idea or a strategy for project
management, I could always count on him to be available. He made it clear hat he regarded
our larger project as a team effort, and he was never vulnerable to the temptation to isolate
himself in programmatic silos or to say “that’s not my job”. He can work effectively with
international and local staff with diverse interests and responsibilities.

2. USAID Capacity Development Program
Kabul, Afghanistan Phone: +93-(020) 220-3905
www.usaidcdp.org Fax: +1 (480) 751-1520
Fourth, Marshall is a friendly, affable and enjoyable person to have around. While he is
extremely competent and productive, he is also able to laugh at himself, cheer others up and
offer moral support when things become difficult. He has a positive impact on his colleagues
and is a splendid colleague. He brings energy and élan to his work and never seems to be
daunted by challenges—an especially important virtue when living and working in a place
like Afghanistan. He can have an uplifting or calming effect on his colleagues, depending on
the situation.
I have great respect for Marshall as a development professional and colleague. Perhaps the
best recommendation I can offer is that I would hire him immediately to work with me in any
project. His energy, tenacity, creativity and commitment to results of quality will be valuable
to any project. I also think he has the attitudes and skills that would easily qualify him to
serve in project administration as a director or DCOP.
He is now available for new challenges because his assignment with us was limited to a
specific period and is now complete. I will be proud to speak on his behalf if you require
additional information or insight.
Sincerely,
John W. Shumaker
Deputy Director-Public Sector
Bearing Point/USAID Capacity Development Program
Kabul, Afghanistan
jshumaker@usaidcdp.org Phone: 93-797-653-845