Ari Katz

Ari heads IREX’s team that manages programs integrating appropriate technology into development strategies. These include the Global Libraries programs in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, Global Connections and Exchange and Beyond Access. Ari also chairs IREX's Technology for Development Community of Practice.

Since Ari joined IREX’s DC headquarters in 2005, IREX has expanded its programming that extend the benefits of technology to the underserved and marginalized, with a particular emphasis on public access to information and technology training. Ari oversees programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and others. Ari designed the Tech Age Girls program in Uzbekistan, which has now been replicated in eight different countries, and was a finalist for the 2006 Development Gateway award. He also initiated the Technology and Civil Society speaker series at IREX, which brings practitioners from the field to discuss new uses of technology with a broad audience in DC.

Ari has more than 14 years of experience in the development field, with a particular focus on Central Asia, and has been with IREX for 10 years. Prior to moving to DC, Ari managed the School Connectivity program in Uzbekistan and the Undergraduate Exchange program in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Ari also served as a teacher and administrator at the American University in Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan.

Ari has an MA in Governance and Development from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK, and a BA in History and a BS in Film from Boston University.