Jamaica Youth Empowerment The following are my thoughts on the design and implementation of a youth empowerment activity in Jamaica. 1. Concept Piece 2. USAID Jamaica CDCS 2020 - 2025 3. Ministry of National Security Strategy 4. Jamaican Diaspora 5. Remittances to Jamaica 6. Peace Corps in Jamaica

Slave Narratives Charles Ball in Life of an American Slave describes the despair of being separated from his wife and children without even the chance to say goodbye: "The thought of my wife and children I had been torn from in Maryland, and the dreaded undefined future which was before me, came near to driving me mad." His loss combined with the physical deprivations of slavery made his a life of despair. The same resentment resounds in Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave: "Ten years I toiled for that man (Edwin Epps, his slave master) without reward. Ten years of my incessant labor has contributed to increase the bulk of his possessions ... I am indebted to him for nothing, save undeserved abuse and stripes." To the men and women who suffered slavery, there was no benevolence in the institution. These views of former slaves contradict South Carolina Governor James Henry Hammond's letters to English abolitionist Thomas Clarkson in 1845 where he argued that slavery is benevolent to Africans brought to America in that it allowed them to "... emerge from darkness into light, from barbarism to civilization, from idolatry to Christianity, in short from death to life." Their stories tell of beatings, deprivation and despair. The emotional toll on slave families from separation through sale of a parent, spouse or child was incredible with the inter-state slave trade resulting in: (a) one half of all slaves being separated from a spouse; (b) 1/4 of slaves marriages being destroyed; (c) 1/2 of nuclear families being eliminated; and (d) 1 in 3 youth aged 14 or younger separated from a parent. The slave trade brought about the wholesale destruction of black families across the South and some of the most heart wrenching stories involves the loss of loved ones. In terms of physical deprivations, passages from Charles Ball’s Life of an American Slave and Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery speak of the hunger slaves felt and in both cases an animal was stolen and cooked in secret. Ball was caught cooking a sheep he had stolen and was severely punished while Booker T. Washington tells the story of his mother cooking a chicken late at night which he presumed was stolen. The slave life, especially in the Deep South, was clearly one of grueling working conditions, little food, and a constant threat of physical abuse. Solomon Northup wrote of the punishment that was part of everyday life: “It is the literal, unvarnished truth, that the crack of the lash, and the shrieking of the slaves, can be heard from dark till bed time, on Epps' plantation, any day almost during the entire period of the cotton-picking season.” This justification of slavery by Southerners that slaves were well cared for and slavery was a benevolent institution was not born out in the testimony provided by former slaves. The benefit clearly went to the slave owners, merchants, insurance companies and financial institutions involved in the production, sale, shipment and processing of cotton. The economic wealth derived from cotton created a planter elite that would stop at nothing to protect slavery; even if it meant the destruction of the United States.

Honduras Education Sector Corruption in Procurement Transparency International helped prepare a report on the Government of Honduras Ministry of Education procurement processes. See a copy of the report at this link . Informe Linea de Base

A Short History of the Costa Rican Coffee Retention Program and the Beginning of a Specialty Coffee Marketing Strategy Download a copy of my paper at the link below. Coffee Study - Costa Rica 1996 - Michael I was part of the last contingent of staff at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Costa Rica as it was being closed in 1996. During the same period, USAID underwent a "Reduction in Force" (RIF), requiring some staff to be fired to reduce the agency's operating expenses. Except for top leadership, no one knew who would be terminated. I was 43 years old with a wife and two young children. Creating a new skill set I could carry into the private sector was on my mind when I enrolled in an executive MBA program at an affiliate of the University of Costa Rica. In my first class, Marketing 101, I chose to look at Costa Rica's coffee marketing strategy. My research took me into a theme that would be part of my life for years to come and would eventually result in a paper I wrote in 2000 regarding a strategy for how USAID could engage with the specialty coffee sector to increase the income of 25,000 small-scale coffee farmers worldwide. The Reduction in Force (RIF), my enrollment in an MBA program in San Jose, Costa Rica, and the research I conducted on the global coffee sector led me to focus on coffee as a way to help small-scale farmers increase household income, reduce poverty, and promote national and regional stability. This paper was shared with the true pioneers of specialty coffee in Costa Rica and the world -- Steve Aronson of Cafe Britt; Jim Stewart, founder of Seattle's Best Coffee; Ted Lingle, Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America; and others. They led the way to the differentiated specialty coffee market that we have today.

I have developed a system based on US Census data and other sources to rapidly assess demographics for Central American Northern Triangle origin populations in the US. We can do this down to the census tract level (approximately a 10 block area in a city). With this information, we could then identify potential constraints on local services, opportunities for business development, and social and political problems. I would be happy to provide a presentation on the theoretical background on the Central American demographic issue and what the demographic experts believe will continue to happen in this area. I can also talk about the potential negative impacts and how concerned entities could identify issues, develop and implement solutions, Finally, I can discuss how to keep key stakeholders informed and engaged in funding appropriate solutions. The potential to generate new consulting service and program implementation business could be significant using this approach. Product - Demographic mapping and support services to (1) identify and pinpoint Central American origin populations in the US down to the census tract level, (2) define potential problems and opportunities and their economic impact, and (3) provide program design and implementation solutions to address negative outcomes and/or take advantage of opportunities. Value Proposition - Using this demographic mapping system and support services local, state and federal government entities, public school districts, Congressional offices, private businesses depending on Hispanic labor, etc. could be supported to (1) understand how their annual operating budgets might be impacted by current and future demographic changes, (2) develop plans to mitigate impact on local community services (education, health, economic development, etc.), and (3) provide specific design and implementation assistance for proposed activities. An overarching value of this approach would be to provide these entities with a fact-based, persuasive argument for the types of federal and state funding needed to address demographic change. It would also support their ability to design and implement effective programs. Cost - Senior Program Advisor - 12 month level of effort - $150,000 - to work with in-house staff to: (1) design a final business strategy tailored to the strengths of company's consulting services areas of practice for public and private entities; (2) design and implement an outreach marketing strategy targeting high potential clients who would substantially benefit from understanding potential budget impact of demographic change; and (3) provide consulting services in "best practices" program design and implementation for education, economic development, conflict mitigation, etc to US and Central American entities impacted by demographic change. Price - The price charged for these consulting and program design and implementation services to US and Central American entities impacted by demographic change would be the standard consulting, program design and implementation fees normally charged. This could be a new line of business for consulting firms currently focused primarily on international development. The new market would be local, state and federal agencies, school districts, private companies, etc across the US. It could also be a service that would be valuable to policy makers, lobbying firms, and Congressional offices. Returns - With $3.7 billion already being mentioned by the Administration to address an immediate problem of child immigrants from Central America, there may be significant public and private investments in this area in the immediate, mid-term and, potentially, long-term periods. A key aspect of the market outreach strategy under this approach would be to highlight to affected entities the potential economic impact of demographic change (both good and bad impacts), describe the opportunities and their value, and provide a solution that significantly reduces costs associated to demographic change, helps communities better cope, and provides a fact-based approach to designing policies. Market Strategy - By mapping key areas that have the highest potential for negative impact from existing and future demographic change, we would be able to segment the market and target public and private entities that would more readily understand the value of the services being offered. A marketing outreach strategy could be developed and implemented specifically targeting those entities. There would also be an outreach campaign with key stakeholders to explain the costs, opportunities and actions needed to competently plan for demographic change that would include local, state and federal offices, Congressional offices and key Executive branch agencies. Central America Concept Presentation

Summary of Discussion on Central America Immigration Issues See Slide Presentation Below I am going to Capitol Hill on Fridays and meeting with Congressional staffers to share information on Central American immigration issues. Over time, I want to meet with staff from every district and state. The purpose of the meetings is to share information and learn how the process on the Hill works for trying to bring people together on immigration reform. Meetings are also being scheduled with non-profit organizations and private sector entities involved in immigration related issues. This is early in the process but there are clear indications that only an honest, non-threatening discussion of the issues devoid of politics will have any hope of reaching the types of compromises needed to: (1) meet labor demands for low wage labor in agriculture, hospitality, construction, and domestic service sectors; (2) ensure that we gain control of our Southwest border; and (3) promote the type of social and economic development needed in Central America to relieve the pressure for out migration. These discussions are helping me understand different points of view regarding the "hot buttons" for the immigration discussion. My objective is to help both extremes of the political spectrum understand that there will be no winners without compromise. This is a classic Prisoner's Dilemma situation in which although there is more to be gained through cooperation there are also strong incentives for a person to choose a "win" for theirself that causes a "loss" for the other side. This is how I see the situation playing out over time if there is no compromise to gain control of our immigration system: The US private sector has labor needs that are best met by immigrant labor -- without action to address those needs we will continue to have undocumented immigrants coming across the border. Response : This demand creates a "pull" effect that will provide an economic incentive for undocumented workers to come to the US. Policy makers must start a dialogue with the business sector to understand their needs, develop labor mechanisms to address those needs, and enact enforceable "hard" rules to govern how these labor needs are met. The continued illegal immigration will, at some point, cause local backlash that will threaten the proponents of comprehensive immigration reform. This could result in the election of nativist candidates that will enact laws that create a parallel economy based on the labor of undocumented immigrants, aggravate the social and economic problems in Central America, and harm innocent children caught in this situation. Response : Explain to proponents of comprehensive immigration reform of the need to make hard compromises to address illegal immigration including (i)a zero tolerance for hiring of undocumented workers except under an official guest worker program, (ii) more support for border enforcement, (iii) more Federal assistance for "border" communities (and that is not just for communities that are geographically close to the border but rather for all communities that are impacted by illegal immigration), and (iv) a change in deportation proceedings to allow a more expeditious review of refugee and immigration status. With no change in current situation, undocumented immigrants will continue to come to the US and, overtime the Hispanic voting population, will become more and more powerful with the result that anti-immigrant candidates will suffer politically. This will essentially the swing of the political pendulum in the opposite direction from local community backlash. Response : Notwithstanding national polling data that indicates Hispanics are socially conservative, their voting pattern in Presidential elections tends to support more liberal but pro-immigrant politicians. Taking the immigration issue off the table would be beneficial politically to conservatives. For liberal politicians, the focus should be on preventing immigration from becoming a divisive issue in local elections. There is room for both sides to win by making immigration less political. There is a way forward that could work for everyone and that is finding sensible solutions to immigration reform that addresses labor needs with an effective guest worker program (like the "Bracero" program that worked for over 20 years), secures the border to the extent that it can be secured (remember the failure of the Berlin Wall and the fact that there were still thousands of "escapes" from the East to the West even in the face of death), and provides a politically neutral outcome for the immigration issue. The slides below are part of my new presentation on local impact of immigration using the Washington DC Metropolitan area as the focus and specifically focused on my Congressional district -- District 11 of Virginia. Central America Residents in US Dispersion of C.A. Children Impact on Public Schools Central Americans in Virginia Central Americas in VA - Wash DC Demographics of VA 11th District

Central America Origin Children US Public School Education US Department of Education Factsheet on Public School Access for Immigrant Children.

U.S. Government Budget Process The link below is to a presentation I made at George Washington University in 2016. US Government Budget Process

How to Change the World Changing the Climate Debate Focus Michael Maxey Evolutionary psychologists posit that man's short-term perspective developed in order to focus the greatest attention on solving immediate survival problems. The impact of this evolutionary mindset was described by New Yorker columnist, Elizabeth Kolter: “So whatever is going on at that particular moment that is really affecting people’s lives, that’s what ranks high … and climate change has often been described as a slow-moving catastrophe, and it’s precisely the kind of issue that once you actually really feel the dire effects in your own life, then it’s way too late.”[i] The purpose of this narrative is to describe some of the techniques that have proven effective in changing this natural predisposition to focus on short-term, negative aspects of taking action to address greenhouse gas emissions (increased cost of energy, inconvenience in personal lifestyle, etc.), and instead better understand and act to reduce these emissions and the long-term impact this will have on the future of mankind. Explain the Science (What do we know?) – As carbon levels rise in the atmosphere we can expect to see rising sea levels, more intense rainfall, less snow and ice cover, longer and more intense heat waves, less food production, and increased ocean acidification. If actions are not taken immediately to limit atmospheric carbon to between 450 and 550 ppm, we can expect an acceleration of these conditions. [ii] Once carbon reaches 600 ppm there will be an acceleration of change that could be truly catastrophic. Model the Risks (What does it mean?) – The most important way to press home the impact of these changes is through economic modeling that focuses on risk (likelihood times potential consequences). The work by Gary Yohe, Wesleyan University Bloomberg professor of Climate Change, points to the enormous costs of adaptation to changing climate conditions and highlights the potential savings through preventive action. The development and dissemination on the impact at a personal and national level is needed to help individuals understand what is at stake. Connect on a Personal Level – (What can we do about it?) – There is a consensus that a lack of advocacy for change is the most limiting factor in changing global carbon emissions. Economic and political pressure create inertia; only through a grassroots level can we create the social pressure needed for change. Peer to peer interaction is proving successful in making these changes. One example is http://www.Joulebug.com which measures carbon consumption at an individual level and allows peers to exchange information and compete to low their carbon foot print. Another example is artistic initiatives such as “water box” art that shows the amount of water needed by individuals in different parts of the world and brings home the need to conserve. Climate change associated with carbon emissions is already a fact of life. Catastrophic events will happen if carbon emissions continue yet there seems to be a “tragedy of the commons” mentality in the use of carbon based fuels where each country, each person sees a personal benefit in using these fuels but fails to see or to consider the long-term impact in destroying the world as we know it. The only way to address this problem is to promote a worldwide social campaign started at the local level that creates the advocacy needed to demand the political, economic and financial changes needed to significantly reduce carbon emissions. As Ghandi said -- we have to – “Be the change.” [i] Elizabeth Kolbert, "A Reporter's Field Notes on Coverage of Climate Change”http://e360.yale.edu/feature/a_reporters_field_notes_on_the_coverage_of_climate_change/2130/ [ii] Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change, National Academies Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12785&page=R1

Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance Partners (VEGA) Please follow the link below to see a complete description of VEGA's partners. VEGA Partners.pdf

Return to Index Page My Time in Iraq 2008 - 2009 Briefing on Impact of Iraq Stabilization Work in 2008 Slide1 Impact of Stabilization Efforts in North Babil in 2008 Slide2 Slide3 Slide4 Slide8 Slide9 Slide10 Slide11 Slide35 Slide12 Show More Counterinsurgency_Progress_in_North_Babil_–_12_15_2008.pdf Return to Index Page My Time in Iraq 2008 - 2009

International development initiatives in Yemen and Central America have been a focus of Maxey Information Services. The work in Yemen has consisted of support to the USAID Mission to develop an agricultural strategy and a five year program aimed at increasing food security. Central America activities have focused on analysis of social and economic problems and their potential impact in the US. We are also developing a proposal for addressing these issues by helping US communities and their policymakers understand the need for investment in Central America.