Merlyn Kettering

A Senior Associate at TimeBanks USA, Merlyn Kettering focuses primarily on the nonprofit’s leadership training and organizational development. With more than three decades of experience in international development in countries around the globe, Merlyn Kettering has also contributed to TimeBanks’ development theory and general practices. Founded in 1995, the organization strives to promote equality, build caring community economies, and foster an environment in which individuals can share their time and talent. During his tenure at TimeBanks, Merlyn Kettering has helped develop the organization's training and network programs, incorporating lessons on new team planning methodologies, project and financial management, and action research, including participatory evaluation and research methodologies. He has also spearheaded the publication of the TimeBank Guidebook Series and has authored three installations explaining TimeBanking, how it helps communities, and how to start a TimeBank. Before joining TimeBanks, Merlyn Kettering assisted the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) with its programs for promoting peace in southern Sudan. As a consultant with the NSCC and the Church of the Brethren, he contributed to peacemaking methodologies and to various economic and social development agencies and projects in the war-torn area. Merlyn Kettering served in this capacity between 1995 and 2005, ultimately authoring two books about peacemaking and economic development. He wrote the first of these books, entitled Inside Sudan: The Story of People-to-People Peacemaking in Southern Sudan, in collaboration with Gimbiya Kettering. Dr. Kettering has also published numerous other papers and reports on economic and social development, leadership training, project management, and organization development in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the World Bank Group. Prior to his work in East Africa, Merlyn Kettering spent nearly 20 years serving as a project manager and director. During that time, he led more than 10 major USAID and World Bank projects in Asia and Africa. Dr. Kettering has worked with the Ministry of Finance in Kingston, Jamaica, and served as an Education Officer for the Peace Corps at the Katsina Women's Teachers College in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Furthermore, he collaborated with Oxfam and the Church of the Brethren Volunteer Service, contributing to the No