David Harris, S-CAR Graduate Certificates Program

As CEO of Advanced Decision Vectors, David Harris does not need another impressive line on his resume. The Virginia native enrolled in S-CARs’ Graduate Certificate Program because when he is called upon to advise federal agencies on efforts to reconstruct communities where the U.S. is or has been involved - such as Iraq - he wants to be “one of the smartest guys in the room.” Harris founded ADV in 2009 to provide program management, planning, and support for agencies with critical missions in post-conflict settings. The CAR Certificate for Prevention, Reconstruction, and Stabilization (PRS) befits the head of the company that holds the Advisory and Assistance Services Contract to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Harris describes the PRS Certificate as more than an accreditation. He remembers a special projects class in Spring 2013, which Mara Schoeny and Cindy Mazur designed around a five-day humanitarian operation. “We were negotiating a disaster relief project in a hostile environment, with gun shots (blanks) firing off around us, and we had to go in and triage. We had to negotiate prisoners’ release, set up a base camp.” He notes the “on-the-ground” perspective he gained from the experience. “There is a need for this,” Harris says of the course. “It really brought me down to Earth.”