Václav Pecha

Václav Pecha is the Executive Director of The Bakala Foundation. In the past he worked as Director of Zaostřeno, a non-profit organization promoting good governance, and Mentor for McKeller Corporation. He has held managerial positions overseeing humanitarian, development and electoral operations and aided communities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and South Sudan. He helped organize the Afghan Parliamentary elections in 2005 and later worked as Project Manager at UNOPS, overseeing the OSCE’s EST mission for the presidential elections of 2009. From 2008 to 2009, he led the first Czech civilian PRT in Afghanistan with over forty developmental projects. He received the Non Article 5 NATO Medal for his work with NATO during the ISAF operation and the Czech Republic Minister of Defense Medal for Service Abroad. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s degree in Government and Psychology and earned his Master’s degree in International Affairs at Columbia University.