Dr. Myers is the Lead Land Administration Specialist for the World Bank, coordinating the World Bank's land work in Africa. He is the point of contact for the World Bank to the Global Donor Working Group on Land (GDWGL), which is part of the Global Donor Platform. He joined the Bank in 2015.
Previously Dr. Myers spent 13 years leading the United States Agency for International Development’s work on land tenure and property rights. As the Director of USAID’s Office of Land Tenure and Resource Management, Dr. Myers provided thought for USAID's global programs to improve land and resource governance in emerging markets.
During his time at USAID, Dr. Myers served as the United States Government’s senior technical adviser on land governance issues. In this capacity, he played a key role in the development of the United Nations Committee for World Food Security’s two landmark agreements in this sector: the Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) and the forthcoming Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI). Dr. Myers served as the Chair of the negotiations for the former and the lead negotiator for the United States Government for the latter. Dr. Myers was a leading force in developing a global group for the donor community focused on land governance. With over 30 donor members and nearly 6 billion dollars invested, the GDWGL has become the preeminent body focused on supporting implementation of the VGGT, and is positioned to also support the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI). From 2012 to 2014 Dr. Myers worked closely with the White House, providing technical support for G7/G8 agreements.
Dr. Myers has a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Wisconsin. He has worked on land governance issues in over 25 countries for more than 25 years.
