Dr. Michael Bertelsen
Associate Director, OIRED;
Associate Dean for International Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Phone: (540) 231-6338
E-mail: bertel@vt.edu
Expertise: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, International Development, Collaborative International Research, Development Project Administration
Education: B.S., Economics, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 1971; M.S., Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 1975; Ph.D., Agricultural Economics, Virginia Tech, 1978.
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Countries of work experience: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal
Experience Summary: Dr. Bertelsen is an agricultural and natural resource economist who has been involved in development work for more than 28 years. He has worked extensively at the nexus of natural resource management and agriculture, with a major focus on policy, technology transfer, and economic impact assessment of technologies.
From providing technical assistance for community-based development initiatives to guiding national and international collaborative research projects, Dr. Bertelsen’s work in developing countries has been comprehensive. Dr. Bertelsen also has significant long-term project management experience, serving as the Deputy Chief of Party and Chief of Party for USAID agricultural projects in Honduras and Burkina Faso. He has provided long-term technical assistance on USAID projects in Haiti and Morocco and short-term technical assistance in 25 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Currently, Dr. Bertelsen serves as the Associate Director of the Office of International Research, Education, and Development (OIRED) and Associate Dean for International Agriculture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. In both of these roles, he is responsible for developing and supervising overseas research, education, and technical assistance opportunities for Virginia Tech faculty and students. Dr. Bertelsen also helps secure the funding that is necessary for Virginia Tech to participate in these endeavors.
