J. Walter Veirs

Walter Veirs is a senior program officer responsible for grantmaking in the Strengthening Civic Space program area. Based in Mott’s London office, he previously served as regional director for Central and Eastern Europe and Russia and as program officer responsible for grantmaking in the Western Balkans. He is a board member of Global Dialogue. He also serves on the advisory groups for the Youth Empowerment Partnership Programme and the Ariadne Network, as well as the steering committee of the Civitates Fund.

Prior to joining Mott in 1998, Veirs worked as a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C., and Prague and as a legal services attorney in Memphis, Tennessee. His interest in civil society development grew from observing the sweeping changes taking place in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s and the important role the civil society sector played in transforming the region.