Mr. John O. Kollie  is the Founder and Executive Director, responsible for the management of the Liberia Media  for Democratic Initiatives (LMDI), including the staff, project activities and finances. John O. Kollie has been the Executive Director LMDI since its establishment.  John is a Liberian journalist with more than 18 years of media working experience. He has received awards for his journalism and astute practice of the profession from the Press Union of Liberia, PUL and was awarded the prestigious National Endowment for Democracy, NED Fellowship at the International Forum Democratic Studies in Washington D.C. in 2006.  John also works for Radio France International (RFI) as one of its senior English correspondents in West Africa. He works for the BBC World Service Trust (WST) as one a team of eight reporters from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea covering the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor before the UN backed Special Court for Sierra sitting at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Before his departure rather recently, John was engaged with the Washington Based Search for Common Ground supervising the media activities of the organization’s multi media Liberian project called the Talking Drum Studio based in Monrovia. At Search’s TDS Liberia, John also produced and presented two key popular Talk shows; ONE STEP BEYOND and POLICY ISSUES. John was the lead moderator of 2005 radio presidential and legislative town hall debates sponsored by the E.C. Bilateral and Carter Center.   John also works for the U.S. based accountability group, the Global Integrity (GI). He corresponds for Radio Netherlands.  John is an astute radio and TV program producer and presenter.  At the moment John produces and presents the LMDI’S DIALOGUE, our Outdoor Interactive Policy Dialogue Forum Radio and TV program. He moderates the LMDI’S “DIALOGUE”.