@vickysteeves I have no idea what the right way is but in the past I've moved mountains with \vspace{-2em} and such, so... have you tried that?
@martensitingale I did try that, I just can't figure out WHERE to place the \vpsace because everywhere I've tried doesn't work (in my cv.tex file and in moderncvheadiii.sty)
@martensitingale @vickysteeves My first guess would be a negative \vspace, too, maybe wedged into the recipient text if necessary.