March 11th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2010
Press Office: 202-712-4320
Public Information: 202-712-4810
www.usaid.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah is pleased to announce that the following individuals recently joined the Agency:
- Sean Carroll, Chief of Staff - In this role, Mr. Carroll will be part of the Agency’s leadership team, with responsibilities for managing the front office, interagency issues, core strategic and operational priorities, strategic internal and external communications and other Chief of Staff functions, working closely with the USAID Administrator. Mr. Carroll comes to USAID from the Club of Madrid, where he served as Program Director since 2004. Previously, Mr. Carroll was Senior Fellow and Director at the Inter-American Dialogue, as well as a Consultant to the United Nations/World Food Program. He has also served as Professional Staff and Subcommittee Director on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations; and, over 13 years, held various positions at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).
- Amie Batson, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health - As Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health, Ms. Batson will serve as USAID’s Deputy of the Global Health Initiative with responsibility for overall coordination of USAID’s work in support of this important endeavor. Ms. Batson joins USAID after a 20-year career in global health that has included positions in the WHO, UNICEF, and most recently, the World Bank as Assistant to the Managing Director. Notably, as one of the original drivers behind the creation of the Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunization (GAVI), she led the World Bank’s efforts in vaccine financing.
- Ruth Levine, Director of Evaluation, Policy Analysis & Learning - Ms. Levine will build a team to strengthen the Agency’s ability to learn from program implementation, and to link the best available evidence to decision-making for greater effectiveness and better informed policy. Ms. Levine was most recently Vice President for Programs and Operations and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development. Ms. Levine is an internationally recognized health economist with over 15 years experience designing and assessing the effects of social sector programs in Latin America, Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.
- Alex Dehgan, Science and Technology (S&T) Advisor – Dr. Dehgan will be the focal point for implementing the Administrator’s vision to restore science and technology to its rightful place within USAID and ensure that USAID is the global leader on employing science, technology, and research to help solve traditional and persistent development challenges. Prior to USAID, Dr. Dehgan was a Senior Scientist and Policy Advisor with the Science Advisor to the Secretary of State. Dr. Dehgan also served as a Senior Adviser to the Special Adviser for the Gulf and South West Asia, as well as the liaison to Ambassador Holbrooke and the Office of the Special Representative to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- Tom Garwin, Senior Advisor on Impact Planning - Mr. Garwin will offer expertise and guidance on a variety of complex government programs, policies, management processes, and analytic methods of particular interest to the Administrator. Prior to coming to USAID, Mr. Garwin was the first Director of Impact Planning and Improvement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has also been an independent consultant in the areas of strategy, evaluation, measurement, and organizational performance.
Tags: Raj Shah, United States Agency for International Development
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March 11th, 2010
Today, Alyssa Rosenberg at GovernmentExecutive.com posed two questions about the heightened media attention around the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in relation to the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), set to release mid-term findings by the end of the month. See her post below:
“This may be an idle thought, but for those of you out there who keep a close eye on the State Department, I’d appreciate some insight into this question: are questions of USAID’s staffing and budget dominating the coverage of the strategy review under way there because they are the critical questions? Or because USAID has aggressive stakeholders and its roles is very much enhanced because of Haiti, etc.?”
Let us know how you would answer her questions by leaving a comment below.
Tags: Clinton, QDDR, Raj Shah, State Department, United States Agency for International Development
Posted in State Department, USAID | No Comments »
March 10th, 2010
Members of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s (USGLC) National Security Advisory Committee released a letter today urging Congress to boost development and diplomacy spending. “Our military works hand-in-hand with diplomats and development experts in meeting the challenges and responsibilities we face around the world,” said General Hagee. “It is critical that our civilian agencies are properly resourced so they can lead key elements of our national security strategy.”
The President’s FY11 International Affairs Budget request represents only 1.4% of the entire federal budget and less than 7% of national security funding. Knowing the great need that exists for more funding for development and diplomacy, the military leaders close their letter saying, “we urge you to support no less than the Administration’s request of $58.5 billion for the International Affairs Budget.”
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, of which USGLC is a member, identifies increased funding and accountability of foreign assistance as a priority action in “New Day, New Way: U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century.”
Click here to view the letter.
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March 10th, 2010
In an effort to address the many global challenges the U.S. faces today through increased partnership and multilateral engagement, Congressman Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Congressman Anh “Joe” Cao (R-LA) created the American Engagement Caucus. The new caucus establishes a forum for Members to discuss best practices and lessons learned from international bodies like the United Nations and the African Union and partnerships made between countries to overcome threats. A statement from the caucus reads “America’s security, economic, environmental, and moral interests are inextricably linked with those of the international community. The United States must find creative new approaches for working with other nations to create a safer, more peaceful, prosperous, and just world.”
MFAN Principal and President and CEO of InterAction Sam Worthington noted, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with the new American Engagement Caucus and Representatives Carnahan and Cao as we draw on our common goal of an American foreign policy that demonstrates in word and deed the desire of the American people to work in a bipartisan manner with all of our partners and with multilateral institutions to build a more just and sustainable world.”
The American Engagement Caucus is guided by the following principles:
- Smart Power: To achieve its security objectives, America must project smart power—a blend of military strength and creative diplomacy. America always reserves the right to act in service of its national interests, but prefers and prioritizes international cooperation to address common concerns and shared objectives
- Don’t Go It Alone: In today’s interconnected world, America can’t go it alone. International cooperation is a better way of addressing some of the world’s key problems, whether they are economic problems, environmental problems, or problems of peace and war.
- Cooperation and global partnerships are essential for security: Given threats from terrorist groups ad unstable foreign regimes with nuclear capabilities, working with other countries around the world is essential to our security. Other nations can help shoulder the burden of counterterrorism efforts, especially in regions where the U.S. may lack access and leverage. And America must balance our military might with diplomacy in order to successfully address global security challenges like nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
- International engagement expands trade opportunities: By creating new international markets, we cancapitalize on the power of American innovation to spur economic development and job growth here at home.
- A srong relationship between the U.S. and the United Nations is key to rebuilding alliances and keeping us safe: Our standing in the world is in large ways shaped by and representative of our engagement with the United Nations. It is in America’s economic, environmental and security interest to work with the UN to solve global challenges.
- America’s economic and environmental interests are irrefutably connected: Addressing climate change through new, clean energy strategies will reduce our dependence on oil, revitalize the American heartland and give developing countries a chance to meet their own energy needs and alleviate poverty.
Current membership for the American Engagement Caucus includes:
- Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
- Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA)
- Brad Miller (D-NC)
- Laura Richardson (D-CA)
- Bill Delahunt (D-MA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
- Mike Honda (D-CA)
Click here to read an op-ed from The Hill on the American Engagement Caucus
Tags: American Engagement Caucus, economic growth, InterAction, national security, smart power, United Nations
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March 1st, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made a forceful case to Congress last week on the importance of President Obama’s recently submitted request for the fiscal 2011 International Affairs Budget. In four separate hearings – on back-to-back days – before House and Senate authorizers and appropriators, Clinton discussed the budget request for U.S. foreign affairs spending and explicitly linked it to our national security and national interests.
Of the $4.9 billion increase from FY2010, $3.6 billion would go to what the State Department calls “frontline states”—Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The remainder represents a mere 2.7% increase that Clinton said would “address global challenges, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that the State Department and USAID are equipped with the right people and resources.”
She acknowledged current economic constraints, citing her former role as U.S. Senator and the valid concerns of constituents across the country: “For every dollar we spend, we have to show results.” But she went on to affirm that the budget request supports programs that are “vital to our national security, our national interests, and our leadership in the world, while guarding against waste, duplication, and irrelevancy.”
In elevating the role of development within U.S. foreign policy, Clinton said the budget “makes targeted investments in fragile societies which, in our interconnected world, bear heavily on our own security and prosperity.” She also argued for paying it forward, that a little bit now will go a long way: “These investments are a key part of our effort to get ahead of crises rather than just responding to them, positioning us to deal with the threats and challenges that lie before us.” To bring this point home, she emphasized: “We can bury our heads in the sand and pay the consequences later, or we can make hard-nosed, targeted investments now, addressing the security challenges of today while building a stronger foundation for security and prosperity in the future.”
She highlighted the Administration’s global food security and health initiatives, along with climate change, as the major components of the budget’s investments in development. A cross-cutting focus of these initiatives is women and girls “who are the key drivers of economic and social progress in the developing world.”
There will also be money for an additional 410 Foreign Service Officers at the State Department and 200 at USAID in an ongoing effort to ramp up civilian capacity.
“These initiatives are designed to enhance American security, help people in need, and give the American people a strong return on their investment,” Clinton concluded. “Our aim is not to create dependency, but to help people develop solutions that they can sustain for themselves over the long term.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Berman, climate change, Clinton, development, economic growth, Food Security Initiative, Haiti, house committee on foreign affairs, Kerry, poverty, senate foreign relations committee
Posted in House, Senate, State Department, USAID | No Comments »
