The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the U.S.’s federal agency for fighting international poverty. Now, many are interested in learning about Biden’s USAID chief candidates. USAID offers development assistance to countries to promote self-reliance. In 2019, the agency spent over $20 billion across 134 countries in 28 different service sectors including agriculture, basic healthcare and emergency response.

The actions of USAID are central to the U.S.’s actions on international poverty as a whole. President-Elect Joe Biden’s presidency is looming. Who he appoints as the head of USAID will be influential in shaping the agency’s actions for years to come. This role is particularly important as the world continues reeling from COVID-19. No formal nominee has been announced yet, but over the past few weeks, some have provided several names of who is on a shortlist to become Biden’s USAID Chief. These names include Ertharin Cousin, Liz Schrayer, Frederick Barton and Jeremy Konyndyk.

List of USAID Chief Candidates

1. Ertharin Cousin: Ertharin Cousin served as executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) from 2012 to 2017. WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization. Before this, in 2009, former President Barack Obama appointed her as ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome. In this role, she represented the U.S. in international talks regarding humanitarian issues. She also has experience with domestic humanitarian issues, having served as CEO of Feeding America, an organization of 200 food banks across the U.S. As of now, she tops the shortlist and many presume her to be a favorite to become Biden’s USAID chief.
2. Liz Schrayer: Currently, Liz Schrayer is president and CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Commission, a coalition of hundreds of NGOs and businesses advocating for U.S. action and leadership through international development. She is also an advisor on multiple committees including USAID’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s Development Advisory Council. This prospective candidate for Biden’s USAID Chief has prior experience working with USAID and is another expert in the field of international development.
3. Frederick Barton: Frederick Barton is the recent author of a 2018 book, “Peace Works – America’s Unifying Role in a Turbulent World.” He has experience as the U.S. Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York from 2009 to 2011. He also served as an advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2002 to 2009. He has a long history of work in the field, having been USAID’s founding director of its Office of Transition Initiatives in 1994, serving until 1999.
4. Jeremy Konyndyk: Jeremy Konyndyk also has prior experience with USAID, having served as director of its Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance from 2013 to 2017. In this role, he oversaw a team of 600 staff. He and his staff managed responses to disasters like the West African Ebola outbreak and the ongoing Syrian civil war. Konyndyk is currently on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee. He also served in the past as an advisor to the WHO Director-General.

Conclusion

Each of the above candidates is well qualified to become Biden’s USAID chief. Although no nominee has received an announcement yet, the future of the U.S.’s largest organization fighting international poverty seems to be in good hands.

– Bradley Cisternino
Photo: Flickr