New Mission Director for Philippines Sworn In

WASHINGTON, July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the new Philippines mission director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Gloria D. Steele, was sworn in. USAID Counselor Hilda Arellano presided over the event and administered the oath.

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"We are at a critical moment in history in the East Asian region," said Counselor Arellano.  "Along with opportunities, we are presented with many new challenges, including, the need to restart the peace process and effect a reduction in poverty. The need for exceptional leadership of USAID programs has never been greater and Ms. Steele brings the vital leadership skills that she honed while in the Bureau for Global Health and the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia to this critical position as USAID Mission Director."

Ms. Steele is currently the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator responsible for overseeing the planning, operations, and the financial and human resource management of USAID's Global Health Bureau, which has a total staff of about 250.  Ms. Steele oversees the strategy, program development, and budgeting operations for the Bureau, which in 2008, managed or co-managed $1.8 billion.  She also has oversight responsibilities for the Bureau's family planning and reproductive health programs and its efforts in providing field support and training of public health officers.

Prior to this position, Ms. Steele served as Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia.  Other USAID assignments include seven years working within the Bureau for Africa as an Agricultural Economist, and seven years within the Bureau for Science and Technology overseeing applied research on key rural development issues such as land tenure, access to agricultural credit, food security, and natural resource management.  

Ms. Steele received a Master of Science in agricultural economics from Kansas State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Maryknoll College in the Philippines.

For more information about USAID and its programs in the Philippines and around the world, please visit www.usaid.gov.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

Public Information: 202-712-4810

SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development