An RPCV & A Good Bet To Be The Next Peace Corps Director

Aaron Williams is Vice President for International Business Development and responsible for representing RTI’s international consulting practice in the Washington DC office. He leads the representational efforts, working with RTI’s senior management team and other staff in expanding RTI’s involvement in the international development community’s dialogue regarding policy and programs concerning the USG and other multilateral donor assistance programs. Related to these efforts, he provides leadership in the development of strategic partnerships with other international organizations and global corporations involved in international development activities.

Mr. Williams has over 25 years of experience in policy formulation, strategic planning, and the design and implementation of development assistance programs. Mr. Williams has directed a broad range of development assistance programs in the areas of economic policy development and economic growth, trade and investment promotion, banking and finance, democracy and governance, education, housing and urban development, and public health.

In his role as a senior USAID manager, where he attained the rank of Career Minister in the US Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Williams provided policy and program leadership to major government organizational units, both in headquarters and field assignments (e.g. Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, and a $1 billion bilateral assistance program in South Africa). Mr. Williams has led project design teams in several countries, working in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Africa, and Asia. Both at USAID and subsequently as Executive Vice President at the International Youth Foundation, he created and managed innovative public-private partnerships between global corporations, government entities (USG and host country), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international foundations.

He was awarded the USAID Distinguished Career Service Award in 1998 and the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service in 1992 and 1988. Mr. Williams is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Board of Directors of the Cisco Learning Institute (Cisco Systems Corporation), a member of the Intel Corporation’s Clubhouse Advisory Panel, a Board member of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, a Board member of the Pan American Development Foundation, and a board member of the Society for International Development- Washington D.C. Mr. Williams was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic (1967-70) and was the Coordinator of Minority Recruitment and Project Evaluation Officer for the U.S. Peace Corps (1970-71). Mr. Williams is a graduate of Chicago State University, and has an MBA from the University of Wisconsin.

This bio does not include the fact that Williams was on Obama Transition Team for National Security, which includes the Peace Corps.