Who Is Aaron Williams And What Does He Know About The Peace Corps And International Development?

 A lot I’d say. Williams is a Chicago kid. He graduated from Chicago State University in 1967 with a B.S. in Education and Geography. Next he was in the DR as a PCV from 1967-70. When he returned home, he worked for the Peace Corps in Chicago and Washington (1970-71) as the Coordinator of Minority Recruitment, then went to the University of Wisconsin for his MBA in Marketing and International Business, graduating in ’73. He is fluent in Spanish and also speaks French.

He worked in Minneapolis with General Mills before beginning a long USAID career with various positions and stationed in Honduras, Haiti, Costa Rica, Barbados and South Africa. In 1998, he went to Baltimore as the Executive Vice President of the International Youth Foundation.

He has received the USAID Distinguished Career Service Award in 1998, and the Presidential Award for Distinguished Service in 1992 and 1988 for his government service.

A board member of the NPCA since 2006, he is also a member of the Society for International Development among other organizaitons.

In 2002, he went to work for RTI International. The international development side of RTI is (according to their website)  “dedicated to improving the human condition in developing countries. With more than 200 international development staff members based around the world, we deliver advisory and training services at the national, sub-national, and local government levels, providing institutional development through the transfer of analytical tools and methods. We often work in multidisciplinary teams that cut across traditional sector boundaries.”

Their clients are: are (of course) the United States Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and several agencies of the United Nations, as well as foundations and other regional and international organizations.

Married to Rosa Maria Williams, they have two sons and live in Reston, Virginia.