Andrew BurgerWASHINGTON, DC – September 6, 2016 – C.D. Glin was sworn in as the U.S. African Development Foundation’s 9th President on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at the U.S. African Development Foundation’s headquarters by Jack Leslie, USADF Board Chairman. Mr. Glin will lead the agency’s efforts to combat some of Africa’s most difficult development and foreign policy challenges in the hardest to reach, and often most impoverished communities.
C.D. comes to USADF with vast experience in development programs in Africa, intergovernmental relations, and leadership of both public and private sector programs. His most recent experience has been with the Rockefeller Foundation. As Associate Director based in the Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, C.D. contributed to and led the development and execution of several important initiatives in the areas of Impact Investing, Climate-Smart Rural Development and YieldWise, a $130 million dollar effort to improve rural lives by reducing post-harvest crop loss and promoting sustainable sourcing in African agriculture value chains.
“C.D. is a champion for Africa and has a deep and lasting appreciation for USADF’s work at the grassroots level. C.D has seen the importance of USADF’s model and working with the marginalized and underserved since his days as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa, to his work today managing the East Africa portfolio for Rockefeller. C.D. has seen the power of community-level transformation and USADF will benefit from his experience, passion and thoughtful leadership.” Mr. Leslie said. “We are pleased that he has decided to head the organization and build on the legacy of serving the most vulnerable.”
USADF remains charged to seek out and assist fragile and underserved groups such as – women and children, religious and ethnic minorities, the disabled, victims of war and violence or those living in such remote areas that they are often not reached by aid organizations or their own governments. Mr. Glin is excited to expand on the agency’s successes and pilot new and innovative programming for Africa’s most underserved communities. Today, including USADF’s small grants program, USADF operates in 30 African countries, providing funding for over 400 active projects, directly benefiting nearly 1.5 million people.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to lead USADF,” Mr. Glin said. “It’s Africa’s time; and returning to Washington, DC after spending the past five years on the continent, I have a first-hand perspective of the transformational change occurring. USADF provides a unique opportunity to contribute to this progress and growing prosperity, while enhancing America's engagement with the continent.” The agency is at the forefront of supporting African-led solutions to Africa's challenges. By awarding seed grants and making early stage investments in communities and entrepreneurs, we are the community-level connector between African ingenuity and US foreign assistance. Glin also noted, “I can’t wait to join the team of hard-working, committed USADF staff; their perseverance, diligence, and expertise is a shining example of how innovative grassroots development approaches, catalytic financial support and local technical assistance can have a major impact in improving millions of lives.”
The U.S. African Development Foundation is an effective tool in the U.S. Government’s Foreign Assistance toolkit. USADF supports African-led development that grows community enterprises by providing seed capital and local technical support. USADF is on the frontier of development as one of the only U.S. Agencies directly funding African-led and managed enterprises by marginalized groups, such as smallholder farmers, ethnic and religious minorities, persons with disabilities and youth. The Agency awards small grants for technical assistance and capacity building to grassroots organizations, cooperatives and enterprises that strengthens local institutions and achieves lasting impact. For more information, visit www.usadf.gov or follow us on Twitter. comment↓
