Veena Reddy first Indian-American to be made USAID’s India Mission Director

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Veena Reddy, an Indian American United States Foreign Service officer with the US Agency for International Development has been named USAID India Mission Director. She was previously Cambodia Mission Director.

“Today, Veena Reddy was sworn-in as our new Mission Director. She will be the first Indian-American to lead USAID-India, representing the best of both countries, and aims to bolster US-India’s development partnership leveraging her unique experiences and leadership,” tweeted USAID.

“Best wishes, Veena USAID-India. India-USAID partnership has the potential to make a difference to the lives of people not only in India and US, but across the world!” tweeted India’s Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

Reddy – a corporate attorney by profession – arrived in Cambodia in August 2017 and oversaw a staff of 75 as well as USAID programs in the food security, environment, health, education, child protection, and democracy and governance sectors. She has served as Deputy Mission Director in Haiti, where she oversaw post-earthquake reconstruction efforts, elections support, economic growth, food security interventions, hurricane response, and the development of a new strategy, USAID said.

Prior to this posting, she served in Washington as an Assistant General Counsel, covering legal matters for USAID’s programs in Asia, Middle East, and Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She has also served in USAID missions in Pakistan, the Central Asian Republics, and Central America.

An Indian American, Raj Shah, was appointed as the 16th Administrator of USAID by President Barach Obama in November 2009 and he served in that position for six years. President Donald Trump had named an Indian-American lawyer, Sue Ghosh Stricklett, to head the Asian operations of the USAID as its Assistant Administrator.