Washington, DC: Indian-American Veena Reddy has been sworn in as the new mission director for US Agency for International Development (USAID). Reddy is the first Indian-American to be elected to this position.
“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 #USIndia’s development partnership leveraging her unique experiences and leadership,” tweeted USAID on Monday.
“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!” India’s Ambassador to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu tweeted.
Reddy, a foreign service officer with the US Agency for International Development, is USAID/Cambodia’s Mission Director. According to USAID, Reddy arrived in Cambodia in August 2017 and currently oversees a staff of 75 as well as USAID programs in the food security, environment, health, education, child protection, and democracy and governance sectors.
Reddy has served as the 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.
Prior to this posting, Reddy 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.
She has also worked as a corporate attorney at Rogers & Wells in New York and at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in London and Los Angeles. She holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Columbia University School of Law.
