Cheryl L. Anderson joined USAID/Southern Africa as Mission Director in August 2013.  

Prior to arriving in Pretoria, Anderson served as Mission Director in USAID/Ghana from 2009 to 2013, and was the director of the USAID East Africa Regional Mission in Kenya from 2006 to 2009.  

Anderson has over 20 years of development experience, mostly in Africa. Her experience in Africa began in Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer. Since joining USAID as a Foreign Service officer in 1988, Anderson has worked in USAID missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, and East Africa. She served as the deputy director in the East Asia Office in USAID headquarters in Washington DC. Anderson also worked as a program manager for Healthlink Worldwide, a UK-based nongovernmental organization.  

Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York and a Master of Science in International Development Management from American University in Washington, DC.