Today, the United States Senate confirmed Gayle E. Smith to be the seventeenth Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Gayle's confirmation comes at a unique time when we have the tools, technologies and approaches to end extreme poverty and its most devastating corollaries, widespread hunger and preventable child and maternal deaths. Under Gayle's leadership, USAID will continue to change the way development works, with new partnerships; greater emphasis on science and technology, innovation and local leadership; and a relentless focus on evaluating, measuring, and delivering results.

A proven leader, Gayle has earned the trust and respect of the development community at every stage of her career. Most recently, while serving as Senior Director for Development and Democracy on the National Security Council staff, Gayle helped manage the U.S. Government's responses to more than 15 major humanitarian crises, worked to strengthen democratic institutions around the world, and has been a driving force behind initiatives that are advancing USAID's mission, including Feed the Future and Power Africa.

I am thrilled to welcome Gayle to USAID and look forward to all the Agency will accomplish under her strong leadership.