WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that Norma Parker will serve as the Agency's new Mission Director for Nicaragua. Ms. Parker, who was also sworn in yesterday at USAID's headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building, will oversee a wide variety of programs to promote economic growth and improve health and education for the people of Nicaragua.

Ms. Parker is a development specialist with more than twenty years of experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of rule of law programs. Recently posted in Pakistan where she served as a Senior Adviser to USAID, she has also led rule of law projects in El Salvador, Peru, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kosovo, and Azerbaijan. Additionally, she established the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, designed the USAID/Peru democracy strategy, advised the National Security Council during the 2001 Nicaragua elections, and managed USAID's response to the first Andean drug initiative for programs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia.

Ms. Parker holds a bachelor's degree in French literature from Colorado College and the University de Bordeaux and a master's degree in Latin America Studies from Georgetown University.