WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Susan Fine was sworn in as the U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director for Senegal. In this capacity, she will oversee USAID’s diverse portfolio of programs designed to create jobs, improve access to education and healthcare, strengthen democratic institutions, and develop the agriculture sector to increase production and incomes.

A career Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Fine has served multiple positions within the Agency, most recently as the Director for East African Affairs in the Africa Bureau where she oversaw USAID’s programs in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes countries. In this capacity, she contributed to the development of the Horn of Africa resilience program and USAID’s first resilience policy. 

Prior to that, Ms. Fine was the Deputy Mission Director responsible for southern Sudan during its historic self-determination referendum and transition to independence in 2011. From 2007-2010, Ms. Fine guided program policy in USAID’s Office of the Chief Operating Officer and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning. From 2005-2007 she was the Director of Strategic Planning and Operations in the Bureau for Asia and the Middle East. 

Ms. Fine began her development career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Swaziland and served with USAID in Uganda, South Africa, and Senegal before returning to Washington. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in economics from Colby College and a Master’s Degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.