Hello. This is really special. And pardon me because when I look around this room and see Dr. Holdren and so many other creative thinkers, it gives me a huge amount of confidence that we can actually address some of the most pressing and difficult challenges in the world.

Thank you, Judge Marvin Kaminetz for that introduction, and thank you to Sean Penn for being here tonight and sharing such heartfelt remarks.

So that’s my reform agenda for high impact development. Taken together, I very much hope that these reforms will mark the most significant operational improvements to our nation’s development agency since President Kennedy announced the creation of USAID almost 50 years ago. Our anniversary is next fall, so we’re working against that timeline. And really a more efficient, results-oriented agency is needed now more than ever. In the five decades since our founding, the role of USAID in supporting our national priorities, particularly our national security priorities, has certainly evolved. America’s greatest security challenges are no longer state-based. Extreme poverty compromises basic human dignities, banishes hope for the future, and paves the way for the rise of transnational extremism.

USAID has had a more than 50-year history in working in international agricultural research including, helping to establish the consultative group on international agricultural research. Now is such an opportune time to take hold of the opportunities of this new initiative to reshape that system and to reshape our international system to make sure we make all of the technologies available here in the United States and elsewhere around the world accessible and affordable and safe for small farming communities in a way that is respectful and understanding of their specific needs. USDA has had a tremendous history in agricultural research, creating the land grant system in this country in the 1860s and participating with USAID in a long-standing partnership. I want to especially thank Josette Lewis and Rob Bertram from our team at USAID and Roger Beachy and Ann Tutwiler from the team at USDA that have really brought excellence and partnership together to make sure that we can be as supportive as possible of this overall mission.