Once a year, we ask for your support to keep this blog and your dedicated blogger going. So here we are on Week #7 of our eight-week annual fundraising. Our previous funding ran out in August 2020. We recognize that blogging life has no certainty, and this year is no exception.  If you care what we do here, please see GFM: https://gofund.me/32671a27.  We could use your help. Grazie!  Merci! Gracias!

On April 12,  President Biden announced his intent to nominate Marcela Escobari to be USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean. The WH released the following bio:

Marcela Escobari, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID

For over two decades, the Hon. Marcela Escobari led organizations that help regions chart a path towards prosperity. She served in the Obama-Biden Administration as Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. During her time there, Escobari reinforced U.S. support for Peace Colombia, established a long-term development plan for Haiti, and prepared a proactive strategy to confront the humanitarian and political crisis in Venezuela. In response to Congress’ doubling of funding to Central America, she led changes in strategy, organization and execution to combat root causes of poverty and migration in the region.

Prior to serving in government, Escobari was Executive Director at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. During her tenure, the Center launched projects in 17 countries across five continents focused on unlocking constraints to economic growth. Most recently, as a senior fellow at Brookings, she created the Workforce of the Future initiative and applied international economic development models to map the industrial path of American cities and identify policies to help workers prosper in the face of evolving labor markets. She worked with US local leaders, companies and policy makers, including in Idaho and Texas, to strengthen paths to the middle class.

Her career has spanned the private sector, government and academia, with a common thread of producing growth that is inclusive and sustainable.  She began her career as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and worked across the globe on export competitiveness projects as a strategy consultant.  The World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2013. She co-authored the book “In the River They Swim: Essays from around the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty,” holds a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College and an M.A. in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

President Biden named Marcela Escobari to run U.S. Agency for International Development’s operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where the organization has played a role in helping Venezuelan migrants, among other humanitarian initiatives. https://t.co/r4zKX5tOPg

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 13, 2021

#Nacional
La boliviana Marcela Escobari ya había trabajado en el gobierno del expresidente Barack Obama. Tiene una amplia trayectoria en la administración pública, el sector privado y la academia https://t.co/6BF4hbOLD1

— La Razón Digital (@LaRazon_Bolivia) April 13, 2021

Economic development strategy has too often been disconnected from industrial and talent strategies. @MarcelaEscobari & @BrookingsInst are changing that – Growing cities that work for all: A capability-based approach to regional economic competitiveness https://t.co/bR3F7WSLpT

— Jim Shelton (@JIMSEDU) December 9, 2019

###