Bread for the World Welcomes Confirmation of New USAID Chief

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bread for the World welcomes the confirmation today of Gayle Smith as the new administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"We wholeheartedly welcome the Senate's confirmation of Gayle Smith as the new administrator of USAID. This critical position has been vacant for much too long," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. "Though the world is making unprecedented progress against hunger and poverty, the humanitarian crises we continue to face demand a leader at USAID with the experience and abilities of Ms. Smith. She has been a champion for those impacted by poverty and hunger, and we are eager to continue to work with her to ensure American leadership to achieve an end to world hunger by 2030."

Prior to her confirmation, Smith served as President Obama's special assistant and senior director of the National Security Council. She brings a wealth of experience to USAID. She was a co-founder of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN), which works to make aid more effective and transparent.

Prior to joining the administration, Smith was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. She held senior positions in the Clinton administration. She also lived and worked in Africa for 20 years, where she was a journalist and worked for non-governmental relief and development organizations.

Bread for the World (www.bread.org) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

SOURCE Bread for the World

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