Just over two years into her tenure, Samantha Power has redefined the role of USAID administrator as a key foreign policy figure who represents the White House on the front lines of global crises and wields significant influence within President Joe Biden’s administration.
“She makes AID a player,” said George Ingram, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
While Power’s high-flying approach to leading the agency has won her accolades, some inside the U.S. Agency for International Development said it has also come with tradeoffs. Workforce-related tensions continue to simmer. Stress is high, morale is low, and the workload is only increasing in the face of mounting international crises.
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
