The ONE Campaign, the poverty-fighting advocacy organization co-founded by philanthropist and U2 frontman Bono, on Tuesday said Gayle Smith, the former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, will be its next president and CEO.
The announcement comes less than a month after Smith stepped down from her role at USAID at the conclusion of the Obama administration on Jan. 20. She will assume her position in late March, according to ONE’s announcement. Smith succeeds former CEO Michael Elliott, who died in July 2016, and interim CEO Adrian Lovett.
“She is a strong, savvy leader with deep expertise and decades of experience working to change the conditions that allow extreme poverty to thrive. With the heart of an activist and the head of a scientist, she seeks data-driven solutions and fights to implement them. Her determination has led her to bridge political divides in America, across Africa, and around the world,” Bono said in the statement.
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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.
