Speaker Bio

Ms. Carol A. Grigsby, a member of the US government’s Senior Executive Service, is Deputy Director in the Office of Development Partners (ODP) at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In this capacity, she shapes the agency’s strategic partnerships with traditional and emerging development actors. Having previously led the establishment of this office in 2007, she returned in December 2008 as ODP was selecting the winners of its Development 2.0 Challenge inviting ideas for innovative applications of mobile-phone technology to development challenges. Other aspects of Ms. Grigsby’s current responsibilities involve engagement of the university and non-governmental communities in addressing the global food crisis, climate change and other looming development issues.

At the National Defense University in 2007-2008, Ms. Grigsby explored civil-military relations, the meaning of citizenship in America and the future of national service. Her findings appeared in the winter 2008 issue of Parameters, the U.S. Army War College quarterly. With the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Ms. Grigsby sees promise in expanded opportunities for citizen service through the US Government’s overseas development programs.

Ms. Grigsby has served in a variety of roles at USAID, and in recent years has been closely involved in implementation of efforts at foreign aid reform. Immediately prior to returning to ODP in December, she was Regional Director for Africa in the State Department’s Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance, established by the previous administration in 2006 to coordinate US aid efforts. In 2006, she was Acting Deputy Administrator for Africa and helped lead USAID through the initial phases of this reform process. In 2007 she was responsible for the initial conceptualization of the Office of Development Partners.

As Director of West African Affairs in USAID from 2003 to 2006, and as Deputy before that, Ms. Grigsby guided US Government efforts to ensure a successful transition to democracy in Liberia. She also collaborated with the State and Defense Departments in launching the interagency Trans-Sahel Counter-Terror Partnership and played an active role in US support for Nigeria’s emergence from dictatorship and in post-conflict Sierra Leone. Earlier in her career Ms. Grigsby facilitated US collaboration with the international financial institutions and led USAID’s interagency engagement on international trade issues.

From 1994 to 1995, Ms. Grigsby served as foreign policy adviser to Senator George Mitchell in his capacity as Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Ms. Grigsby received her B.A. from Duke University. She studied at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris before returning to the U.S. to obtain an M.A. in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. She also holds an M.S. degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College of the National Defense University.