Localization and partnership at USAID: What's next?

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.

Matthew Johnson is the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Industry Liaison and Communications Director for the Office of Acquisition and Assistance. In this role he helps to connect and engage with organizations around doing business with USAID. He has led a number of initiatives in support of these efforts, including the creation of the Agency’s live-feed Business Forecast, the development of the first-ever Acquisition and Assistance Strategy, the New Partnerships Initiative, and WorkwithUSAID.org. He has been with USAID since 2008. Prior to joining USAID, he served as the Director of Presidential Personal Correspondence and the Deputy Director of Presidential Writers at the White House.

Adam Nicholas Phillips is the Biden-Harris Administration appointee to lead USAID’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The Partnerships Center at USAID is part of the White House’s Interagency Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership efforts, and serves as a critical partner with civil society around international development, humanitarian work, and diplomacy. He is also the director of the Local, Faith and Transformative Partnerships Hub within the Development, Democracy and Innovation Bureau, overseeing the one-stop shop to non-traditional partnerships. This includes locally led development initiatives, new partnerships, minority supporting institutions, and American Schools and Hospitals Abroad. For two decades Adam has served as a pastor, movement organizer, and strategist, working at the intersection of faith and public life. 

Sunita Grote leads the Ventures team within UNICEF’s Office of Innovation and co-founded its Venture Fund. UNICEF Ventures explores how emerging frontier technology can accelerate results for the most marginalized children, including through investments in open source solutions from emerging markets. She steers UNICEF's co-leadership of the Digital Public Goods Alliance, a network of partners who collectively contribute to the discovery, development, and deployment of open source digital public goods. Sunita has a background in innovative financing and previously spent 10 years working in the global HIV and health response based mostly in the UK and in South Asia. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and lives in NYC with her partner and daughter.