Ep 29: Ambassador Mark Green: Former USAID Administrator, President & CEO of the Wilson Center

The Aid Market Podcast

Former USAID Administrator and President & CEO of the Wilson Center, Mark Green joins Mike Shanley to discuss various topics around USAID. Mark explains his role as the USAID Administrator and the importance of USAID. He talks about humanitarian funding and how it affects long term development funding. Mark describes the war in Ukraine, and what it has been like to be the feet on the ground when tragedy strikes and how USAID is needed. Mark shares his advice for the next administration, explaining where more support is needed. Lastly, Mark talks about initiatives and programs that don’t have broad political support, and why that support is needed. Tune in to learn more about USAID and how their work impacts all areas of the world.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [1:33] What does Mark say to those who question the role or need for USAID or Foreign AID?

• [4:24] What are the priorities in the role for USAID, MCC and other foreign aid?

• [8:03] Mark discusses how the initiatives that he started have evolved or developed with the current administration.

• [12:50] How does Mark see humanitarian funding affecting long term development funding?

• [18:45] How did they frame the alternative development models offered by China as developing priorities and going through the procurement process?

• [23:18] What is the current state of the war in Ukraine?

• [30:47] What did a typical day look like for Mark as the USAID Administrator?

• [32:56] What did Mark look for to help him make the right decisions in his leadership role?

• [39:26] What would Mark’s advice be for the next administration?

• [41:05] What are some of the initiatives, activities or programs that don’t have broad, political support in the U.S.?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• USAID helps to grow partners, foster relationships, and build the capacity of other nations to join with USAID and take on their country’s challenges.

• The American dream isn’t just the American dream. It’s the universal dream, and we have to make sure that we invest in that, and that’s where development assistance comes in.

• USAID largely goes unnoticed, but they are essential to the work the U.S. does in other countries. They are the feet on the ground and they make huge impacts with their partnerships in other countries.

QUOTES:

• [1:48] “When I first began, I was asked by outsiders why USAID matters. I said, look, if we do this right, foreign assistance and development assistance can help us address just about every one of our foreign policy challenges.” - Ambassador Mark Green

• [13:01] “There is a real danger that humanitarian assistance will begin to cannibalize development assistance, and some of it is completely understandable. Humanitarian assistance responds to emergency needs, and there are emergencies right now, perhaps greater than we’ve ever seen, so it’s natural.” - Ambassador Mark Green

• [39:27] “I think the administrator has to sharpen the tools in the toolbox, and then it is the White House, it's the President and the Secretary of State that will help to guide where those tools are deployed and for what end. I believe that development tools can be used to help address just about every challenge that we see in the world today. They aren't by themselves necessarily the answer, but they're part of the answer. And I think that’s key.” - Ambassador Mark Green

RESOURCES:

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ambassador Mark Green - LinkedIn

Aid Market Podcast

Aid Market Podcast YouTube

BIOGRAPHY:

Ambassador Mark Green (ret.) serves as the President and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an institution chartered by Congress to “strengthen the fruitful learning between the world of learning and the world of public affairs.” He has served as the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development where he used America’s development and humanitarian tools to help countries on their “journey to self-reliance.” He also served as Executive Director of the McCain Institute and President/CEO of the International Republican Institute. Green served as the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania (mid-2007 to early 2009), and before that, he served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin’s 8th District. He has been honored for his work by the Republics of Tanzania and Colombia, and institutions including the Scowcroft Institute at Texas A&M and Georgetown University.