Melissa Williams

Melissa Williams was sworn in as USAID's mission director for Zimbabwe in August 2011. As mission director, she helps Zimbabwe's democratic forces advance reforms and provide much-needed humanitarian assistance.

Prior to this position, Williams served four years as mission director in Zambia. Since her career at USAID began in 1987, she has worked in Honduras, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa, where she was the program officer. She has also served in the Agency's Africa Bureau in Washington, D.C., and in the West Coast Outreach Office in Ontario, California. In 2006, she served as the deputy mission director in Zambia. She also worked for five years as a commercial banker in the United States.

Williams has received numerous awards for her service to USAID. Fluent in Spanish, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina and her master's from the London School of Economics and Political Science.