USAID Mission Director Sean Callahan
Sean E. Callahan, a member of the Senior Foreign Service, is the USAID Mission Director for Afghanistan. Prior to joining USAID/Afghanistan, he was the Deputy Mission Director for USAID/ Philippines, Pacific Islands and Mongolia; the Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs; the Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Cambodia; and served in Cairo, Tbilisi, and Jakarta as the USAID Regional Legal Advisor.
Before joining USAID in 2001, Mr. Callahan practiced corporate law at Clifford Chance Rogers & Wells in Washington, D.C. and worked on refugee resettlement matters with the International Catholic Migration Commission and the International Organization for Migration in Vietnam and Macedonia. Mr. Callahan was a Princeton-in-Asia Fellow in Thailand.
Mr. Callahan is a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law (Magna Cum Laude); Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; and the College of the Holy Cross. He is a member of the District of Columbia and New York State Bar.
Deputy Mission Director Edward R. Michalski
Edward R. Michalski is the Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Afghanistan. Prior to joining the Mission, he attended the Naval War College Master’s degree program in Newport, Rhode Island. Throughout his nearly 20-year career with USAID, Mr. Michalski has served as Supervisory Executive Officer in several USAID Missions, including in India, Central Asia, Uganda, Iraq, and Ukraine.
Prior to joining USAID, Mr. Michalski spent over ten years with the U.S. Peace Corps as an Associate Director in China, North Macedonia, and Papua New Guinea, and as a volunteer in Poland and Lesotho. His previous experience also includes working on the federal emergency preparedness team at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. and working in the banking sector for NCR Corporation as a Branch Automation Specialist.
Mr. Michalski holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Dayton.
Deputy Mission Director Michael Ashkouri, Esq.
Michael Ashkouri is a Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Afghanistan based in Doha, Qatar. His portfolio includes donor coordination, the Office of Democracy, Gender, and Rights, Office of Social Services, and Office of Program and Project Development.
Mr. Ashkouri is a Commissioned Foreign Service Officer and most recently served as M/OAA Deputy Director for Washington Operations managing seven divisions, 14 branches and 155 A&A professionals. He served as the OAA Director in multiple missions including USAID/Jordan, USAID/Pakistan, USAID/Southern Africa Regional Platform, and as Deputy Director/OAA in USAID/Afghanistan.
He began his USAID career as a Civil Service Contracting Officer and Supervisory Contracting Officer in USAID/Washington supporting the PEPFAR and DDI (formerly E3 and EGAT) portfolios.
Prior to joining USAID in 2006, Mr. Ashkouri was Iraq Country Director for a U.S. NGO implementing democracy and governance, as well as women empowerment programs. He is a licensed Attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where he practiced contract, immigration, criminal, and consumer rights law. Mr. Ashkouri began his career as a marine biologist at Boston’s New England Aquarium, specializing in northern Atlantic marine fauna and jelly fish aquaculture.
Mr. Ashkouri holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the New England School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Biology from the University of Massachusetts/Boston.