[Remarks as Prepared]
Good morning, and thank you everyone for being here and allowing me the privilege to swear-in Don Steinberg.
We’re thrilled to have your family here today—I knew you came from good stock when I heard that for your high school graduation present, instead of getting you the car you wanted, your parents got you a lifetime membership to the National Organization for Women.
Rarely does a government title do justice to someone’s role, but in your case Don, Expert Advisor seems spot on.
As far as expert, Don has been a U.S. diplomat for over 30 years, half of which was spent working on development issues, including in his role as USAID Deputy Administrator.
He’s served in the Central African Republic, Brazil, Malaysia, and Mauritius. He helped negotiate a peace deal to end the 25-year Angolan civil war, bring women into the Haitian political structure, and more recently, help the world’s largest NGOs live out their values of diversity and inclusion.
But why I cherish Don as an advisor is not because of some line on his resume. It’s because he has always centered those he hopes to serve, especially the most marginalized and least privileged.
There’s a story about Don’s first tour as a foreign service officer, in CAR, that I think is emblematic of the approach he brings to his work.
After arriving to Bangui, he was quickly put in charge of managing a rural health program, with a big budget.
After speaking with local government officials—the mayor, the governor, the health commissioner, all of whom were men—they all advised Don that the key to that community’s health was to put that big budget toward a big, new hospital.
But not meeting any local doctors or nurses or speaking to any of the people this hospital might benefit, Don had his doubts.
So instead, he went down with his Peace Corps buddies to the local market, and spoke to women in the community about what their needs were and how they could be met.
They didn’t need a hospital, they needed wells to get clean water to prevent dysentery; they needed swamps drained so they wouldn’t contract malaria; and they needed midwives so they could deliver their children safely.
So Don did exactly that—invested in localized solutions and trainings that would actually address the problems that community faced.
And in two years, that area saw a dramatic decline in death rates, and almost eliminated infant and maternal mortality.
They also drastically cut down on the rate of diseases, but I guess that didn’t include Don since he repeatedly caught dysentery and contracted malaria six times.
Don’s approach to development since those early days has remained simple: “Nothing about us without us.”
Don’t draw up plans in the embassy about how to help people without talking to them…
Don’t listen exclusively to male officials who claim to speak for the needs of women…
Don’t mistake your expertise for someone else’s lived experience…
Get close to the problem; listen, especially to those you are not hearing from; and give people the tools and training they need to solve their own problems, rather than create dependencies.
Don, I want to thank you for returning to USAID and offering us, not just the benefit of your expertise, but the wisdom of your candid advice.
And now, it’s my privilege to swear you in.