ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you, Maria, for that introduction. Welcome to everyone tuning in virtually as we swear in Anne Williams as our newest Mission Director for USAID/Madagascar. I specifically want to welcome a few of those in the audience.
First, to the Charge d’Affaires at the Malagasy Embassy here in Washington, Amielle Marceda and her team; as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, Claire Pierangelo. I’m grateful for your participation today, which serves as a mark of the long partnership between our two countries, and USAID’s continuing commitment to the welfare of the people of Madagascar. And a special welcome to Anne’s husband, Mamadou Sidibe, and their two sons, David and Abraham. David is getting his PhD in cellular and molecular biology at Penn, while Abraham, who served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, aspires to follow in his parents’ footsteps and make a difference through development work.
I want to acknowledge a few people who I’m told would have loved to be here today. First, Anne’s brother, David, who passed away several years ago. And second, Anne’s parents, Ward and Peri Williams, who raised all three of their children to lead lives of service – and who gave Anne her first exposure to Africa, where she would eventually spend much of her professional career.
Anne was born in Constantine, Algeria, where she spent her childhood at a boys’ home run by her parents, who worked with the Methodist Church. Anne grew up climbing trees and playing sports with 25 Algerian boys, plus her two brothers. Her brother Mark remembers that regardless of the game, Anne would always emerge victorious – and her superiority won her the respect of all the boys in the home. Algeria is also where Anne discovered an early love for coffee. And when I say early, I mean it. When Anne was just a year or two old, her Algerian nanny would feed her small amounts of coffee – not just any coffee, but the strong, deliciously bitter variety so popular in the Middle East and North Africa. It’s a love that has endured. Today, Anne can rarely be seen without her coffee thermos, and refuses any kind of milk, cream, or sugar in her cup of Joe.
When Anne was in her early teens, the family moved to what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Though she originally spoke French, Anne was a quick study in English, mastering the language so thoroughly that she wrote and presented her graduation thesis on Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” entirely in her second language. To the surprise of no one, Anne inherited her parents’ passion for giving back – a passion that fit the selfless and courageous nature that nearly everyone respects about her. Her brother Mark remembers Anne spending a summer in college volunteering at a St. Louis hospital, where she cared for elderly sisters in the attached convent who were in poor health. After she graduated from Southwestern College in Kansas, Anne joined the Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, working as a community organizer among low-income public housing tenants in Kansas City.
But her childhood overseas had left its mark – Anne knew her calling lay in service work abroad. After finishing her service with VISTA, Anne returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she landed her first job associated with USAID. She eventually joined the Foreign Service in 2000 as an agricultural specialist. Her career has taken her to Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Senegal, and Mali, as well as Washington. Most recently, she was the Office Director for West Africa in USAID’s Africa Bureau – though she spent more than two years serving as the Bureau’s Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator.
Everywhere she traveled, she focused not on individual programs, but on bringing about tangible change. In Egypt, she helped develop a logo for Egyptian Cotton that helped the brand become famous worldwide. In Bangladesh, she helped train and empower communities to protect not just their livelihoods, but their natural resources and biodiversity as well. And in Senegal, she helped develop a marketing program to introduce farming communities to new varieties of irrigated rice, whose success contributed greatly to the country’s self-sufficiency in rice production.
Along the way, Anne gained a reputation as a mentor, supporting the needs of her staff while helping her Missions navigate challenging times. When she arrived in Mali following an attack on a Bamako hotel, Anne helped the Mission navigate staffing challenges after the ordered departure of American staff. She implemented a “spirit plan” to address local staff needs and improve the Mission’s morale. She used a significant portion of our meeting this morning to advocate on behalf of USAID’s Madagascar staff, whose compensation has not kept up with the cost of living.
And she was always a joy to work with. As one colleague remembers, “she had an infectious laugh, and an ability to build rapport with everyone.” That ability extended far beyond her own staff. In Senegal, a coworker remembers how quickly Anne was able to establish relationships within the Senegalese government – a speed that set her apart from other new American arrivals. Those relationships helped her as she led the creation of a government unit designed to foster cooperation between the government, private sector, and civil society on designing and implementing agricultural policies. It’s an accomplishment that took tremendous patience, understanding, and outreach – and one that has endured long after Anne’s departure.
And her experience and expertise in Africa have been incredibly valuable. Besides the fact that she spent much of her time in Washington serving as the Africa Bureau’s Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Anne’s expertise in the Sahel region was so valued and trusted that she became USAID’s major representative to inform National Security Council debates regarding the U.S. - Sahel Strategy. In these meetings, she helped maintain a focus not just on security, but on development and resilience as well.
If you think that Anne’s professional career sounds impossibly busy, you’re not alone. As her brother Mark said, “I don’t know anyone who works as hard as Anne does. My sister rests very little.” Today, Anne brings her experience with USAID and Africa to her newest position: Mission Director for USAID’s Mission in Madagascar.
She takes up her new post at a critical time for the country. In the southern part of the country, several consecutive years of sporadic, limited rainfall have caused a lengthy drought, even as six tropical cyclones and storms made landfall along the country’s eastern coastline in the first four months of this year. The storms brought devastating rains and flooding that destroyed millions of dollars of crops and livestock in the southeast.
As a result, approximately two million people in Madagascar – primarily in the southern regions – will likely experience crisis levels of acute food insecurity through November. And hundreds of thousands of children under five face the possibility of acute malnutrition, with some already enduring effects that will stay with them through the course of their lives. Despite these challenges, the country’s abundant natural resources, unique biodiversity, and dynamic, youthful population represent a strong foundation for progress. And USAID is already partnering with Madagascar and its government to seize these opportunities. As the largest donor in the response to food insecurity in Madagascar, we have committed more than $100 million in 2022 in response to both the drought and the cyclones, providing emergency food assistance, nutrition programs, agricultural interventions to support farming households, and increased access to water.
And just this year, Madagascar was named a Feed the Future target country, which will help draw new investment into Madagascar’s farming communities to provide economic support and help build resilience to climate change and disaster. These recent developments come in addition to our existing partnerships with local communities to preserve the country’s biodiversity and manage its natural resources – creating jobs, providing alternatives to unsustainable agricultural practices, protecting biodiversity in forests and along the coasts through national policies and local fieldwork, and moving control of natural resources directly to local communities.
Madagascar’s new Mission Director must be someone who understands the country’s political, economic, and cultural context. Someone who can win the trust and respect of those who work for her – whether from the United States or Madagascar. Someone decisive yet collaborative, informed yet curious. In all of those respects – from her vast experience in Africa, to her proven ability to win the respect of her staff, to her track record for getting things done – Anne is the perfect person to take on this new role. And it’s my great pleasure to now administer to her the oath of office.