Dr. Karen R. Hilliard

Mission Director, USAID/Armenia

USAID/Armenia welcomed Dr. Karen R. Hilliard to Armenia as the new Mission Director in September 2012. In this capacity, Dr. Hilliard oversees the Mission’s project portfolio of approximately $20 million annually in support of democracy and governance reform, economic development, and health and social reform. A 23-year veteran of the Foreign Service, Dr. Hilliard holds the Senior Foreign Service rank of Counselor. Her most recent post was in Mongolia, where she served as the Acting USAID Representative. Prior to that, she served as Mission Director to Jamaica from 2007-2011, managing a $30 million program in economic reform, democracy and governance, and investing in people. Under her leadership, the Mission leveraged an additional $12 million through public/private partnerships. From 2006-2007 she was Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting for the Agency’s Bureau for Global Health in Washington, and, from 2003-2006, she was Deputy Regional Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. Her previous posts include Haiti, Malawi, Nicaragua, Oman and Egypt. Over the course of her Foreign Service career, Dr. Hilliard has managed projects in diverse technical areas, including health, population and nutrition, environment, small and micro-enterprise development, education and training, and democracy and governance. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, project design and program evaluation. She served as subject matter expert on two successive Agency Task Forces on personnel reform.