Whether responding to man-made or natural crises —i.e. the Syrian civil war, an illegitimate regime’s oppression, or challenges like Ebola, COVID-19 or maternal or child health in developing countries — there has for decades been broad bipartisan consensus that the core values of the U.S. include the responsibility to help others in need. International aid and assistance not only promote stable civic institutions and democracy, but bolster long-term friendships around the world, which are essential to our national security, here and abroad.  

What is the current state of foreign aid and assistance? With the U.S. receding from many multilateral alliances and agreements, what is the outlook for long-term investments in global humanitarian aid —from the COVID-19 response to alleviating poverty and hunger, to supporting vulnerable populations in fragile states, and other challenges? How might the U.S. maintain its footing as a global leader in these areas? 

Join us as Bonnie Glick, former deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and now a senior advisor for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, takes us through an engaging discussion on American generosity seen through our commitments to foreign assistance over the past 60 years.   

Bonnie Glick is a senior adviser (non-resident) with the Project on Prosperity and Development at Center for Strategic and International Studies. Glick was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the deputy administrator and chief operating officer (COO) of the U.S. Agency for International Development from January 2019-November 2020. She worked for 12 years as a Foreign Service officer in the U.S. Department of State. She later worked for IBM as a global account executive, where she co-authored three patents as part of the IBM Research Division. Glick served as the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Aging from 2017 until 2019 under Governor Larry Hogan. In her role as deputy administrator and COO, Glick's portfolio covered all Agency programs worldwide (100+ countries) and all Agency operations. Among the issues she championed were digital transformation, the significance of 5G as a development priority in emerging markets, private sector engagement, democracy and governance, global vaccine distribution, the Abraham Accords, and food security. She was the executive sponsor of USAID’s COVID-19 Task Force that addressed both the safety and security of the global workforce and the international response to the outbreak.