Sign up to attend the Illinois REALTORS® virtual Global Forum at 10 a.m. June 20. During the one-hour session, keynote speaker Joe Williams will explain different types of foreign assistance, how it is used in foreign policy, how U.S. spending compares to other nations and more.

Learn more about this event.

Foreign aid or assistance can generate a negative response among the American Public and people have every right to question why and how such funding is spent. This virtual event will highlight the U.S. foriegn assistance budget, how foreign aid has evolved and how it is used as a tool in U.S. foreign policy.

Topics will include:

  • Percentage of the federal budget that goes to foreign assistance
  • List of the top recipients
  • Major categories/types of foreign assistance
  • Comparison of the U.S. with other major donors
  • Emergence of China as a donor/lender

This event will provide you with key facts for discussions about this perennial topic.

About the presenter

Williams is managing director, global programs, at Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) where he works closely with FSVC field staff to coordinate the implementation of technical assistance projects in developing countries and build stronger financial sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region, among other regions.

Prior to joining FSVC, Williams spent 30 years mobilizing staff and resources to achieve major development goals and policy agendas. His assignments with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) included Lesotho, Egypt, Nicaragua, Washington, Uganda, Hungary, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan and Albania. He also worked in Morocco, Libya, Yemen, Philippines, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and Romania. His expertise includes strategic and operational planning and program design and implementation. He is adept at planning and executing strategies and programs in rapidly changing, complex environments, leveraging funds and managing operations.

Williams began his overseas career in Swaziland where he worked in the sugar industry. He has a BA and a JD degree from the University of Tennessee and practiced law in Tennessee before embarking on his international career.