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. foreign 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.

Zoom link will be emailed out at least one week prior to the session.

Tuesday, June 20 | 10-11 a.m.

Joe Williams is a 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.