Talk:Aaron S. Williams/draft

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Early life and education[edit]

Aaron Williams grew up in a in a family of modest means in South Side, Chicago.[1] There, he attended Chicago State University,[1] earning a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Education.[2] He later earned an MBA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.[1]

Career[edit]

Williams began his career as a high school teacher in Chicago.[3] He decided to volunteer for the Peace Corps after hearing speeches by President Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, and then talking to a fellow teacher from the same alma mater that had volunteered in Jamaica.[3] Williams supported the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic for three years.[3] While there, he taught rural school teachers seeking high school diplomas, then worked with the Ministry of Education on developing educational curriculum.[3] Williams also trained teachers for the country's first private university, Universidad Madre y Maestra.[3] Then, Williams returned to the United States and served the Peace Corps as a Coordinator of Minority Recruitment.[3]

In 1978 Williams joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID), where he worked for 22 years, as a foreign service officer.[3] At USAID, Williams created partnerships with the private sector in Haiti and Costa Rica.[3] He was promoted to Director of the Private Sector Office in the Latin America and the Caribbean Bureau,[3] before being promoted to senior management positions, serving as the Mission Director for the Eastern Caribbean Region, based in Barbados, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Assistant Administrator for LAC, and as the head of the Executive Secretariat for USAID.[3] He also attained the rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service.[4] When Williams left USAID, his title was Mission Director to South Africa.[3] Williams then worked for RTI International as Vice President of International Business Development from 2003 to 2009.[1][3]

<Insert the paragraph in the current live article that starts with "In July 2009, President Barack Obama"> At the time there was a problem with Peace Corps volunteers being sexually assaulted abroad.[5] Williams testified to a congressional panel that the Peace Corps had not done enough to protect its volunteers and he would make it a priority to change that.[6] Williams worked with Congress to institute reforms, such as heightened security, training and support for victims.[5]

As the Peace Corps Director, Williams re-opened Peace Corps programs in Colombia, Sierra, and Indonesia.[7] Additionally, under his tenure the Peace Corps expanded its operations into Tunisia and Nepal.[8] Peace Corps also expanded and created new programs in Africa, through partnerships with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Feed the Future Initiative.[8] Williams resigned from the Peace Corps effective September 17, 2012[5] and returned to RTI International, in the position of Executive Vice President of the international development group.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Explorations in Black Leadership". The University of Virginia. Institute for Public History. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Division, International (April 12, 2011). "Interview with Peace Corps Director and UW Alum Aaron S. Williams". International Division. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Brinkerhoff, D.W.; Brinkerhoff, J.M. (2005). Working for Change: Making a Career in International Public Service. Kumarian Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-56549-203-5. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "Aaron Williams, RTI executive, former Peace Corps director, selected as Gillings School's commencement speaker". UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. January 25, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Director of Peace Corps steps down". CNN. August 21, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  6. ^ Norman, Joshua (May 11, 2011). "Peace Corps regrets response to rapes, deaths". CBS News. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "Past Directors". Make the Most of Your World. Peace Corps. June 25, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Aaron S. Williams to Step Down as Peace Corps Director". Make the Most of Your World. September 17, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
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