Donald

Donald Steinberg is executive director of Mobilizing Allies for Women, Peace and Security, a nonprofit supporting women peacebuilders in 30 countries facing conflict. From 2021 to 2024, he served as expert advisor to the administrator of USAID, focusing on empowering local partners in developing countries and supporting marginalized populations abroad. From 2013–17 he was president of World Learning. Ambassador Steinberg was Deputy Administrator at USAID under President Obama and a member of the NSC Deputies Committee. He also served as director of the U.S. State Department’s Joint Policy Council, White House deputy press secretary, NSC senior director for African affairs, Special Haiti coordinator, U.S. Ambassador to Angola, acting USTR and the president’s special representative for humanitarian demining. He served on Capitol Hill as foreign affairs and defense policy advisor to House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt. He was also deputy president at the International Crisis Group and a senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace. His awards include the Presidential Meritorious Service Award, the Frasure Award for International Peace, the Hunt Award for Women’s Empowerment, and the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. He holds master’s degrees from Columbia University (journalism) and University of Toronto (economic development), and a bachelor's degree in economics from Reed College. He has lived with Parkinson’s disease for more than a decade.