Raj Shah

Former Senior Fellow


President, Rockefeller Foundation; Former Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (Obama Administration)

Raj Shah is President of the Rockefeller Foundation and a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University. He served as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from January 2010 to February 2015, advancing its mission of ending extreme poverty and promoting resilient, democratic societies. He pioneered new public-private partnerships, catalyzed scientific innovation and enlisted the private sector and bi-partisan Congressional leaders to join in this cause. He also led the U.S. Government’s humanitarian response to catastrophic crises around the world, including the Haiti earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Previously, Shah served as Under Secretary and Chief Scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prior to that, he spent eight years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from its inception, where he led efforts in global health, agriculture, and financial services.

Originally from Detroit, Shah earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his Master of Science in health economics at the Wharton School of Business. He attended the London School of Economics and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.


The latest from Raj Shah:

“‘America First’ shouldn’t mean cutting foreign aid,” Washington Post, Raj Shah and Michael Gerson, February 24, 2017 – (printable version)

“This is how the U.S. must lead the fight against Zika,” Washington Post, Raj Shah and Michael Gerson, July 18, 2016 – (printable version

“What Do We Mean By Results-Based Development?” Center for Global Development, Raj Shah and Michael Gerson, February 16, 2016  (podcast)

“EPISODE 99: RAJ SHAH,” UN Dispatch, Raj Shah, May 1, 2015 (podcast)