Andy Karas, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, joined USAID in 2000. Andy has served overseas with USAID in Rwanda, Kenya (with the regional mission), Afghanistan, Djibouti, and most recently, Ghana, where he completed his assignment as Mission Director on June 21, 2017. Prior to joining USAID, Andy worked with local and international non-governmental organizations in Rwanda and Kenya, and also, with community-based organizations serving homeless and low-income populations in New York City and San Francisco. Andy gained his formative experience as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya from 1985-88, supporting rural women’s groups on agriculture projects. Andy earned his B.A. in African History from Middlebury College, and a M.S. in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. He speaks Kiswahili and is conversational in French.