Mr. Jason Fraser was sworn in as the Mission Director for USAID’s Mission in Rwanda in May 2017. He leads a portfolio primarily focused on agriculture, food security, economic growth, trade, education and health.  Mr. Fraser previously served as Mission Director to Angola from 2014-2016 where he managed a program in economic growth, health, democracy and governance as well Power Africa.  As Deputy Mission Director in Ethiopia from 2010-2013, he was instrumental in providing overall strategy and insight to the mission’s new Country Development Cooperation Strategy and managed programs under the Feed the Future Program, PEPFAR, and advancing the President’s Malaria Initiative, as well as Power Africa.

In Washington, Mr. Fraser served as the Office Director for East Africa Affairs and the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for East Africa and Sustainable Development.  In these capacities he provided support for the USAID Missions in the field and advanced policy for USAID in Washington concerning the countries of the East Africa region, including Rwanda and Burundi, as well as representing the Africa Bureau within the interagency and on the Hill.

Prior to joining USAID, Mr. Fraser was practicing law in both Boston and New York.  He began his career at USAID in 2001 as a legal officer in the office of the General Counsel, with his first overseas assignment as the regional legal advisor for USAID’s regional program for Southern Africa, based in Gaborone, Botswana (2003-2007) and subsequently as Supervisory Regional Legal Advisor for the Caribbean region based in the Dominican Republic (2007-2010) where he provided legal and regulatory advice to mission management in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana, and for the Caribbean regional program based in Barbados. During that time he was responsible for providing legal and operational advice to the Haitian mission during the devastating earthquake of 2010. 

Mr. Fraser is a graduate of Columbia Law School and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs.  He lives in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife Naledi and his son Xander.