Prior to his assignment as the USAID Mission Director for Guatemala, Mr. Beed was the USAID Chair and visiting faculty member at the National Defense University's Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.

A Senior Foreign Service Officer holding the rank of Minister-Counselor, Mr. Beed has served with USAID for more than 20 years in a variety of program and mission management positions. Mr. Beed’s background includes serving as the Counselor for International Development at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where he promoted worldwide U.S.-Japan collaboration in such areas as Afghanistan reconstruction, food security, global health, and public-private partnerships.

Prior to joining the National Defense University faculty, John Beed served as USAID’s Mission Director for India from 2013-2015, overseeing a program designed to support sustainable development led by innovation and global partnership. He previously served as Acting Mission Director and Deputy Mission Director in Egypt during the Arab Spring.

From 2006-2009, he was USAID’s Mission Director in Paraguay, where he led a significant expansion of U.S. assistance during a historical political transition. The expansion included the successful implementation of two Millennium Challenge Corporation programs supporting the country’s efforts to combat corruption and spur economic growth.

Mr. Beed also served as Deputy Mission Director and Supervisory Program Officer in Mexico, and as a private enterprise officer in the Russian Federation and Egypt. In Washington, D.C., Mr. Beed was the chief of USAID’s regional economic growth programs for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Beed was a Congressional staff member for U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, VA. Mr. Beed has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Tulane University and a Master’s Degree in Slavic and East European studies from Florida State University.