Dr. Susan K. Brems, USAID Mission Director for the Philippines, Pacific Islands, and Mongolia began her assignment in mid- September 2015. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, rank of Minister-Counselor, Brems was previously Mission Director in Zambia (2011-2015); Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Global Health (2009-2011); and Mission Director for Angola (2007 to 2009). She has also held the positions of Deputy Mission Director in Peru and Nicaragua. Brems has been with the Agency since 1992, spending the first 10 years of her USAID career as a health officer in Peru and Bolivia. Before joining USAID, she worked with the World Bank and the American Public Health Association.

Brems holds a PhD and MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Social Change and Development and from the Johns Hopkins College of Arts and Sciences in Socio-cultural Anthropology. Prior degrees include an MA from Middlebury College and a BS from Georgetown University.