Amy Paro

Speeches Shim

Amy Paro
Deputy Assistant Administrator

Amy Paro is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Program Operations in the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA). Ms. Paro is a career member of the Foreign Service with 25 years of development experience, including USAID leadership roles in Latin America, Asia, and Washington.

Prior to her current role, Ms. Paro served as the Director of the Foreign Service Center in USAID's Human Capital and Talent Management Office where she led all aspects of the recruitment, assignment, and career development of USAID’s 1,750 Foreign Service Officers and 250 non-career Foreign Service employees.

As Deputy Mission Director in Honduras, Ms. Paro provided sustained leadership in addressing the Central America migration crisis and in creating the conditions to advance prosperity, security, and inclusive development for all Hondurans. In her role, as the Director of the Strategy and Program Office in the Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Ms. Paro played a lead role in shaping all major development strategies for the region, determining the allocation of nearly $1 billion annually in resources, and engaging with Congress on LAC strategic priorities and programming.

Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Ms. Paro established the Washington-based Haiti Task Team Program Unit for the earthquake reconstruction program, serving as its head. She also served as Program Office Director in Nepal, where she led strategy development, budget allocation, and program planning and design. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Food for Peace Officer in Afghanistan and as the U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance Representative in Ethiopia. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Paro worked for the World Food Program in Guinea and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger.

Ms. Paro holds a Master's degree in Public Affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor's degree in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame.