Andy Karas, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, joined USAID in 2000. Andy took up his assignment as Mission Director of USAID/Tanzania in August 2017. He has served overseas with USAID in Rwanda, Kenya (with the regional mission), Afghanistan, Djibouti, and as the Mission Director of USAID/Ghana. 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, USA. 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 Agriculture Development from the University of California, Davis. He speaks Kiswahili and is conversational in French.