Mr. John M. Watson is the Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Program Coordinator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), located in the Office of Small and Disadvantage Business Utilization (OSDBU). The mission of the MSI Coordinator is to promote inclusion of colleges and universities that are underrepresented in federal programs and activities.

John Watson joined USAID in November 2008 in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; responsible for providing funds management oversight in the use of Letters of Credit. He later served as Senior Program Manager in the Office of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA)/Office of Civilian Response (OCR). He was responsible for planning, managing and overseeing all operational requirements related to the Civilian Response Corp Program, including management oversight for the Civilian Deployment Center.

He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Hampton Institute (University) and MBA from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor; Certified as a Contracting Officer Technical Representative and Assistance Officer Technical Representative.

Prior to joining USAID, he served as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army Ordnance Corp.