Michelle Bekkering is the  Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Development, Democracy and Innovation (DDI), which is the central resource for providing world-class technical assistance to USAID’s field missions.  Previously, Ms. Bekkering was the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3).  She also leads the work for the Agency on high-priority Administration initiatives, including One Trillion Trees, the U.S. Government International Basic Education Strategy, and the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP).
 
Ms. Bekkering joined USAID in July 2017, and concurrently served as the E3 Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator and as the Agency’s Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. During Ms. Bekkering’s tenure, she has provided senior leadership during the Agency’s transformation process, while leading the E3 bureau’s efforts to reorient its strategies, partnerships, and programs to achieve the Administrator’s vision of the Journey to Self-Reliance. Under her leadership, USAID's new Private Sector Engagement policy was launched, which included the creation and management of global mechanisms that catalyze partnerships with private sector actors.  Ms. Bekkering also supported the White House in the development of W-GDP, the first whole-of-government effort to focus on global women’s economic empowerment, which seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025.
 
Ms. Bekkering has represented the U.S. Government in high-level bilateral and multilateral policy fora, including the 2017 G7 Development Ministerial, the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, official delegate to the 2017 and 2018 UN’s Commission on the Status of Women, and head of the USG delegation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)’s Women and the Economy Forum (September 2018).

Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Bekkering served from 2005-2017 at the International Republican Institute (IRI), a non-profit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide. During her tenure at IRI, she provided leadership on democratic rights and governance initiatives in Washington, D.C. and as residential country director based in Indonesia.  Ms. Bekkering has also served in numerous positions in the U.S. Government, including the National Security Council, and on Capitol Hill.