Andy Karas

Background

About Andy Karas

Andy Karas is an inclusive, mission-driven leader with a passion for community-based, people-centered development. He has thirty-plus years of international development experience across sub-Saharan Africa. Andy is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and available for assignments in Africa where he can best contribute his diverse experience leading teams and passion for inclusive development on this ever-inspiring continent. A former Senior Foreign Service Officer with USAID, Andy served in leadership capacities including Regional Mission Director of USAID/Southern Africa, Mission Director of USAID/Tanzania, and Mission Director of USAID/Ghana. He also served overseas with USAID in Rwanda, Kenya (with the regional mission), Afghanistan, and Djibouti. Prior to joining USAID, Andy worked with local and international non-governmental organizations in Rwanda and Kenya, and 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 US Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya from 1985-88, supporting rural women's groups on agriculture projects. Andy earned his BA in African History from Middlebury College, and an MS in International Agriculture Development from the University of California, Davis. He is fluent in Kiswahili and conversational in French.