Biography of Nisha Desai Biswal
Assistant Administrator for Asia
Nisha Desai Biswal was sworn in as USAID's Assistant Administrator for
Asia on September 20, 2010. Prior to her appointment, she served as
the Majority Clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations
Subcommittee on the Committee on Appropriations in the U.S. House of
Representatives, which has jurisdiction over the State Department and
USAID, as well as other aspects of the international affairs budget. In
this capacity, Ms. Biswal provided staff support to Appropriations
Committee Chairman David Obey and Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita
Lowey in managing the appropriations and oversight of the U.S.
international affairs budget.
Ms. Biswal has served as the Director of Policy and Advocacy at
InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international humanitarian
and development nongovernmental organizations. She also previously
served on the professional staff of the U.S. House of Representatives
International Relations Committee, where she was responsible for South
and Central Asia policy as well as oversight of the State Department and
USAID.
Ms. Biswal worked at USAID for four years, serving as Special Assistant
to the Administrator, working in the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster
Assistance and the Office of Transition Initiatives, and serving as chief of
staff in the Management Bureau. Ms. Biswal has also worked with the
American Red Cross, both in their Washington headquarters and
overseas as an international delegate in Armenia, Georgia, and
Azerbaijan. Ms. Biswal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Virginia. Ms. Biswal is married to Subrat Biswal, and they
have two daughters.
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