Ambassador Jendayi Frazer Swears in four new members of the USADF board of directors:

Members Come From Different Backgrounds Committed to Development in Africa

WASHINGTON - September 30, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 30, 2008 – Ambassador Jendayi Frazer has sworn in four new members into the United States African Development Foundation’s Board of Directors today. The new members, Dr. John O. Agwunobi, Mr. Jack Leslie, Mr. Julius E. Coles, and Mr. Morgan Davis were nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this summer.

USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, “We are excited to welcome these four individuals to our Board of Directors. I am certain they will enhance USADF’s mission of working directly with marginalized groups in Africa.” 

Dr. Aguwnobi will serve as the new Chairman of the Board and comes to ADF as an expert in public health. He has served as the 12th Assistant Secretary for Health with the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, as well as with the United States Public Health Services Commissioned Corps. He is currently the Senior Vice President and President of Health & Wellness Business Unit at Wal-Mart.

Mr. Leslie, named as the new Vice Chairman of the Board, is currently the chairman of Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading public relations agencies. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as the former Chairman of the Board of USA for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency). Mr. Leslie will sit as the Vice Chairman of the Board until September 22, 2013.

Mr. Coles will join USADF from Africare, a leading non-profit organization specializing in development and relief aid to Africa, where he sat on the Board of Directions before becoming President in June 2002. He has also been the director of Morehouse College's Andrew Young Center for International Affairs, the director of Howard University's Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center, and has worked with USAID for the majority of his Foreign Service career.

Mr. Davis has been actively involved as Chairman of the Board for Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and is a former member of the Faith Alive Foundation. It is Morgan's involvement with Global Strategies that has brought him to Jos, Nigeria several times. With the help of many volunteers, the organization works diligently to improve the health care options for the region.

The new members will serve on the board alongside Ambassador Jendayi Frazier, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 18 African nations.  Over the past 25 years, USADF has directly funded nearly 1,100 African projects representing in excess of $150 million in support of African enterprises and local African communities.

For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

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