Nisha Biswal

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, 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.

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.

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. 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. Biswal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and is married to Subrat Biswal--they have two daughters.

Areas of expertise:

• U.S. foreign assistance to South, Central, East, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific
• India
• China
• Burma

USAID re-engagement with the Pacific Island countries