Pia Wanek has more than 15 years of experience in the donor community and the NGO world. She has directed Global Communities responses to various crises, including the West African Ebola epidemic, the 2014 war in Gaza, and the ongoing Syrian and Yemen conflicts. She worked for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance for six years, predominantly on East and Central Africa emergency response programs, and supported the civil-military portfolio at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and strategic planning and policy development at the Consular Affairs bureau at the State Department.

Pia has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and International Studies from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science in Anthropology and Development.