Former Ambassador, USAID Administrator, Mark Green to lead D.C-based organization
WASHINGTON, DC (April 16, 2020) – Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow and board chair Cindy McCain formally announced today that Ambassador Mark Green will be the new executive director of the McCain Institute for International Leadership, based at ASU’s Barrett & O’Connor Center in Washington, D.C. Green starts his new job effective April 20.
As the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) since August 2017, Green’s former posts include heading the International Republican Institute (IRI), serving as ambassador to Tanzania, and representing Wisconsin in the United States Congress.
“Ambassador Green’s selection continues our unwavering commitment to securing the absolute best talent available,” said ASU President Michael M. Crow. “His leadership style, vision and global success match up superbly with the ASU charter.”
The selection comes after an extensive search facilitated by Korn Ferry and led by Fran Townsend, McCain Institute board member and former homeland security advisor.
“Mark Green’s hallmark is inclusive, character-driven leadership that produces remarkable results,” said Cindy McCain, board chair of the Institute. “I’ve known and admired him for a long time, and am so proud we now get to work with him directly as our executive director. I know my late husband would approve,” she added.
Based in the nation’s capital as part of ASU since 2012, the McCain Institute is a unique, action-oriented policy institution with major programs that advance character-driven leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity.
“Character-driven leadership, in America and around the world, has never been more important,” said Green. “At USAID, I helped strengthen our humanitarian and global development tools. At the McCain Institute, I’ll have an opportunity to reinforce the leadership needed to use these and other tools at a critical moment in our history.”
Interim Executive Director Nick Rasmussen will continue at the Institute as senior program director of national security and counterterrorism.
“What drew me and what draws top leaders from the government to the Institute is simple; we have ambitious, impactful programs led by innovative, experienced practitioners,” said Rasmussen, who is the former director of the U.S. National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC).
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More About the McCain Institute
Inspired by the character-driven leadership of Senator John McCain and his family’s legacy of public service, the McCain Institute implements programs and initiatives to make a difference in people’s lives across a range of critical areas: leadership development, human rights, rule of law, national security, counterterrorism and combatting human trafficking. [FACT SHEET]
More About Arizona State University
Ranked #1 nationally in innovation for five years running, Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.
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