CGD’s Steve Radelet Joins the U.S. Government

As many of you who closely track U.S. development policy doubtlessly already know, one of CGD's first senior fellows, Steve Radelet, joined the U.S. government this week as a senior advisor on development in the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. For me personally this is a bittersweet moment. Sweet because I know that the U.S. development effort will benefit greatly from everything Steve has to offer, and I trust that he will find new opportunities for carrying on CGD's spirit in his new role. Indeed, I've encouraged such cross-fertilization in our staffing (see, for example, Todd Moss and visiting fellow John Simon). And sad because my colleagues and I will greatly miss having Steve as part of the lively give-and-take that makes CGD such a satisfying place to work.Steve's scholarship and policy savvy have contributed greatly to the Center's success over the years. Among his many achievements at CGD, he wrote Challenging Foreign Aid: A Policymakers Guide to the Millennium Challenge Account -- quite literally the book on the MCA. Some in the blogosphere have called him, without exaggeration, the architect of the MCA. Steve was a founding co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, which outlined U.S. reform needs. And together with Sheila Herrling he wrote the chapter on U.S. development reform in White House and the World. (Folks working on the PSD and QDDR who have not yet read this will want to make sure that they do!).I am grateful for Steve's advice and friendship, and I will miss having him as a colleague. At the same time, I am proud that this very senior-level appointment reflects enormously well not only on Steve's own achievements but also on the reputation of the Center. All of us here wish him all the best in his new endeavor.