From 2021 until 2024, Sarah Charles led USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the U.S. government lead for international disaster response. During her tenure, Ms. Charles led U.S. humanitarian responses to: the global food security crisis, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, historic drought and conflict in the Horn of Africa, civil war in Sudan, and complex emergencies in Haiti, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Syria. She championed key strategic initiatives to transform humanitarian assistance, focusing on localizing aid delivery, reforming and expanding the treatment of malnutrition, strengthening responses to sexual violence in crisis settings, increasing early warning and disaster risk reduction, and supporting climate resilience in vulnerable communities. Previously, she served for four years on the Obama National Security Council (NSC) Staff and worked for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Washington, and overseas in the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan.
