David Burgess was appointed Chief of Operations of the Europe, Mediterranean and Asia Region at the Peace Corps in 2006. He has worked with a variety of internationally focused organizations including World Learning, the US State Department, the US Institute of Peace, America’s Development Foundation, the Peace Corps, and the US Air Force. With Peace Corps, Professor Burgess was Country Director in Morocco and Niger in the 1980s, and later worked in headquarters as Director of Planning & Policy Analysis.
Before returning to the Peace Corps he worked as an International Democracy and Development Consultant and international program manager. He provided strategic advice and problem-solving assistance to clients in the US and overseas in a dozen countries in Eastern Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa. For seven years he was the founding Director of the USAID-supported US Democracy Fellows Program, and previously served for six years as the State Department’s Director of Human Rights Policy, Programs, Legislation, & Public Diplomacy, including oversight of human rights reporting, and asylum and refugee decisions.
His professional expertise and accomplishments span such areas as international democracy, civil society building, ethics and anti-corruption efforts, human rights, NGO capacity-building, program development, management, local governance, media development, and the international rule of law. He has also served as a US Air Force officer in command and staff positions domestically and overseas.
His publications include articles in professional journals and curricular texts on topics including immigration, international law, and local government finance and management. Professor Burgess has lived in numerous countries, including Turkey, Thailand, Rwanda, Morocco and Niger, and his professional experience spans nearly every region of the world.
