Veena Reddy Becomes The First Indian American to Lead USAID India

Ambassadors from both countries attended the swearing-in ceremony and tweeted their support for Reddy.

Veena Reddy swore in to the position of Mission Director for the USAID India on 26 July. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/USAID_India)

Veena Reddy was sworn-in as Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) - India on Monday, 26 July.

She is the first Indian American to serve in this position, and will be instrumental in representing interests of both India and the USA, and "bolster" the "development partnership" between the two countries.

Indian Ambassador to the US and the US Ambassador to India both were in attendance in the virtual swearing in ceremony. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian Ambassador, and US Ambassador Atul Keshap, both congratulated Reddy on the new role.

Reddy started out as a lawyer at a private practice and within seven years joined the USAID and has been with the agency since. She served as a Regional Senior Advisor for three years and then as Senior Legal advisor for Pakistan for a year. In 2012, she worked as an assistant general counsel and was appointed as the Deputy Mission Director for Haiti.

She is seen as someone with substantial experience in foreign policy and international development.

Veena Reddy Studied Public Policy and Social Sciences at the Chicago University and received her Doctor of Law degree from Columbia University School of Law.