About the Author
RYAN MCCANNELL is the division chief for Conflict , Peacebuilding and Governance in the U . S . Agency for International Development ( USAID ) Bureau for Africa . He oversees a team of 12 subject-matter experts who manage regional programs and advise USAID Missions in sub-Saharan Africa on democracy , human rights , governance , conflict mitigation , and civil-military relations , as well as countering violent extremism , terrorism , and human and narcotics trafficking . Before joining USAID in 2004 , Ryan spent eight years at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs ( NDI ), where he was responsible for designing and managing democracy support programs in Nigeria , Côte d ’ Ivoire , Burkina Faso , Sierra Leone , Malawi , South Africa , and the Central African Republic . In 2002-03 , he served as NDI ’ s chief of party in Benin and Togo , where he organized training for political parties prior to elections in those two countries . Before NDI , Ryan worked as a democracy researcher for US- AID . He received a bachelor ’ s degree and certificate in African Studies at Georgetown ’ s School of Foreign Service , a masters in Geographic and Cartographic Sciences at George Mason University , and a masters in Strategic Studies from the U . S . Army War College .
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