CGA Team
Sepideh Keyvanshad,
Senior Advisor
Sepideh Keyvanshad is a senior foreign affairs professional with over two decades of experience at the intersection of diplomacy, development, and security. Until recently, she served as a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development in leadership positions in Washington and in overseas missions. Her work has consistently focused on advancing stability, governance, and economic growth in complex political and security environments, while building partnerships among governments, multilateral donors, and local communities.
From 2020 to 2024, she served as Mission Director in Nepal, leading a staff of 150 and managing an annual budget of $160 million. In this role, she strengthened U.S. engagement in a strategically important region, significantly increasing direct government financing and expanding awards to local organizations, including new and first-time partners. She expanded community leadership in program design, broadening participation and improving sustainability, while also significantly increasing outreach to previously underserved areas. Earlier, as Deputy Mission Director in Afghanistan, she helped oversee the Agency’s largest global portfolio, managing a $5 billion operating budget and a team of more than 350 U.S., Afghan, and international staff. She led initiatives to support Afghan ministries through direct assistance and developed a $500 million budget support mechanism. Her overseas work has also included El Salvador, Haiti, and Russia.
In Washington, Keyvanshad has worked at the National Security Council as Director of International Economic Affairs for Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she secured international financial commitments for Afghanistan’s economy and worked with the IMF and U.S. Treasury on fiscal reform in Pakistan. At the State Department, she advised the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, helping shape development assistance strategies and expand direct support to ministries. At the United States Institute of Peace, she worked on Russia and Ukraine, helping draft the Institute’s strategy on engagement with Russia.
In addition to her policy and field leadership, Keyvanshad has extensive experience in organizational change and transformation. As Acting Chief Human Capital Officer at USAID, she led an organization of 150 professionals, responsible for strategic and operational human resource functions of 10,000 US and locally employed staff across the world. During a period of major institutional transition, she ensured compliance with regulations, managed complex workforce separations, and supported staff through a challenging organizational merger. She also served as Deputy Coordinator for the State Department/USAID Transformation Task Team, leading reforms to streamline global operations, strengthen oversight, and improve efficiency across both agencies.
Keyvanshad is fluent in Farsi and Spanish. She holds a BA in criminal justice and psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the National War College.