Alonzo L. Fulgham serves as Vice President for IRD, responsible for execution and strategic business initiatives that cut across IRD’s operations, program development and emerging business services areas.

Mr. Fulgham brings broad strategic planning, management and execution capacity to IRD, with more than 20 years of effective operational leadership and organiza-tional change management experience – all focused on improving effectiveness and delivering results in complex global, conflict, and emerging market environ-ments.

Prior to joining IRD, President Barack Obama appointed Mr. Fulgham as Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on January 27, 2009. In this role, Mr. Fulgham managed a diverse global enterprise of over $15 billion annually in more than 88 countries, with a professional staff of more than 7,000 worldwide. There he ran programs and operations addressing a broad range of international challenges such as globalization, economic growth, hunger, food security, trade, climate change, HIV/AIDS, foreign disasters, rapid population growth, and counter-terrorism.

From 2006-2009, as the first Chief Operating Officer (COO) ever appointed to that agency, Mr. Fulgham had broad authority for policy, strategic planning and implementation. In addition, he spearheaded cross-disciplinary reform and outreach as a Commissioner of the bi-partisan, Congressionally-chartered “Commission for Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People around the Globe” (also known as “The HELP Commission”). In this role, Mr. Fulgham developed and evangelized actionable reforms to strengthen international development as an essential foreign policy tool in support of U.S. national security interests.

From June 2005 to July 2006, Mr. Fulgham served as USAID Mission Director to Afghanistan, where he implemented cutting edge stabilization and development programs with a budget of $1.4 billion. From 2003 to 2005, he served as the Director for South Asian Affairs at USAID, overseeing programs with a combined development and humanitarian assistance budget of over $1 billion. In 1989, he began his career with USAID in Swaziland. His other countries of overseas service have included: Jordan, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

Mr. Fulgham holds a Bachelor of Arts in business and economics from Fisk University and obtained a Master of Arts from the National Defense University in 2001. From 1984-1986 he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti.

Mr. Fulgham is a member of the board of directors of the Society for International Development (SID), the Futures Group, and Malaria No More. Additionally, he is a member of the International Advisory Council of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for International Relations and Politics. He is also a former board member of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation.