Rajiv Shah

Rajiv Shah grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan; he then earned a medical degree from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry School of Medicine and a business degree from the Wharton School.⁠[1][2]

Shah worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for eight years, overseeing work in global health, agriculture, and financial services, and helped create the International Finance Facility for Immunization; the resources it raised have been used to vaccinate 1.2 billion children, saving an estimated 20.6 million lives.⁠[3][1]

Before joining USAID, Shah served as Under Secretary and Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he created the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.⁠[3]

In 2009, President Obama named Shah Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously. On January 7, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton administered his oath of office at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington; in her remarks, Clinton said she had consulted his former boss, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, before Shah was nominated, and announced that he would take over as co-chair of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).⁠[1][2][2][2][2]

As Administrator, Shah restructured USAID’s operations in more than 70 countries, emphasizing innovation, developing high-impact public-private partnerships, and concentrating investments to improve results. He led the U.S. government’s responses to the Haiti earthquake and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, served as a member of the National Security Council, and led the Obama administration’s Feed the Future and Power Africa initiatives. As of early 2015, Feed the Future had improved nutrition for 12 million children and helped more than 7 million farmers.⁠[1][1][3][3]

After stepping down as USAID Administrator, Shah became a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service on March 1, 2015, working with Steven Radelet, director of the school’s Global Human Development Program.⁠[3][3]

In 2017, Shah became the 13th president of The Rockefeller Foundation. He has led the foundation’s “big bets” on ending energy poverty, making food that is good for people and the planet widely available, strengthening health systems, and advancing economic mobility in the United States.⁠[4][1]

In October 2023, Shah published Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens, which examines how large-scale social change is achieved.⁠[1]

On July 14, 2026, a year after USAID was shut down, The Rockefeller Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and others launched the Commission on the Future of Foreign Assistance, co-chaired by former South Carolina Governor David BeasleyDavid BeasleyDavid Beasley is an American politician who served as Governor of South Carolina from 1995 to 1999 and as Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) from 2017 to 2023, during which WFP received the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. He has been a trustee of The Rockefeller Foundation since June 2026.Open the full entry and former Senator Ben Cardin, with plans to release a blueprint for reforming the U.S. foreign assistance system in 2027. Shah said that, at a time when wealthy countries are scaling back their aid commitments, the commission is an important step toward building a 21st-century approach to aid.⁠[5][5][5][5]

On September 21, 2026, as about 100 former heads of state and government jointly called on current leaders to revitalize international cooperation, Shah spoke at a related event, saying that even as threats multiply and pessimism grows, most people in the world still want to work together to solve problems. A 34-country survey supported by the foundation found that 57% of respondents agreed that their country should work with other countries to address global challenges, even if that requires compromising on some national interests.⁠[6][6][6][6]

X: Public account: https://x.com/rajshah (opens in a new window)⁠[1]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrajivjshah/ (opens in a new window)⁠[1]