Former USAID official Scott Cameron to lead CDE – The Williams Record

Scott Cameron, a former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official, will serve as the new director for the Center for Development Economics (CDE) following the upcoming retirement of longtime director Tom Powers ’81.

In an interview with the Record, Cameron said he is eager to bring his skillset to the College. “Being able to use skills I’ve garnered over the years…[and] tap into some of my networks to potentially support the program and Williams College writ large, and try to help bring different perspectives and potentially different folks here to campus, I think it’s an exciting opportunity,” he said.

Cameron arrived at the College last month and is serving alongside Powers until his tenure ends on June 30. This transitional period is meant to prepare Cameron to oversee the CDE, which operates a 10-month masters degree program that trains mid-career economic policymakers from low- and middle-income countries.

Powers is finishing his 27th year as leader of the CDE. After graduating from the College, he worked in finance, received an MBA from Harvard Business School, and served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone. In 1999, Powers returned to the College to lead the CDE through a transformational period that aimed to bolster the financial stability of the program.

Professor of Economics Quamrul Ashraf serves as chair of the CDE’s Executive Committee and led the search committee for Powers’ replacement. “Tom Powers will be a name that will stay alive in alumni networks for generations to come,” he said.

Ashraf said that the search committee prioritized finding someone who could uphold Powers’ legacy of strong leadership while bringing a new perspective to the CDE.

Ashraf said he is confident in Cameron’s ability to take over the historic institution. “Bringing somebody in like Scott … really gives me a lot of confidence for continuity, stability and growth,” he said.

Most recently, Cameron served as the director for civilian military cooperation at USAID, a position he left in July 2025. Before then, he worked in various leadership roles within the agency and also worked as the director for global development at the National Security Council at the White House. Throughout his career, Cameron has worked directly with finance ministries and central banks across more than 50 countries.

Cameron believes that his experience has prepared him to work with the diversity of graduate students at the CDE. “I’ve been a practitioner in places like the Philippines, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Kenya, and other parts of the world, where I’m implementing a lot of the types of programs with other governments and the very things the students here are learning,” he said in an interview with the Record. “In fact, I’ve worked with some of the ministries the students work out of in the current class.”

Ashraf highlighted that, in addition to shaping economic policy, Cameron has developed mentorship programs similar to the CDE’s. While working in Africa, Cameron oversaw an Obama-administration program known as the Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI), which sends young African students to the United States for educational opportunities.

“One of the defining features of his career is his hands-on role in building these leadership pipelines in developing countries with respect to policymakers,” Ashraf said. “This gives him an unusually strong foundation in student engagement [and] student mentoring.”

Cameron’s desire to help others drew him to work in higher education. “I think with my last job in the Foreign Service, and now this job, I really wanted to do something that was mission driven, where you’re making a difference, where you’re having impact, and helping people be their best selves,” he said.

The College’s decision to hire Cameron comes at a time when foreign aid money is running dry. Last year, President Donald Trump moved to dismantle USAID, which was founded in 1961, the same year that the CDE’s first class graduated. The reduction of USAID as a cost-saving measure has had devastating impacts worldwide. A study published by The Lancet, a medical journal, predicted that global aid cuts could lead to 9.4 million deaths by 2030.

Cameron expects that the United States will come to realize USAID’s role as an important geopolitical tool and once again prioritize foreign aid, particularly in light of the war in Iran and more frequent conflict in the Middle East.

“I think it will be increasingly obvious that we need to reinvest in our soft power,” he said. “Not just our military.”

Cameron encourages the College’s undergraduate students to continue to pursue international service and public policy. “We’re going to need smart, dedicated people to join the Foreign Service, to pursue development work, [such as] health practitioners, economists, environmental folks, [and] governance workers,” Cameron said.

Though he arrived in Town recently, Cameron is already working to get to know the current CDE class through social outings like a recent bowling trip. He said he looks forward to watching the students’ final capstone presentations in a few weeks.

Cameron says that his desire to form personal connections with those in the program is emblematic of his leadership style. Cameron sees his first step as a leader as getting to know the institution better. “I have transitioned to many different types of jobs in my old career, and I found it’s best for the first several months just to listen and take everything in, be a sponge, talk to the students, talk to faculty, talk to staff, and understand the place,” he said.

“In terms of longer-term goals, I definitely would like to keep the program running in good standing,” he said. “I think it’s exciting to be able to tap into my own experience and recruit students from different countries and help the program into its next chapter.”