Gregory Simpkins is currently Senior Advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Africa Bureau, where he has worked on the USAID role on Prosper Africa, the new Presidential initiative. Prior to that, he served as Staff Director for the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, designing and managing oversight hearings and leading delegations on oversight missions. During his time on Capitol Hill, he helped gain passage of the original African Growth and Opportunity Act and subsequent revisions.
Mr. Simpkins also has served in a variety of positions in civil society, allowing him to help shape or implement U.S. policy on Africa, especially the African Growth and Opportunity Act. He has written for national and international magazines and newspapers, including the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Times, Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor, the Nairobi (Kenya) Law Monthly and The Guardian (Nigeria) and spoken at venues including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, the Heritage Foundation and the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Simpkins, who has provided analysis on African political and economic issues since the late 1970s, also has written a blog and moderated a webinar on Africa issues.