Contact: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Press Office, 202-712-4320; Public Information, 202-712-4810

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 /Standard Newswire/ --  Susan Reichle, the U.S. Agency for International Development's deputy mission director in Colombia is now the mission director. The promotion took place this morning after Henrietta Fore, USAID's administrator, provided the oath of office during a brief ceremony.

"Susan's appreciation for and skill in building partnerships will serve her and the agency well in her new position," said Fore. "Partnerships are, indeed, the key to reaching our ultimate goal of successfully helping foreign citizens better their own lives, build their own nations and transform their own futures."

Reichle will head a mission where the economy is rebounding and violence is down dramatically after decades of fighting fueled by widespread illicit coca production and drug trafficking. USAID invested nearly $140 million in 2007 promoting democracy, human rights and long-term economic opportunities for Colombians.

Since joining USAID in 1991 as a presidential management intern, Reichle served the agency in Russia, Nicaragua and Haiti holding positions in democracy, human resources and other fields of development. As office director for USAID's mission in Russia, Reichle managed 20 staff members and a $25 million budget.

She graduated from Virginia's James Madison University in 1987 and later earned graduate degrees in international development and government administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 and national security from the National War College in Washington, D.C. in 2004.

For more information on USAID and its programs in Colombia, visit www.usaid.gov.