Noam Unger

Vice President, Global Development Department, Director, Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative and Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development
Noam Unger

Noam Unger is vice president of the Global Development Department, director of the Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative, and a senior fellow with the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Previously, he served on the executive team and as a vice president at InterAction, the largest U.S.-based coalition of nongovernmental organizations focused on international development, humanitarian action, peacebuilding, global health, and democracy. Among other things, he oversaw InterAction’s work on public policy, advocacy, civil society, and the NGO Climate Compact. Unger also served in leadership positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the director of the Policy Office, acting deputy assistant administrator, and the agency’s acting chief strategy officer. Other government roles included working as a USAID country desk officer, and as a U.S. Department of State humanitarian analyst and foreign affairs officer. He was also a vice president for Global Citizen Year. From 2007 to 2012, he worked at Brookings, where, as a global economy and development fellow, he directed the Foreign Aid Reform Project, cofounded the Development Assistance and Governance Initiative, and managed the annual Brookings Blum Roundtable. Unger earned a patent as a coinventor while working for StreamSage, a private sector software company. He holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He graduated from Swarthmore College with honors before spending a formative year on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in Central America, South America, West Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

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Experts React: Progress and Setbacks at COP30

COP30 showcased noteworthy progress while exposing persistent roadblocks in global climate diplomacy. CSIS experts react to the conference’s most significant outcomes and their implications for the future of climate, energy, health, development, and the COP process at large.

Commentary by Leslie Abrahams, Jane Nakano, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Mathias Zacarias, Ray Cai, and Alexis Burns — November 25, 2025

A New Landscape for Development: Examining Impacts, Capabilities, and Opportunities

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This compendium dives deep into the impacts on fields across the development ecosystem and potential opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Hadeil Ali, Andrew Friedman, Noam Unger, J. Stephen Morrison, Katherine E. Bliss, Romina Bandura, Caitlin Welsh, David Michel, Rose Parker, and Joely Virzi — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development: Recommendations

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. These recommendations provide guidance on how the U.S. can engage meaningfully and productively in the world despite the significant changes.

Digital Report by Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This compendium dives deep into the impacts on fields across the development ecosystem and potential opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Enoh T. Ebong, Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

A New Landscape for Development: The Ground Has Shifted

Cuts to foreign assistance have been among the most sweeping changes of the second Trump administration. This digital report examines the context, current state, and early impacts of these dramatic changes and opportunities within this new landscape.

Digital Report by Noam Unger, Andrew Friedman, and Hadeil Ali — November 13, 2025

An Open Door: AI Innovation in the Global South amid Geostrategic Competition

Open-source AI models are transforming the adaptability and efficiency of technological innovation, promoting transparency and democracy, and empowering the Global South to address international development challenges in partnership with the United States.

Report by Noam Unger and Madeleine McLean — August 13, 2025

Audio Briefs

Experts React: Unpacking the Trump Administration’s Plan to Win the AI Race

An audio version of “⁠Experts React: Unpacking the Trump Administration’s Plan to Win the AI Race⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Navin Girishankar, Kirti Gupta, Matt Pearl, Philip Luck, James Andrew Lewis, Leslie Abrahams, Sujai Shivakumar, Erin L. Murphy, Noam Unger, and Madeleine McLean. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Navin Girishankar, Kirti Gupta, Matt Pearl, Philip Luck, James Andrew Lewis, Leslie Abrahams, Sujai Shivakumar, Matthew S. Borman, Noam Unger, Madeleine McLean, and Carol Kuntz — July 25, 2025

Audio Briefs

Experts React: Unpacking the Trump Administration’s Plan to Win the AI Race

The Trump administration's launch of its AI Action Plan and accompanying executive orders removes any doubt that global leadership in AI is at the heart of economic competitiveness and national security. Our experts unpack the administration's road map and its prospects for impact.

Commentary by Navin Girishankar, Kirti Gupta, Matt Pearl, Philip Luck, James Andrew Lewis, Leslie Abrahams, Sujai Shivakumar, Erin L. Murphy, Matthew S. Borman, Noam Unger, Madeleine McLean, and Carol Kuntz — July 25, 2025