Noam Unger

Director, Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative and Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development
Noam Unger

Noam Unger is the director of the Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a senior fellow with the Project on Prosperity and Development. 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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The Truth of the Matter

What's Happening to USAID?

Noam Unger, director of the CSIS Sustainable Development and Resilience Initiative, joins the podcast to discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Noam Unger — February 6, 2025

CSIS the truth of the matter

Experts React: COP29 Highlights, Challenges, and Emerging Trends in Global Climate Policy

COP29 has brought heads of state, climate experts, nongovernmental organizations, and activists to Azerbaijan to assess global climate efforts and discuss opportunities for cooperation. CSIS experts react to some of the conference’s most notable highlights. 

Commentary by Jane Nakano, Noam Unger, Ray Cai, Mathias Zacarias, Wilder Alejandro Sánchez, Quill Robinson, and Zach Slotkin — November 26, 2024