About
As humanitarian crises impacting hundreds of millions worldwide grow more complex and the international aid system faces daunting new challenges, what should the future of humanitarian assistance look like? Drawing on decades of bipartisan experience across government, international development, and humanitarian organizations, Cindy Huang and Andrew Natsios will bring a range of insights into the transformation of U.S. foreign assistance and America’s evolving role in responding to global humanitarian needs. The conversation will also explore how governments and other humanitarian actors can work together effectively in a changing world to save lives and reduce suffering among communities beset by conflict, natural disasters and public health emergencies.
Biographies
Dr. Cindy Huang MPA '02 has spent over 20 years working on global development, migration, and refugee issues — from the front lines of humanitarian crises to senior policy roles in the U.S. government. She is a research professor at the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and the Migration Policy Institute.
Cindy most recently served as Director of Policy at USAID, leading strategy at the intersection of development and national security, and as Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversaw federal programs supporting refugees and other newcomers. Earlier in her career, she led food security and conflict prevention initiatives at the State Department, directed major investments in agriculture, health, and education at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and held leadership roles at Refugees International and CGD. She began her career as a humanitarian worker with Doctors Without Borders. She served as co-chair of the Advisory Council of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, board chair of 1,000 Days, and board member of FHI360.
Cindy holds a PhD in sociocultural anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPA from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, and a BA from Yale.
Since 2012, Andrew S. Natsios has served as Executive Professor at the George H.W. Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University and was Director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs between 2012-2025. He was Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University from 2006-2012 and former Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2001-2006, U.S. Presidential Envoy to Sudan from 2006-2007, and served in the US Army Reserves for 22 years retiring as a Lt. Col. He was Vice President of World Vision, the international faith-based NGO from 1993-1998. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1975-87, and was the Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance (the COO of state government), and as CEO of the Big Dig in Boston after a cost-overrun scandal. He is the author of three books and 30 journal articles and contributed to 13 other books. He edited two books: Russia under Putin: Fragile State and Revisionist Power (2025) and with Andy Card, Transforming Our World: The Foreign Policy of George H.W. Bush .(2023) His book on USAID will be published by Bloomsbury, Guns Are Not Enough: Foreign Aid in the National Interest. (2026 forthcoming). Natsios serves on the boards of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), and the Committee on Human Rights in North Korea.
Doug Mercado MPP '07 is a Visiting Lecturer in humanitarian affairs at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, where he leads undergraduate policy task forces examining humanitarian assistance and its evolving challenges. A humanitarian practitioner with more than three decades of experience, he has led and advised emergency responses across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. His career has included senior roles with USAID, the United Nations World Food Programme, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and international NGOs. He has served as a USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team leader during the West Africa Ebola outbreak, led humanitarian operations responding to conflicts and displacement in Sudan, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and advised senior U.S., UN, and foreign government officials on humanitarian policy and emergency response. Mercado holds a Master in Public Policy from Princeton University, a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Latin American Studies from William & Mary.
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