Sarah Charles is the Assistant to the Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the U.S. Government lead for international disaster response. Prior to BHA, Ms. Charles was the Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy for the International Rescue Committee, where she led efforts to reform the humanitarian aid system and promote policies to improve the lives of refugees and other conflict-affected people. She also staffed the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House, first as the Director for Humanitarian Affairs and then as the Director and Acting Senior Director for Strategic Planning. Before the NSC, Ms. Charles covered the Middle East for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, the United States government’s primary political transition and post-conflict assistance instrument. Ms. Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Geography from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University.