As Senior Associate at ICRD, C. Eduardo Vargas serves as special advisor to the president and government liaison.  He joined ICRD after serving in President Barack Obama’s Administration as Deputy Director of the Center for Faith Based & Community Initiatives (CFBCI) at the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  At CFBCI, Mr. Vargas led external engagement efforts, public diplomacy, and partnerships to build support for USAID’s humanitarian and development priorities, including, among others: the surge of unaccompanied children related to the 2014 Central American Migration; ensuring the safety, security and freedom from persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East; countering violent extremism; and advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Before joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Vargas served as Director to the United Nations DPI/NGO Executive Committee in New York, representing over 1,300 NGOs worldwide at the UN while championing greater civil society representation, access and inclusion in various UN agencies.  Prior to that, he directed a variety of global refugee programs, development and humanitarian assistance projects, and advocacy campaigns for Caritas Internationalis, Intersections International, and Aya Worldwide.

Mr. Vargas earned his MA in Diplomacy & International Relations at Seton Hall University. He has published articles and speaks publicly on a variety of globalization, humanitarian, and public policy issues. He has been featured by Al Jazeera, CNN, Foreign Affairs, FOX News, and Telemundo, among other outlets. For his work in diplomacy and peacemaking he has been recognized by the Huffington Post’s 40 Under 40 in Foreign Policy, awarded the USAID Administrator’s Letter of Commendation, and received the Many Are One Alumni Servant Leadership Award from Seton Hall University.