Alex Dehgan

Prior to coming to USAID, Dehgan worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary at the Department of State and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs where he developed a science diplomacy strategy toward addressing our most challenging foreign policy issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and the greater Islamic world. Dehgan was the founding Afghanistan Country Director for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Afghanistan Biodiversity Conservation Program. Through his leadership, the WCS led efforts to create Afghanistan’s first national park, conducted the first comprehensive biological surveys of the country in 30 years, helped develop Afghanistan’s biodiversity conservation laws and policies, and curtailed illegal wildlife trade on U.S. and ISAF military bases.

Dehgan holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science degree from The University of Chicago’s Committee on Evolutionary Biology, where he focused on extinction and adaptation of 12 lemur species during environmental change in tropical forests in Madagascar. He also holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings, and a B.S. from Duke University.

He was chosen as an “Icon of Science” by Seed magazine in 2005, received the World Technology Award for Policy in 2011, and has been recognized through multiple awards from the departments of State and Defense, and the USAID. In 2013, AAAS selected Dehgan as one of its 40@40 Fellows out of 2,600 AAAS Science Policy Fellows globally, recognizing individuals who: have made exemplary contributions to applying science to serve society; are creative, innovative, and collaborative problem-solvers in addressing global challenges; and are uncommon ambassadors for the role of science and technology.