Regina Neal is a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) at the U.S. Department of State where she manages foreign assistance programs to advance the empowerment and equality of women and girls globally.  Regina joined S/GWI in June 2019 and serves as the focal point for women’s economic empowerment programs globally and programmatic activities in South and Central Asia.  Prior to her time with S/GWI, Regina worked for almost 10 years at the U.S. African Development Foundation, an independent federal grant-making agency that supports community-led economic development projects across sub-Saharan Africa. During her tenure, she led the Foundation’s grant’s management training efforts and worked on broader organizational initiatives, for instance managing a funding partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassador’s Special Self-Help program in 20+ African countries, re-establishing the Foundation’s monitoring and evaluation framework, and regularly performing data analytics for organizational improvements.

Regina’s interest in foreign affairs is rooted in lessons learned during her days as an affordable housing community-organizer in North Carolina where she grew to value putting community needs first. She earned a Master of Social Work with a focus on management and community practice from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and is a return Peace Corps Volunteer (Togo 2007-2009).  Regina is a proud alumna of Johnson C. Smith University, a historically Black college / university.  Outside of her work, Regina is passionate about introducing young people of color to career opportunities in foreign affairs.