Paul Weisenfeld to Testify to House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Hearing
“How Climate Change Threatens U.S. National Security”
April 2, 2019, Tuesday, 10:00 AM ET
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172, Washington DC

Paul Weisenfeld, RTI International executive vice president, will utilize his extensive experience in international development to discuss how such efforts reinforce U.S. national security as an invited expert witness before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs.  The purpose of this hearing is to explore how the impacts of climate change affect U.S. national security.  Weisenfeld will testify along with three other expert witnesses, Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn, USN (Ret), Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, and The Honorable Sherri Goodman, Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. The fourth witness has not yet been named.

Weisenfeld, a senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in international development, currently leads RTI’s international development practice, which designs and implements programs across sectors to help communities and public and private sector stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries address complex problems and improve lives.

Before joining RTI, Weisenfeld had a distinguished career as a foreign service officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He achieved the highest rank of career minister in the Senior Foreign Service and led high-profile initiatives across various international development sectors.

Of note, Weisenfeld directed the Bureau for Food Security at USAID, which leads the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future. He also led the Haiti Task Team, charged with coordinating relief and reconstruction planning following the devastating earthquake in 2010. Weisenfeld served as USAID Mission Director in Peru and Zimbabwe. He received the USAID administrator’s Distinguished Career Service Award, the agency’s highest award. He served in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Weisenfeld also serves on the boards of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and the Washington Society for International Development – Washington Chapter.

The event is open to the media and will be live-streamed.