Growing up in Liberia during a civil war, Minty Abraham Wade ’04 understood from a young age the importance of protection for refugees in times of crisis. Now as a senior analyst with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Wade implements strategies to protect civilians and appropriate much-needed resources for struggling refugee populations in the Middle East and Asia.

During her time with USAID’s Office of Strategic and Program Planning, Wade has revisited the nightmare she endured as a child through the intense violence of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a dangerous rebel sect that waged a campaign of terror. “As a survivor of a brutal civil war who spent a significant portion of my life as a refugee, I know all too well the plight of women and children affected by the atrocities committed by the LRA,” Wade says. “As their strongest ally and advocate, I have successfully lobbied to have civilian protection considerations factored prominently into all military operations, which helped lessen reprisal attacks against civilians.”

She says she now speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves. “Because of instability in Africa and the Middle East, global leaders are now confronting the worst displacement crisis since World War II,” Wade says. “I would like to capitalize on my past experiences to inform and shape U.S. foreign policy related to conflict in Africa as well as the global migration crisis.”

Editor’s Note: Minty Abraham Wade received Washington College’s Alumni Horizon Ribbon Medal at Fall Convocation in 2017.