Barrett, Gary
Gary Barrett
Gary Barrett is the Director of the U.S. Forest Service National Partnership Office and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is also currently an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability. Barrett has had previous work experience at environmental organizations such as the World Food Programme, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the USDA.
“Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the journey, as you will be better for it.” – Gary Barrett (McCormick, 2022).
Barrett received a Bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College, a Master’s degree from Yale School of the Environment, and a Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from Fordham University. Barrett was also a Senior Executive Fellow in the Government Leadership and Management program at the Harvard Kennedy School. Barrett was the president of the Yale School of the Environment Alumni Association Board from 2019 to 2021. Before joining the U.S. government in 1997, Barrett served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Barrett was the former Deputy Director and Senior Advisor of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA), USAID’s only office dedicated to advancing US public diplomacy objects. Barrett served as both a Senior Program Advisor and Senior Field Program Manager for the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in Afghanistan. While there, he helped manage programs in the country’s South and Southwest.
From 2007 until mid-2008, Barrett worked for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as the Head of Office for the UN Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) in South Sudan. There he and his team coordinated the logistics of United Nations humanitarian assistance to South Sudan and also worked to professionalize the newly created Government of South Sudan Ministry of Transportation and Roads. His team also provided technical assistance and recommendations on the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
From 1998 to 2007 and again in 2009, Barrett worked for the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the Disaster Assistance Support Program (DASP), where he provided essential technical support in global disaster response management, planning, operations, preparedness, and prevention. Here, he held roles as Senior Disaster Management Specialist and Senior Logistics Management Specialist. Barrett worked specifically in Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. From 2018 to 2020, Barrett was a Senior Policy Advisor for the USDA.
Barrett has had a history working with the U.S. Forest Service from 1997 to 2020, and then again currently. In the past, Barrett held roles such as the Forest Policy Analyst, Asia Program Specialist, Senior Web Developer, and the International Visitor Program Coordinator. Barrett is currently the U.S. Forest Service National Partnership Office director and an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service. At Georgetown, he teaches classes such as Environment, Development, and Conflict and Natural Climate Solutions: Tackling Challenges. Barrett is also a current Associate Professor at Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability.
Georgetown University Faculty Directory. (2023). Georgetown.edu. https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0031Q00002JsqsOQAR/gary-ba…
McCormick, Jamie. January 23, 2022. Getting to Know You: Gary Barrett ’96 MF. Yale Alumni. https://alumni.yale.edu/news/getting-know-you-gary-barrett-96-mf