James Michel is a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an independent consultant in development cooperation. Ambassador Michel’s long career in public service has included service in the Department of State as deputy legal adviser and as principal deputy assistant secretary for inter-american affairs, and in USAID as the agency’s assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, acting deputy administrator, acting administrator, and counselor to the agency. In addition, he served as U.S. ambassador to Guatemala and as chair of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the private sector, he was senior counsel to Tetra Tech DPK, an international consulting firm. He received his J.D. from Saint Louis University.