Pia Wanek

Pia Wanek is a leader in international development and humanitarian assistance specializing in building and leading effective teams to deliver quantifiable results in the most challenging situations. She has 20 years of experience in policy and strategy development, project management and program design in the international non-profit sector. Wanek is currently senior humanitarian adviser at World Vision.

Previously, Wanek was CEO of DTI following nearly 10 years at Global Communities’ directing humanitarian responses and development activities in 24 countries. Under her leadership, the humanitarian portfolio grew to become a $60+ million operation, supporting communities affected by natural and man-made crises in Syria, Ukraine, Liberia, Gaza, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kosovo, Honduras, Sri Lanka and Yemen. During the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in Ebola crisis in Liberia, Wanek and team developed a ground-breaking approach to safe burials, health systems and border surveillance, and epidemic preparedness which garnered public commendation from then-USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah as the pivotal strategy in stopping the spread of Ebola in Liberia and the region.

Wanek started her career working for USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (now the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance), predominantly on East and Central Africa emergency response programs, and supported the civil-military portfolio at the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and strategic planning and policy development at the Consular Affairs bureau at the State Department.

Wanek worked in humanitarian response and resource planning at World Vision U.S. While with an Australian strategic consulting firm, Noetic Corporation, she explored the evolution of irregular threat groups and the potential implications of game-changing, disruptive technologies from technical, social, political, legal and ethical perspectives.

She is adept at bringing together diverse stakeholders around complex topics to develop effective ways forward. Wanek was born and raised overseas, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and International Studies from Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She also holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in Anthropology and Development.

Wanek and her family reside just outside of Washington, D.C.

Sub-specialties: Refugee Programs in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan; Emergency Humanitarian Assistance