Wade Channell, JD

Wade Channell, J.D., is the Senior Economic Growth Advisor for the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GenDev) at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A specialist in business enabling environments, Mr. Channell has worked on issues that constrain growth and private sector development, first as a commercial lawyer and then as a development professional. In 2013, he turned his focus to the disparate constraints faced by economically active women; he now leads USAID’s efforts to create a more comprehensive approach to promoting women’s economic empowerment and equality. He actively promotes women’s financial inclusion, with an emphasis on secured lending. Focusing on the nexus of rule of law, business, and gender, he has worked as well on a value chain approach to combatting the business of human trafficking. Mr. Channell also serves as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University, teaching in both the policy school and the business school.