Contact: Press Office, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), 202-712-4320; Public Information: 202-712-4810

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 /Standard Newswire/ -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administered the oath of office to William Brands as its Mission Director for Honduras. USAID Acting Deputy Administrator James R. Kunder, presided at the event.

As Mission Director for Honduras, Brands will lead USAID's programs that improve the quality of basic education and health, increase economic growth, promote democracy and good governance, and provide environmental and disaster assistance. Honduras will be a partner in President Bush's Merida Initiative to confront criminal organizations whose actions plague the region and spill over into the United States.

"The success of our programs and activities in Honduras depends on the efforts of our dedicated staff, implementing partners, and counterparts," said Kunder. "USAID is sending one of its most talented leaders to Honduras. Brands has the perfect combination of scholarship, pragmatism, and professional integrity that enables him to make difficult decisions in the interests of all concerned parties, without being judgmental."

Most recently serving as Deputy Mission Director of USAID/Dominican Republic, Brands led the interagency relief teams during Hurricane Noel, the devastating tropical storm that hit the country. Brands began his USAID career in 1990 and has since served in Uganda, Malawi, the Middle East, and Washington, D.C. Previous to his work at USAID, Bill worked for ten years with the international cooperative development organization, ACDI/VOCA, and was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Venezuela.

Brands obtained his M.A. degree in International Law from Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and his bachelors' degree in international relations from Knox College in Galesburg, lL.

For more information about USAID and its programs in Honduras, please visit www.usaid.gov