Director of University Engagement and Research with Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Region
CRS World Wide

IEDM Area of Expertise
Agriculture and food security

Education
PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Montpellier I (France)

Experience
Dr. David Leege is Director of University Engagement and Research with Catholic Relief Services (CRS). His focus is to develop research and other collaboration with universities through institutional partnerships. He also teaches agriculture and food security as adjunct faculty in Catholic University’s Department of Economics and the University of Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health. David joined CRS in 1991 in Angola, managing food security and income generation projects in war-affected communities. He then served successively as CRS Country Representative in Benin, Pakistan, Cambodia, Rwanda and Burundi where he oversaw programs in food security, agriculture, microfinance, maternal child health, and peacebuilding, funded by USAID, the European Union and other private donors. In 2004, David became Deputy Director of the Program Quality and Support Department at CRS headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, where he coordinated global technical assistance. David holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Montpellier I (France). Prior to CRS, David served as a Peace Corps Agricultural Extension Volunteer and with the U.S. State Department in Mauritania.