Presentation Title: Perspectives on the Middle East Conflicts
Jim Barnhart is currently the Senior Director for Agriculture with JE Austin, an international consulting firm. He also serves as an External Advisor to McKinsey and Company. Jim has nearly 40 years of international and domestic development experience. He spent over two decades at USAID, living and working across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia—overseeing programs in agriculture, economic growth, education, and water security. As Mission Director, he led USAID teams in Jordan, Albania, and Lebanon, and regularly served as Acting Ambassador and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in Jordan, Albania, and Lebanon. Jim finished his diplomatic career as the Assistant to the Administrator, guiding the USAID Bureau of Resilience and Food Security during the pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He served as Co-Deputy Coordinator of the US Government’s Feed the Future Program, retiring as a Career Minister in the Senior Foreign Service. Most recently, Jim performed the role of Executive Director at Oxbow Farm and Conservation Center, outside of Seattle, where he guided work in salmon-safe organic farming, riparian restoration and preservation, and experiential education programs. Jim has a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University, a Masters of International Relations from SAIS/Johns Hopkins, and a Bachelor’s degree from Furman University.