Sara Aviel

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Sara Aviel (born February 5, 1980, in California) is an American expert on international economic policy. She is the president and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), a U.S. foreign aid agency.

She earned an MBA, as well as MA and BA degrees in political science, all from Yale University. As an undergraduate, she helped Médecins Sans Frontières persuade Yale and Bristol-Myers Squibb to make Stavudine/d4t—an HIV/AIDS drug—available in South Africa for generic production and at low cost. After that effort, she and other students started Universities Allied for Essential Medicines to help universities expand access to lifesaving drugs.

Aviel has taught at Yale about humanitarian aid and international development. In her early career, she worked with international development NGOs like Root Capital, Mercy Corps, and CARE Afghanistan. During the 2009–2011 financial crisis, she served as Senior Advisor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who praised her dedication and called her the “conscience of the Treasury.”

In 2011, she became director for international economic affairs for the National Economic Council and the National Security Council. From 2012 to 2015, she represented the United States as the alternate executive director on the World Bank Group boards (confirmed by the Senate in 2012). From 2015 to 2017, she was chief of staff and executive associate director at the Office of Management and Budget.

After leaving the Obama administration, Aviel started a private consulting firm, Margalit Strategies, to help organizations with policy and strategy. She also served as a senior advisor on international development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In 2022, Aviel was chosen as president and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation and was sworn in on April 25, 2022. In February 2025, she was dismissed from the role and replaced by Peter Marocco. On March 17, Aviel sued to challenge the firing. On April 4, a judge granted a preliminary injunction, reinstating Aviel and ruling that Marocco acted without proper authorization.