Rusty Barber is director of Partnerships, Policy & Strategy at the U.S. Institute of Peace. In this capacity, he manages strategic development of USIP’s partnerships with key interagency counterparts, primarily in the U.S. Departments of State, Defense and USAID. Barber previously served as senior advisor for International Operations, as well as director of Iraq Programs at USIP. Prior to that, he was chief of party for USIP’s mission in Baghdad, where he managed a staff of Iraqi program specialists responsible for implementation and oversight of the Institute’s projects and grant programs in Iraq.

Before joining the Institute in March 2007, Barber served as a political officer in the Foreign Service, holding posts in Central and South Asia and Europe. As a member of the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, he was responsible for Central Asia and national minorities policies. In that capacity, Barber helped lead the organization’s response to political instability in Kyrgyzstan in 2005. From 2003 to 2004, he served in Pakistan, overseeing the embassy’s evaluation of Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts.

From 1990 to 2001, he was a founding partner and president of Voyageur East Company, a successful global import and trade consulting company focused on developing manufacturing resources in transitioning economies. The company still operates throughout Eastern Europe and the Far East.

Barber holds a bachelor's in Russian language with a concentration in government from Dartmouth College and a masters's in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.