J. Brian Atwood is a Senior Fellow for International and Public Affairs at Watson Institute, Brown University. He is also a professor emeritus at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. In the Clinton Administration, Atwood led the State Department transition team and was Under-Secretary of State for Management prior to his appointment as head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where he served for six years. In 2001, Atwood served on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Panel on Peace Operations. During the Carter Administration, Atwood served as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations. Atwood was the first President of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) from 1986 to 1993. He received the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Award in 1999.