Juan Estrada-Valle is an agricultural economist and five-time Chief of Party with more than 20 years of experience managing economic growth programs in the areas of trade and investment, agri-food systems, value chain competitiveness, and export market development.

He is currently the Chief of Party for the Prosper Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) program, designed to bolster the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) ability to boost trade and investment to, from, and within the African continent. The continent-wide program is USAID’s flagship effort under the Prosper Africa initiative.

Juan has a proven track record in leading complex, multifaceted implementation strategies to meet ambitious performance targets on schedule. Before ATI, he managed highly successful USAID projects including programs in Eastern and Southern Africa, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. For example, as Chief of Party of the USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub, his team facilitated $600 million in exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act; $400 million worth of trade in staple crops, directly benefiting 14 million East Africans; and $178 million in private investment, across eight African countries. For over a decade, Juan also led groundbreaking and highly effective agricultural development projects in Afghanistan.

In January 2022, Juan was appointed as Vice President for Strategic Growth within DAI’s U.S. Government (USG) Business Unit. Here, he has been responsible for increasing the technical and operational efficiency across DAI’s USG programs to maximize development impact.

Juan began his international development career as a Senior Scientist in trade economics at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Southern Africa. He drew his inspiration to work in international development from his 10 years as an agribusiness entrepreneur, producing and exporting specialty fruit and vegetables to U.S and European supermarkets and from the realization of the potential of the private sector to drive economic growth in the developing world.

• Ph.D. (ABD), international development, agri-food systems economics, Michigan State University
• Postgraduate Diploma, stabilization and development operations in fragile states, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
• M.S., agricultural economics, Michigan State University
• B.S., agronomy, animal science, Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala