Edward DeMarco is an international development strategist and writer on African affairs. He was senior adviser for democracy and governance for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ethiopia, where he led America’s human rights engagement in the development drama among Indigenous peoples in the Lower Omo Valley of southern Ethiopia, the basis for his award-winning memoir, LAST DAYS IN NAKED VALLEY. Later, in Zambia, he designed and launched one of the largest U.S. democracy-strengthening programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the United States Government, DeMarco was an international politics editor for Bloomberg in Washington, directing diplomatic and United Nations coverage. For his work on governance and human rights in Ethiopia, he received the Meritorious Honor Award from the Administrator of USAID.