Stephen Hayes

Stephen Hayes Executive Vice President of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.

"Mr. Hayes has a strong background in international relations and international business. He served as Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development when the agency was facing numerous international challenges including the civil war in Somalia, famine elsewhere in Africa and U.S. support for the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq. In the early 1990s, Mr. Hayes was one of the founders and managers of the Gannon Pacific Company, an import-export and real estate development company with activities in Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. He worked for six years on the staff of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic Commission, which provided U.S. technical and managerial expertise to assist in Saudi Arabian economic and social development. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) organization.

"He also has extensive experience in the transportation sector. He served as Assistant Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration and as a Vice President of the Air Transport Association (ATA). At ATA, he helped develop a national grass roots effort in support of aviation system modernization. While at AAA, he spearheaded “Crisis Ahead,” a national AAA campaign in support of transportation infrastructure improvements.

"Earlier in his career, he served as speechwriter for U.S. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan. For five years as Managing Director-Public Relations for the 44 million member American Automobile Association (AAA). He was a senior political appointee in both the Reagan and Bush Administrations and has managed the public affairs activities for three major Federal agencies. His government experience also included service as Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran and as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator William Roth.

"Mr. Hayes served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and was awarded the Bronze Star and Meritorious Commendation Medal for heroism in combat in Vietnam. He holds an M.A. in Government and International Relations from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Philosophy from Dartmouth College."

• President, Corporate Council on Africa