Troy Tillis is a commissioned United States Foreign Service Officer presently serving as the USAID/Southern Africa Deputy Mission Director for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Mission Director, he served as the USAID/Southern Africa Director for Regional Operations (EXO), overseeing the administrative management, logistics, and operational support for over 460 USAID staff across 20 operating units and six countries.
Mr. Tillis’ previous tours of duty include USAID/Washington, USAID/Peru (which included coverage for Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Venezuela), USAID/Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), USAID/Afghanistan, and USAID/Guatemala. In these assignments, he led bilateral and multilateral operations management platforms across four continents and 18 U.S. Embassies, monitored and evaluated foreign assistance programs in excess of $3 billion, and provided technical support in the areas of disaster response, humanitarian assistance, civilian-military (civ-mil) cooperation, and rural development. He was most recently detailed to the Department of Defense as a George C. Marshall Scholar in the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) – Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (ASLSP) based in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His academic interests focused on the nexus between development, diplomacy, and defense; the hedging (balancing and bandwagoning) behaviors of Southeast Asian nations vis-a-vis Sino-American competition; 21st century conflict; and strategic leadership.
Mr. Tillis holds a M.A. in Strategic Studies (National Security) from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), a M.S. in International Trade and Development from Oklahoma State University, and a B.S. in Management (Organizational Behavior) from Northern Illinois University. He was a Master's International Program (MIP) participant at Oklahoma State University, serving his Peace Corps assignment in North Macedonia from 2006-2008.