Susan Reichle is President and Chief Executive Officer of IYF, a global non-profit working to equip and inspire young people everywhere to transform their lives.

Since her appointment as CEO in 2019, Reichle has overseen the revitalization of IYF’s mission, vision, and values. As the organization approaches its 30th anniversary, it does so with a renewed commitment to standing by, for, and with young people. Reichle guided the development and implementation of IYF’s new, three-year strategic plan—Transformation 2022—which emphasizes youth-led, integrated approaches and is framed around three objectives: Youth Agency, Economic Opportunity, and Systems Change. Additionally, she has advanced diversity and inclusion at IYF and led the design of IYF’s pivotal Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) policy to drive progress internally and externally around these important issues. IYF’s continued growth has been fueled by Reichle’s dedication to strong practices of measurement, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and commitment to organizational transparency and data-driven accountability.

Before joining IYF, Reichle spent 25 years in leadership positions at USAID missions overseas and in Washington, D.C. During her last three years at USAID, she served as the Counselor to the Agency, USAID’s most Senior Foreign Service Officer, and advised the Administrator and senior leadership on key global development policies and management issues. She also oversaw the Agency Coordinators for Youth, Countering Violent Extremism, and Local Solutions; spearheaded development of the agency’s first Youth and Development Policy; led the Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance bureau during USAID’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake; and partnered with the Government of Colombia (2005-09) to design a new strategy to consolidate Colombia’s conflict zones.

Reichle co-chairs the Alliance for International Youth Development (AIYD) and serves as an executive member of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN). She sits on the Board of Directors for the Society for International Development (SID) – Washington Chapter, the Board of Trustees for the Eurasia Foundation, and the Steering Committee of Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE). From 2018-2019, she was also a member of the US Institute of Peace (USIP) Senior Advisory Group for the Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States.

Reichle holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in international development and government administration, and a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University’s War College, where she was a distinguished graduate. She is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. Reichle and her husband have two young adults in college, and in her free time, she enjoys coaching lacrosse. While she has lived around the world, her hometown is Philadelphia, and Reichle remains a staunch Eagles and Phillies fan. She is an avid social media user where she enjoys connecting with others—join her now on Twitter and LinkedIn.