Managing Director, GOPA US

Aleta J. Williams leads GOPA Group’s efforts to expand its work in the U.S. market and deliver on its commitment to achieving sustainable results.  Aleta brings more than 25 years of international development experience to GOPA Group US and has  deep expertise working with the US government. She brings extensive experience in the areas of strategic partnerships, resource mobilization, and management.

Before joining GOPA US, Aleta served several years as Director of Global Business Development at FHI 360, a leading USAID contractor, where she significantly grew FHI 360’s  portfolio and sales.  In addition, Aleta led FHI 360’s strategic expansion into the UK market, managing an acquisition and establishment of a UK subsidiary. She began her work at the nonprofit as the Director of Partnerships where she led efforts to develop and expand innovative partnerships with public and private sector partners.

Aleta has held several leadership roles in both the private and nonprofit sectors. In London, she launched GRM International’s (now Palladium Consulting) new education practice and served as its first director for global education. For the U.S. Agency for International Development, Williams provided policy recommendations and managed country-level activities under President George W. Bush’s US$600 million Africa Education Initiative, as well as a US$200 million investment in 21 bilateral education partnerships. For President Bill Clinton’s Education for Development and Democracy Initiative, she managed a portfolio that included projects on information and communications technologies, democracy and governance, and economic development.

Aleta began her career at McKinsey & Company, where she was an information associate and researcher covering general practices and the energy sector. Her diverse professional experience includes producing an award-winning documentary series, Readers are Leaders, and working under the tutelage of civil rights leader, Dr. Dorothy I. Height.

Aleta Williams is a staunch advocate for women's and girls' education and empowerment. She serves as Chair of the Board of the Batonga Foundation, founded by Angélique Kidjo in 2006 with the purpose of transforming the most vulnerable adolescent girls in Africa into powerful women.  She also serves as a board member for UNICEF USA, mid-Atlantic. 

She has a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a master's degree in Public Administration from George Washington University. She is the proud mother of a daughter, Denver.

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