Cindy Huang

About Cindy Huang

Dr. Cindy Huang has spent over 20 years working on global development, migration, and refugee issues — from the front lines of humanitarian crises to senior policy roles in the U.S. government. She is a research professor at the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and the Migration Policy Institute.

Cindy most recently served as Director of Policy at USAID, leading strategy at the intersection of development and national security, and as Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversaw federal programs supporting refugees and other vulnerable newcomers. Earlier in her career, she led food security and conflict prevention initiatives at the State Department, directed major investments in agriculture, health, and education at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and held leadership roles at Refugees International and CGD. She began her career as a humanitarian worker with Doctors Without Borders.

Cindy holds a PhD in sociocultural anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPA from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs, and a BA from Yale. She is a second-generation Chinese American who grew up in Wheaton, IL and now lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, children, cats, and dog.