Bethany Aquilina Brez

Acting Vice President of the Office of Foreign Policy | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)

Bethany Aquilina Brez is the Acting Vice President of the Office of Foreign Policy at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). She leads DFC’s work to advance the foreign policy and national security strategy of the United States through private capital mobilization.  

Ms. Aquilina Brez previously served as the Chief of Staff for Prosper Africa, where she oversaw strategy, operations, and foreign policy for the U.S. Government’s presidential-level national security initiative to strengthen two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa.

Prior to Prosper Africa, Ms. Aquilina Brez was the Managing Director of Strategy Execution at DFC, where she managed the development and implementation of DFC’s corporate investment strategy and the reorganization of DFC’s investment teams. Ms. Aquilina Brez also led DFC's global partnerships with development finance institutions and multilateral development banks to advance strategic investments in sectors of mutual foreign policy interests.

Ms. Aquilina Brez spent a decade at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), where she held multiple roles focused on the development and implementation of large-scale infrastructure investments. As the Acting Deputy Chief of Staff, she provided guidance and leadership to the CEO on strategy, operations, foreign policy, and infrastructure investment portfolio to advance economic development in emerging markets.

Before entering government, Ms. Aquilina Brez worked with various organizations on economic development issues in the Indo-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.  

Ms. Aquilina Brez received her Master of International Affairs and Master of Public Health degrees from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Princeton University.