Chris Gilson is a seasoned executive and the former director of external affairs at Millennium Challenge Corporation, where he provided strategic guidance, thought leadership, and innovation to raise domestic awareness of the corporation’s $17 billion investments in core infrastructure and policy and institutional reforms. Gilson broadened Millennium Challenge Corporation’s impact through building partnerships with the Society for International Development-US, Council of International Development Companies, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. 

A recognized leader in international development, Gilson previously served in a broad range of senior management positions at the Peace Corps, U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services, and in the international NGO development sector. He spent 15 years with Catholic Relief Services, including serving as country director in Vietnam and Cuba. 

He got his start in international development as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, where he helped build drinking water systems in rural Andean villages. An active volunteer, Gilson continues to serve on nonprofits boards. In addition to Counterpart, his board appointments include the United Nations International School in Hanoi, American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi, the Development Cooperation Committee in Hanoi, the Edgemoor Club, and the Friends of Ecuador. He also volunteers with Homes without Borders in the Washington, D.C. area.