Erran Persley
Erran F. Persley is the senior vice president for Africa at Chemonics International Inc. Located in Washington, D.C., Chemonics is one of the most technically diverse companies in the trade development industry.
In his post, Persley oversees 26 projects in 19 different countries on the African continent. Persley began his career as an intern at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of International Major Projects during the George Bush Sr. administration in 1990. After graduating from Howard University, he joined the United States and Foreign Commercial Service to help establish the regional office in Atlanta, Georgia. This office was created to help increase exports from companies located in the southeastern region of the United States.
In 1994, Persley returned to Washington, D.C., to become the international trade specialist in charge of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) program at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he assisted American companies in their efforts to bid for the $11 billion in projects financed by the Japanese government in developing countries. His success with the Japanese ODA program led to his appointment to Secretary Ronald H. Brown’s Africa Finance Roundtable in 1995. The Africa Finance Roundtable was a public private-partnership that was focused on developing the African continent through increased exports, infrastructure development and debt relief.
Persley is an active member of the community. His public service work with youth employment and development programs in Washington, D.C., and other numerous community service activities display his commitment to the reduction of poverty both in the United States and abroad. He presently serves on the executive committee of the D.C. Republican Committee and is a member of the Republican National Committee’s President’s Club.
Persley has two children, Simone (16) and Julian (12).