Karen R. Hilliard, the current director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Yerevan Mission, said Wednesday, February 10, she will soon be replaced by Deborah Grieser. Speaking to local reporters, she said her tenure is ending in May, ARKA reports.

Prior to her appointment to Armenia in September 2012, Hilliard worked as the USAID representative in Mongolia. Grieser, who will take up her new job in June, is already in Armenia to get acquainted with the USAID-funded projects currently underway.

According to Hilliard, the USAID is expected to increase its funding for Armenia, with a corresponding decision soon to be adopted by the U.S. Congress.

Karen R. Hilliard served as Mission Director to Jamaica from 2007-2011, managing a multi-million program in economic reform, democracy and governance. Under her leadership, the Mission leveraged an additional $12 million through public/private partnerships.

From 2006-2007, she served as Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting for the Agency’s Bureau for Global Health in Washington, and from 2003-2006 she was Deputy Regional Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus. Previously, she has worked in Haiti, Malawi, Nicaragua, Oman and Egypt.