C. Eduardo Vargas Toro

Foreign Affairs Officer & Program Coordinator, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs

  1. C. Eduardo Vargas Toro is a Foreign Affairs Officer and Program Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State overseeing human rights in the Andean Region and Haiti.  Before returning to government service, he was Special Adviser at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD) on Latin American and Countering Violent Extremism issues. Previously he served in the Obama Administration at the US Agency of International Development (USAID) as Deputy Director of the Center for Faith-Based & Community Initiatives and Senior Communications Officer for USAID/Guatemala. At USAID, Mr. Vargas led external engagement efforts, public diplomacy, and partnerships to build support for humanitarian and development priorities including the surge of unaccompanied children from Central America and protection of religious minorities in the Middle East. Before joining USAID, he served as Director to the United Nations DPI/NGO Executive Committee in New York—representing over 1,300 NGOs worldwide at the UN—while supporting greater civil society inclusion in various UN agencies.  Prior work includes directing the US-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium, several global refugee programs, development and humanitarian assistance projects, and advocacy campaigns for Intersections International and Caritas Internationalis. Mr. Vargas earned his MA in Diplomacy & International Relations at Seton Hall University. He has published articles and speaks publicly on global human rights issues, and has been featured by Al Jazeera, CNN, FOX News, and Telemundo, among other outlets. He has been recognized by the Huffington Post’s 40 Under 40 in Foreign Policy, the New America Foundation’s Latino National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leaders and received the Many Are One Alumni Servant Leadership Award from Seton Hall University.
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