Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr, on January 20, 2021, to serve as Acting Administrator, USAID, Gloria Steele was a distinguished career member of the U.S. Government’s Senior Executive Service for over 18 years. Before retiring from Federal service, she served as the Acting Assistant Administrator and Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia from 2015 to 2020. Prior to those assignments, she served as USAID’s Mission Director for the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and Mongolia, from 2010-2015, where she oversaw a program budget of over $500 million. Earlier in her career, Ms. Steele served as a Management Consultant to the Philippines' Secretary of Agriculture, and taught Business Economics at Letran Graduate School for Business in Manila.

Ms. Steele received a master's degree in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University, and a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Maryknoll College in the Philippines.