Deborah Weiss

Deborah Weiss is chief of staff to the president at the Population Council, overseeing the strategic management of the Council’s Office of the President. She supports and advises the president in developing and executing efforts to increase the reach, influence, and impact of the Council, and leads special projects and priority initiatives, including those to advance business development and philanthropic efforts.

From 2014 to 2020, Weiss served as director of operations for Project SOAR, USAID’s flagship HIV operations research initiative, led by the Council. She ensured that SOAR’s 76 activities in 21 countries were implemented on time and produced high-quality deliverables, managed a budget exceeding $50 million, and oversaw the administration of 30 subawards. Weiss was previously deputy director for administration for the Evidence Project, USAID’s flagship reproductive health implementation science initiative, and HIV and AIDS program manager, providing oversight, operational support, and quality assurance to research and program activities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. She has also managed successful proposal development for large US and foreign government awards and private foundations.

Prior to joining the Council in 2007, Weiss worked in programmatic capacities at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco; and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She holds an MPH from the University of Michigan and a BA in women’s and gender studies from Columbia University.