Andrew E. Rice Award for Leadership and Innovation by a Young Professional in International Development

Congratulations to our 2022 Rice Award recipient: Nasrat Khalid

Each year, we present the Andrew E. Rice Award for Leadership and Innovation by a Young Professional in International Development. Established in 2003 by Andrew E. Rice and Robert Berg, the Rice Award (formerly named the Truman Award) recognizes the achievements of an exceptional young professional committed to advancing the field of international development. 

The recipient of this award demonstrates strong leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainable, people-centered development. This year, we are pleased to present the Rice Award to Nasrat Khalid, Founder of Aseel App.

Nasrat was raised an Afghan refugee in Pakistan until he was 16 years old when he returned to his hometown, Kabul, Afghanistan. He grew up working with international development organizations starting with AED (now FHI 360), then EDC, followed by Chemonics, and later, the World Bank in Afghanistan, South Asia, and later, in DC.

In 2017, he left the World Bank and founded the Aseel platform, a US tech startup striving to create a massive impact by supporting global humanitarian and artisan efforts using technology. Nasrat is passionate about the inclusion of countries in the Global South and global talent in the digital economy. He has helped over half a million people through his platform with emergency support items in the Afghanistan crisis, and his platform, Aseel, has also helped sell over ten thousand handmade items from Afghanistan and Turkey in international markets.

To see the full list of past Rice Award recipients, please click here. Thank you to all who applied for this year's Award. 

The 2022 Rice Award will be presented at our Annual Dinner on November 17 in Washington, DC.

Award 

The award consists of: 

• an inscribed plaque recognizing the awardee,  

• a prize in the amount of $1,000,  

• a one-year honorary individual membership to SID-United States,  

• and the opportunity to present your work at a SID-United States event. 

About Andrew E. Rice

Andrew E. Rice helped create the field of international development. In the decades following World War II, decolonization and the Cold War necessitated a new relationship between the Western and developing worlds. That’s when Andy began thinking and writing about the nature of this new relationship and organizing others to do the same.

Andy was introduced to internationalism early on, spending part of his childhood in Geneva, where his father was the U.S. representative to an agency of the League of Nations. After serving in intelligence during the War and obtaining his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard, he moved to Washington to begin a 60-year career crafting public policy.

He began by joining or helping to form a series of advocacy organizations dedicated to an internationalist foreign policy incorporating aid for the underdeveloped world. These included Americans for Democratic Action, the American Veterans Committee and the Point Four Committee (this last named for foreign aid’s position in President Truman’s list of diplomatic priorities in his 1949 inaugural address).

He also began publishing a newsletter, “Doorway to the 20th Century,” to report on this brand new discipline. His longtime friend and colleague Bob Berg recently recalled, “In the pre-Internet age it was THE place to find the news--crisply written…with never a hint of bias.”

After stints as a staffer on both sides of Capitol Hill and obtaining his PhD from Syracuse University, Andy served on the academic committee that gave birth to the Peace Corps. He then joined the Kennedy Administration as an aide to Chester Bowles, a prominent diplomat to the developing world and early UN official.

Andy was a founder of the Society for International Development (SID) in 1957 and in 1962 became executive director, a position he held for 15 years. Bob Berg has described the scene from that era: “SID's office was filled with young people beavering away. Andy, always cool, friendly, professional and kind, kept it going in highly productive and effective ways.”

Andy’s career both reflected and shaped changes in the idea of international development. As the need for environmental sustainability grew clearer, he became board chair of the environmentally-focused Worldwatch Institute. Seeing the need to better educate the public on the importance of internationalism, he became an active member of the United Nations Association, serving as chair of the national capital chapter.

Alina Zyszkowski, one of countless young professionals Andy mentored over his career, said of him: “Andy Rice was a true visionary and a real friend to so many of us…Today we hear a lot about knowledge sharing and networking. Andy was making that happen through SID over 50 years ago.”

Andy once summed up his approach to international development: “I believe that the right path to a better world is expanding individual freedom combined with cooperative endeavor.” Through his ideas, hard work and, to quote a colleague, “friendly, humble and generous” personality, he moved us all down that path.  

Data on Rice Award Applications Over the Years

Applicants come from every continent around the world and their work focuses on a wide range of sectors. To see a graphic depicting the variety of applications we have received, please click here.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected] or call 202-331-1317.

Donations  

Please contact us if you would like to donate to the Rice Award. We thank you for your generosity for donations received.