W. Gyude Moore is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) where his research focuses on governance, infrastructure, and Africa’s response to external actors. Gyude served as Liberia’s Minister of Public Works from 2014-2018, and was previously Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

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Gyude was born and raised in Maryland County, Liberia. He fled the country with his family in 1994, and became a refugee in Tabou, Ivory Coast. He briefly returned to Liberia during a break in the war, where he studied theology at the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary. He returned to Liberia permanently in 2009 to work as a Scott Fellow and an aide in the Office of the President.

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Until December 2014, Gyude served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU). As Head of the PDU, Gyude led a team that monitored progress on the delivery of the Public Sector Investment Program of Liberia. PDU monitored and drove delivery, on behalf of the President, for over $1 billion in road, power and port infrastructure investment as Liberia attempted to rebuild after the civil war. Later, as Minister of Public Works, he presided over the largest project budget as Liberia attempted to correct its substantial infrastructure deficit.

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Gyude holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Berea College and a master’s in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University.