Mark Barry Feierstein

Background

Feierstein was born on June 19, 1963, in New York City to Saul Feierstein and Rita Carol Feierstein. He grew up in the United States and developed a career centered on journalism, electoral politics, international development, and policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean.

His professional formation took place during the late Cold War and the democratic transitions that reshaped much of Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s. Early work in Connecticut journalism, Washington politics, and Mexico provided a practical setting for his later concentration on elections, governance, and inter-American affairs.

Education

Feierstein received a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Tufts University in 1987 and a Master of Arts in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, also in 1987. Tufts University, founded in 1852 in Massachusetts, developed as a private research university with programs in the liberal arts, sciences, and international affairs.

The Fletcher School opened in 1933 under the joint administration of Harvard University and Tufts College and became a specialized graduate institution devoted to international relations, diplomacy, law, and global policy. His education combined undergraduate international-relations study with graduate preparation in diplomacy and international affairs.

Career

Feierstein began working in journalism as an editor and reporter for the Trumbull Times during the summers of 1981–1983. He later served as a Lyndon Baines Johnson intern in the Washington office of Representative Stewart McKinney in 1984, and worked as a copy editor at the Hartford Courant in 1985. The Hartford Courant, founded in 1764, is one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the United States.

From 1985 to 1986, he reported for Mexico City News. His early reporting in the United States and Mexico preceded a career in political campaigns and international democracy assistance. In 1987 he served as deputy western finance director for the Dukakis for President Campaign in Boston.

Feierstein was director for Latin American programs at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs from 1987 to 1993. The institute, founded in 1983, is a nonprofit organization that works internationally with political parties, civic groups, and institutions on democratic governance, political participation, and electoral processes.

From 1993 to 1997, he served as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States at the U.S. Department of State. The Organization of American States, established in 1948, is the principal regional political organization of the Americas, while the State Department coordinates United States diplomacy and foreign relations.

Feierstein served at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1997 to 1999 as a senior adviser for elections and director of its global elections office. USAID, created in 1961, administers United States foreign assistance and has supported development, humanitarian relief, democratic institutions, and economic growth around the world.

He joined Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in 1999, serving as senior associate from 1999 to 2002 and associate vice president from 2003 to 2010. The firm conducted public-opinion research and strategic analysis for political, nonprofit, and international clients. His work there connected his earlier experience in elections and journalism with comparative polling and political strategy.

In 2010, Feierstein became assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, a Senate-confirmed position in which he oversaw the agency's regional policy and development programs. He later served as special assistant to the president and senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs on the National Security Council during the Obama administration. The National Security Council coordinates advice to the president on national security and foreign policy across executive departments and agencies.

During the Biden administration, Feierstein returned to USAID as principal adviser to the administrator and fulfilled the role of acting deputy administrator. In that capacity he managed agency-wide policy priorities and interagency engagement. He subsequently became a senior adviser at Gbao, where he works on international public-opinion research, and a senior adviser at Albright Stonebridge Group, a commercial diplomacy and global strategic advisory firm.

Feierstein is also a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Americas Program, a senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace, and a consultant to Major League Baseball. His documented areas of expertise include the Americas, the Caribbean, international development, human rights, governance, elections, and rule of law. He is fluent in Spanish.

Achievements

• As assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, Feierstein led a major regional bureau responsible for United States development and democracy-assistance programs across the Western Hemisphere.

• Feierstein served as special assistant to the president and senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs on the National Security Council, coordinating presidential foreign-policy work concerning the Americas.

• Feierstein's career combined journalism, electoral assistance, government administration, international development, and comparative public-opinion research across the United States and Latin America.

Works

• commentary

  • Experts React: One Year Since Latin America's Most Brazen Electoral Theft in History

    (Co-authored CSIS commentary assessing the Venezuelan oppo...)

    2025
  • The Dangers of the Looming Constituent Assembly in Venezuela: Why the International Community Must Act

    (A CSIS policy commentary addressing the institutional and...)

    2017
  • Venezuelans Welcome U.S. Intervention, But Hope for a Rapid Democratic Transition Post-Maduro

    (Co-authored CSIS commentary analyzing Venezuelan public o...)

    2026

Religion

Feierstein is Jewish. Judaism is a monotheistic religious tradition grounded in the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic interpretation, communal practice, and an ethical emphasis on justice, responsibility, and the dignity of human life.

His public career developed in the United States during a period when Jewish Americans participated prominently in journalism, public administration, international affairs, and democratic institutions. No more specific personal theological or ritual views are documented.

Politics

Feierstein is affiliated with the Democratic Party. His professional career has largely connected him with Democratic administrations and organizations engaged in international development, electoral assistance, diplomacy, and public-opinion research.

The modern Democratic Party is a broad center-left coalition that has generally supported social and economic programs administered through the federal government, civil rights protections, labor interests, environmental regulation, and multilateral engagement abroad. In foreign policy, Democratic administrations during Feierstein's government service emphasized democracy promotion, electoral institutions, development assistance, and cooperation with governments and international organizations in the Western Hemisphere.

Views

Feierstein's professional statements and policy work have emphasized democratic governance, credible elections, accountable institutions, human rights, and international development. His career has treated electoral systems and public opinion as important instruments for understanding political legitimacy and strengthening representative government.

His work on Latin America and the Caribbean reflects a policy outlook that connects development assistance with institutional capacity, civic participation, security, and the rule of law. His public analysis has also addressed the political consequences of repression, disputed elections, and democratic backsliding.

Membership

Feierstein has been a member of Toastmasters International, an educational organization founded in 1924 that develops public-speaking, communication, and leadership skills through local clubs. His participation included service as club president from 1996 to 1997 and area governor from 1997 to 1998, and he won first place in an area humorous-speech contest in 1995.

• Served as club president from 1996 to 1997 and area governor from 1997 to 1998; won first place in an area humorous-speech contest in 1995.

  Toastmasters International , United States

  1995

Personality

Feierstein's documented public work emphasizes communication, public speaking, political analysis, and engagement with international policy. His Toastmasters leadership and humorous-speech competition provide direct evidence of an interest in organized communication and oral presentation.

Interests

• Reading history and spending time with his daughter.

• Sport & Clubs

  Tennis, baseball, and racquetball.

Connections

Feierstein married Itzel del Carmen Sclopis on June 27, 1991. They have one daughter, Bianca Pilar Feierstein. His parents were Saul Feierstein and Rita Carol Feierstein.

Father:

Saul Feierstein

Mother:

Rita Carol Feierstein

Daughter:

Bianca Pilar Feierstein

Wife:

Itzel del Carmen Sclopis

Married Mark Feierstein on June 27, 1991.

References

• Center for Strategic and International Studies: Mark Feierstein Institutional biography describing Feierstein's government service, policy and polling work, current advisory roles, education, and expertise in the Americas.
• GBAO: Mark Feierstein Professional biography describing Feierstein's work as a senior adviser, international pollster, strategist, and former USAID official.
• From Tufts to USAID's Role in Central and South America: A Discussion with Mark Feierstein Tufts-affiliated interview and biography documenting Feierstein's education, journalism, National Democratic Institute service, polling career, and USAID leadership.
  2012
• Mark Feierstein Testimony: Overview of U.S. Interests in the Western Hemisphere Congressional testimony documenting Feierstein's position as USAID assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean and his policy perspectives on development in the Western Hemisphere.
  2013