John A. Sanbrailo

John A. Sanbrailo

International Development Executive

Born: July, 1943; Deceased April 20, 2019



Obituary for John A. Sanbrailo

John and his wife (Cecilia) lived in Vienna, VA for more than 25 years while serving another 20 years in Latin America in Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, El Salvador and other countries like Nicaragua. John rose to the highest rank of “Career Minister” in the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department.



For his work in the U.S. foreign aid program, John received Presidential Awards for supporting the El Salvador Peace Accords in 1993 and restructuring the Honduran economy to make it more export oriented, creating thousands of new jobs in the 1980s and 1990s. He directed a large USAID program to reconstruct the north coast of Peru after devastating El Nino floods during the 1980s, and supported the return to democratic government in Ecuador during 1979-1982. He also received numerous awards for developing innovative USAID projects that improved agriculture and rural development in Latin America, provided greater public health care and education for low income populations, financed small businesses and export promotion initiatives, and developed housing, environmental protection and natural resource conservation. He was one of USAID’s leading Mission Directors in Latin America and the Caribbean involved for decades in expressing the American people’s interest in promoting greater prosperity among low-income and vulnerable populations in the region.



After retiring from USAID in 1997, John served as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Ecuadorian government during 1997-1999. He was recruited in 1999 as Chief Executive Officer (Executive Director) of the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), an affiliate of the Organization of American States. He dedicated 18 years to rebuilding and growing PADF as a more effective instrument for supporting Inter-American Solidarity among the countries of the Western Hemisphere to raise the incomes and living standards of millions of Latin Americans, especially in Haiti and Colombia, and throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean.



PADF was established in 1962 by the OAS and the Alliance for Progress through a cooperative agreement between the OAS and public and private international donors. John F. Kennedy created the Alliance for Progress in 1961. PADF is a leading OAS Inter-American mechanism for aiding victims of natural disasters and humanitarian crises, developing small businesses and employment, strengthening Latin American community-based organizations, promoting human rights and democratic principles, advancing corporate social responsibility, and nurturing public-private partnerships to advance the region’s social and economic progress. During his 18 year tenure, PADF implemented more than $1.0 billion, the largest funding in its history that improved the lives of millions of Latin Americans.



Career Chronology



· San Francisco Bay Area: John was born in San Francisco, Calif. in July 1943, attended Holy Angeles Catholic School in Colma, Calif, and graduated from Jefferson High School in Daly City, Calif. in June 1961. His parents (John E. Sanbrailo & Ann Sanbrailo) were long-time residents of Daly City and Westlake. His sister Lynn J. Sedleski lives with her family in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

· Berkeley, Cal: John attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated in June 1965 with a degree in economics and international relations.

· Puerto Rico & Venezuela: He joined the Peace Corps in 1965 and was assigned to develop credit unions and agricultural cooperatives in Venezuela, after training in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. This prepared him for his career in international development. He had a 50 year career with the Peace Corps, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF).

· San Francisco, Cal: After completing his Peace Corps service in 1968, John returned to San Francisco and the San Francisco State University and obtained a master’s degree in economic development and international relations in June 1969, during which time he worked as a teaching and research assistant at SF State University.

· Washington D.C.-Ecuador-Nicaragua: He was then recruited by USAID in 1969 for assignment in Quito, Ecuador where he met his wife (Cecilia Del Pozo) and they were married in January 1974. Some of his achievements included creating projects to develop and diversify agricultural production, to encourage the growth of small businesses enterprises, and funded rural electric cooperatives, and organized with one of his dearest friends, Juan Casals, a Central Bank rediscount mechanism termed “Fondos Fiduciarios”, to expand development grants and loans to the rural poor and others, such as those in urban squatter settlements. John then moved on to a USAID assignment to help rebuild the city of Managua, Nicaragua, following the devastating earthquake of December 1972, and to establish a new organization for promoting integrated rural development.

· Cambridge, Mass: After leaving Nicaragua in August 1975, USAID provided John with a scholarship for training at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University during 1975-1976, where he obtained his master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA).

· Washington, D.C.: John and Cecilia returned to the headquarters of USAID in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1976 and purchased a home in Vienna, VA because of its rural setting and small town atmosphere. They had wonderful neighbors and enjoyed the great location adjacent to the town of Vienna and Tyson’s Corner. John particularly enjoyed the view of the park and creek from his window until his passing.

· Washington, D.C.: From 1976-1979, John served as USAID’s Assistant Director for Project Development and then Director for Programming Planning, Budgeting and Evaluation in the Latin American Bureau. He oversaw the completion of the Alliance for Progress program, developed rural development programs to combat poverty, based on a new U.S. Congressional mandate, and established a strategy for expanding the USAID program to reform LAC economies in the 1980s.



· Ecuador: In 1979, he was nominated as USAID Mission Director in Ecuador to support the newly-elected government return to democratic governance and expand USAID-funded development projects to support this program. John led an effort to formulate new projects to improve rural development and agriculture production, increased access to health and education services, strengthened numerous Ecuadorian social service and family planning organizations, provided food aid and employment to destitute populations, and began major new projects for housing and integrated urban development (“Solanda”), environmental protection, generating non-conventional energy, and developing non-traditional agricultural exports. He worked closely with Ecuadorian Presidents Jamie Roldos and Osvaldo Hurtado who provided him with one of the country’s highest “condecoraciones” for his service to the country.



· Peru: From 1983-1986, John served as USAID Mission Director in Peru where he worked closely with Peruvian President Fernando Belaunde and his cabinet to implement integrated rural development programs to open its Amazon region to increase the country’s agro-forestry production, combat coca cultivation and drug trafficking, and mitigate the threats of insurgent groups like “Sendero Luminiso”. He financed projects to expand public health, potable water, family planning, nutrition and education services. Additional projects were implemented to grow small businesses and agro-industries, increase non-traditional exports, and strengthen municipalities and regional development corporations. John led the effort to support Hernando De Soto in developing his revolutionary concepts to legalize land titling, facilitate incorporation of the large informal sector into the Peruvian economy and use it to accelerate economic growth that occurred in subsequent decades. When Peru was hit with massive El Nino Floods in 1983-1984, John and staff directed one of the largest programs to date to stabilize the economy, rebuild infrastructure and housing, and reactivate agricultural production.



· Honduras: John was then assigned in 1987 as USAID Mission Director in Honduras to support the Central America Initiative to stabilize the region and contain the spread of communist insurgents from Nicaragua and El Salvador that were supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union. This USAID program aimed at accelerating Honduran economic and social reforms through expanded funding for agriculture and rural development, helping Hondurans gain greater access to public health, potable water and sanitation, nutrition and family planning services, and providing expanded education and technical training opportunities. Hundreds of scholarships were made available to lower-income families so their children could study in the U.S. through the “Central America Peace Scholarship Program”. The Honduran economy was restructured to make it more export-oriented with textiles and other products through USAID funding of policy reforms and Export Processing Zones. More than 100,000 new manufacturing jobs were created that converted Honduras from what had been termed a “Banana Republic” to one with a much more diversified production and employment base with higher incomes and improved living standards. Democratic governance was greatly improved through decentralization of governmental functions to municipalities, upgrading the National Electoral Tribunal, enhancing the administration of justice and supporting Honduran nonprofits to better address corruption and human rights issues. When a massive hurricane flooded Honduras’s north coast, John led USAID’s response to rebuild infrastructure, housing and community services. The National Government and Honduran Congress awarded John its highest “condecoracion” for his dedicated service to the country for national development and reconstruction during 1987-1991.



· El Salvador: From 1991-1993, John served as USAID El Salvador Mission Director, administering the largest multi-billion dollar USAID program in Latin America that helped end the terrible civil war in the country. Without John’s efforts, this would not have been possible. The signature of the El Salvador Peace Accords marked a major milestone in U.S. relations with the region. It was made possible in part by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, in additional to a large and generous USAID program to El Salvador provided by the American people. The society and economy of El Salvador were totally restructured and the country became the “miracle of Central America” in terms of economic growth, employment and social progress during the 1990s and to the worldwide recession of 2008=2009, but then unfortunately the country deteriorated and slid backward into crime, citizen security and migration issues.



During John’s tour in El Salvador, hundreds of USAID projects were funded that stimulated economic growth, improved education, public health, potable water, housing, and urban and rural infrastructure. Export processing zones and non-traditional exports dramatically increased, as did small businesses and community-based enterprises that opened up new opportunities to those who had been excluded from such initiatives. Through the USAID-funded “Mayors in Action”, Social Investment Fund and other social and education programs, local communities became more democratically governed. Over $150 million was provided to rebuild El Salvador after a devastating earthquake hit the city in the late 1980s that helped create a more sustainable and resilient city, especially for lower income populations. John received Presidential Awards for his work in directing the El Salvador and Honduras USAID program. He left El Salvador in late 1993 for an assignment as USAID Ecuador Mission Director.



· Ecuador: John served in Ecuador from 1993-1996, retiring from USAID in 1997. He worked with President Sixto Duran Ballen, Vice President Alberto Dahik and cabinet ministers to modernize the State to provide more efficient public services, established a Social Investment Fund, and conceptualized a new concept for providing cash transfers to some of the country’s most destitute people. He worked with his long-time friend Rodrigo Paz to organize and upgrade the Commission for Modernization of the State (CONAM). During his tenure, USAID projects accelerated the country’s non-traditional agricultural exports, such as shrimp, flowers, mangos, trout, seafood and also began efforts to modernize the production of the country’s high quality chocolate bean industry. New ecotourism facilities were established and other fruit and vegetable production were expanded. USAID funded initiatives for environmental protection on the country’s Galapagos Islands. USAID programs produced major improvements in Ecuador’s social indicators, such as dramatic declines in infant mortality, communicable diseases, and nutrition deficiencies. The country witnessed its most significant betterment in life expectancy with much greater access to modern hospitals and housing, potable water and sanitation, family planning, and education, and other social services. New opportunities were opened for Ecuadorian students to participate in the USAID-sponsored “Andean Peace Scholarship Program” and access to education at U.S. universities through the CODEU textbook and other exchanges. As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the Andean region, John helped Ecuador respond to earthquakes, floods, droughts and volcanic eruptions and built local institutional capacity and human resources to improve responses and save lives and property. For his efforts, he was awarded an unprecedented number of recognitions by the government of Ecuador for his dedication and commitment to the country including an “honoris causa” doctoral degree.



· International Development Consultant: During the period 1997-1999, John served as a consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Ecuadorian government. He supported the World Bank and Ecuadorian government in implementing their efforts to modernize and reform the State, making Ecuadorian governmental institutions more effective in delivering services to middle and lower-income populations. He undertook a major study to improve the processing loan projects at the IDB and advised multinational corporations and regional non-profits on strategies for promoting corporate social responsibility and fundraising. He aided the Peruvian government in organizing a consultative group of international donors to fund projects to combat drug trafficking and use in Peru.



· Washington, D.C.: In 1999, the Board of Trustees of the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) recruited John as its new Chief Executive Officer (Executive Director). The Foundation had been in decline. John was brought in to rebuild and grow its programs. John dedicated 18 years, mobilizing and expending almost $1.0 billion to improve the incomes and lives of millions of lower-income Latin Americans and to support Inter-American solidarity with the most destitute people in the region. PADF programs grew from less than $8 million per year in the 1990s to almost $100 million per year in the 2010s, supporting some of the highest priorities, such as aiding flood and earthquake victims in Haiti, helping displaced persons in Colombia, protecting those impacted by human rights abuses, and strengthening local non-governmental organizations and municipalities so they could operate to continue such programs. PADF funded numerous projects in support of the Inter-American Democratic Charter to advance the principles and polices of this historic undertaking approved on September 11, 2001 by the people and governments of the Americas. Hundreds of local micro and community enterprise projects were implemented to increase incomes, employment and living standards throughout the region. Likewise, PADF provided aid to victims of every major natural disaster and humanitarian crisis in this period. Newer projects were initiated to facilitate countries to transition more peacefully from authoritarian regimes to greater democratic governance, build public-private partnerships to gain greater private sector aid for development, increase corporate social responsibility projects such as STEM education for low-income youth, expand community-based citizen security programs, and modernize public safety policies. Major initiatives were initiated in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America to address human rights, violence and migration issues driving many to leave their countries.



· Vienna, VA: As a result of deteriorating health, John retired from PADF on September 30, 2017, after the completion of the Foundation’s most successful Strategic Plans in its history for 2013-2017. A new Plan proposed continued growth for 2018-2022 to better address the growing problems in the Americas of citizen security, violence, migration, and initiatives, and to better address ongoing economic and social development challenges. John passed away in 2019 surrounded by his loving wife Cecilia, his wonderful colleagues from the Peace Corps, USAID, and PADF who will continue his long legacy of service to Latin America. His wonderful friends and neighbors in Vienna were always a great inspiration to him, as was Our Lady of Good Counsel Church and its community support programs.

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· In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Vienna, Virginia

USAID Alumni Association (UAA) for completing a History of USAID

· The American Liver Association