Corey A. Hancock

Corey A. Hancock proudly represents the United States as a Foreign Service Officer by following his calling to help build better lives and communities around the world. After undergraduate and graduate studies at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), he joined the Peace Corps, working in a small village in Bolivia to help orphans learn workforce skills and improve production of a cooperative of women weavers.

Having found his passion, he began a career with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), starting with a post in Peru. Then, in Kazakhstan, he advocated for the rights of the disabled. In Côte d’Ivoire he worked to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS. In Pakistan – a post so dangerous he could not live with his family - he managed nearly $1.6 billion in bilateral U.S. foreign assistance. During that time, seeking to add financial management skills to his portfolio, Hancock enrolled in the FIU MBA program, finishing his coursework in spite of a ruptured Achilles tendon that forced him to evacuate to Singapore for surgery.

Hancock has received numerous awards, including the U.S. Department of State’s Meritorious Honor Award for reprogramming $140 million in U.S. foreign assistance, and the Outstanding Owl Award from the president of FAU. He is now stationed in Mexico, as the director of USAID’s Program Office, which works to weed out judicial corruption, reduce horrific rates of crime and violence, and promote sustainable landscapes. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. at France’s ESCP University where he will look at corporate social responsibility and how it is implemented around the world. At the end of his diplomatic career, he hopes to teach at the university level, sharing his knowledge and passion for international service. 

By Ellen Forman
Associate Director, Communications
College of Business

Nominated by Sasha Maldonado