Steve Driehaus is Resident Senior Director in Iraq for the National Democratic Institute (NDI).  In this position, he manages a staff of sixteen Iraqi and third country nationals who design and implement programming to strengthen Iraq’s democracy.  The focus of NDI’s work in Iraq centers on strengthening political parties, professionalizing the offices and staff of Members of Parliament, empowering women and youth to engage in the political process, and monitoring to ensure fair and impartial elections.

Prior to joining NDI, Steve was President and Managing Partner at Good Government Group, LLC. G3 is a consulting firm that focuses on the intersection of public policy, community engagement and economic development.  Steve also served as the Executive Director of Cincinnati Compass, a regional initiative advocating on behalf of immigrants that celebrates the cultural and economic contributions being made by first generation Americans living in Greater Cincinnati.

Previously Steve served as Country Director for the United States Peace Corps in Morocco where he led 150 Volunteers focused on the development of Morocco’s youth population.  His efforts included partnerships with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as expansion into Morocco’s smaller, rural communities.  Prior to Morocco, Steve served four and a half years as the Country Director for Peace Corps Swaziland where he led two projects concentrating on Community Health and Youth Development in an effort to combat Swaziland’s HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Steve is a former U.S. Representative for Ohio's 1st Congressional District, serving from 2009 until 2011. In Congress, he was a member of the Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Prior to his election to Congress, he served eight years in the Ohio House of Representatives, and was elected Minority Whip from 2005-2008.

Driehaus studied Political Science and Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs at Miami University earning a B.A. in 1988.  After graduation, he joined the United States Peace Corps in Senegal serving as an Environmental Education Volunteer where he worked with village groups and local schools to promote sustainable environmental practices.  He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs (M.P.A.) from Indiana University where he studied Public Finance and Comparative International Affairs.  After his graduate studies, Driehaus worked as Associate Director of the Center for International Education and Development Assistance at Indiana University. While serving in this role, he coordinated the South African Internship Program, sponsored by the United States Information Agency, which became the largest professional exchange program between the United States and post-Apartheid South Africa.

When not overseas, Steve and his wife, Lucienne, reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.