Dr. Chad Dear, a national of the United States, is an environmental social scientist with expertise in environmental and social standards and accountability in development finance. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from the University of Montana, an M.S. in Geography from Western Washington University, and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from American University.

Before joining CAO as an E&S Compliance Specialist, Chad served as the program manager at the Independent Accountability Mechanism of the U.S. Development Finance Corporation. He has worked across government, NGOs, and academia, leading development projects, E&S oversight, and interagency policy reforms. Chad has lived and worked in multiple developing countries in Asia and Africa and is also an affiliate faculty member at the University of Montana.