Howard Warren Buffett (born October 14, 1983) is an American public-affairs professor, political advisor, and philanthropist. He serves as faculty member at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and was previously the executive director of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation that funds initiatives aimed at improving the standard of living and quality of life for the world’s most impoverished and marginalized populations. He previously led agriculture-based economic stabilization and redevelopment programs in Iraq and Afghanistan while at the United States Department of Defense, and as a policy advisor in the Executive Office of the President of the United States under President Barack Obama. Prior to joining the White House, Buffett served as a special assistant at the U.S. Department of Agriculture,as a member of the Office of the President-Elect, and as director of National Surrogate Radio for Obama for America.