Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDEF Executive Head Roland Rich met on 21 September with Mar¨ªa Otero, United States Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In the course of the meeting, Under Secretary Otero expressed the strong and continuing support of the US Administration for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Democracy Fund. She noted that the Fund had achieved considerable results in the five short years since it was created. Assistant Secretary Posner noted that the work of the Fund provides strong support for civil society in the current challenging environment.