The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Hernani Snyder serves as NDI's director of office administration, a position she has held since 1995. Before joining the Institute, Ms. Snyder worked for five years at BDO Seidman, LLP, an international accounting firm, as office manager, human resources manager and financial manager. Earlier she was employed by Scharf-Godfrey, Inc. as operations manager and the Charles E. Smith Companies as office manager. Before arriving in the United States, she served for nine years in various capacities with U.S. embassies and American liaison offices in Oman, Syria and Egypt, during which time her husband worked for the State Department. She also served as a nutritionist in USAID-funded hospitals in Laos for four years. Ms. Snyder earned her B.S. in nutrition and dietetics from the Far Eastern University, Manila, Philippines, and completed her dietary internship at V. Luna General Hospital, Quezon City, Philippines. She speaks Tagalog, Spanish, Lao, Thai and Arabic.