William John Garvelink (born May 22, 1949) is an American diplomat and former United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo appointed by George W. Bush on May 30, 2007, and sworn in on October 22, 2007.

He began post-graduate studies at the University of North Carolina in Latin American history, but ran out of money before earning his Ph.D.. Garvelink joined the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1979.

[3] Before he joined AID, Garvelink was a professional staff member of the Subcommittee on International Organizations and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He led many Disaster Assistance Response Teams, or DARTs, to parts of Albania, Armenia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia and Iran.

Before the OFDA, Garvelink spent two years in the Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration with responsibilities for much of southern Africa.