Post on 18-Oct-2014
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Photo by: Justin Brown / CC BY-NC-SA
In honor of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner...
9 White House officials who matter for global
development
On the NSC, Smith advises U.S. President Barack Obama on
issues related to global development, democracy and
humanitarian affairs. Smith worked as a journalist in Africa
for 20 years before relocating to Washington, where she was a co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Aid Network, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and co-founder of the Enough Project
to end genocide and crimes against humanity.
Gayle SmithSpecial assistant to the president and senior
director, National Security CouncilPhoto by: Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World
Ben RhodesAssistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategic communications
and speechwriting
Rhodes gained prominence as one of Obama’s startlingly young
and talented speech writers during the 2008 campaign. Now he’s a high-level adviser to the president who also happens to
care about international development. Rhodes now liaises
with the U.S. Agency for International Development to
guide the president’s engagement with developing
countries.
Photo by: The White House
Photo by: The White House
After her recent stint as U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations, Rice, a longtime friend of the Obama family, now chairs the National Security Committee.
She was a member of the Obama-Biden transition project in
2008 while serving as a senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution, where she focused on fragile states.
Susan RiceNational security adviser
Atkinson represents the president at major international economic
summits and advises Rice on issues related to international
economic affairs and investment. Atkinson came to the Obama White House by way of the
International Monetary Fund, where she was a senior
executive.
Caroline AtkinsonDeputy assistant to the president and deputy
national security advisor for international economics
Photo by: CSIS / CC BY-NC-SA
Froman preceded Caroline Atkinson as deputy national
security advisor for international economic affairs, and while
technically no longer within the White House, he still occupies a
crucial advisory position on international trade and
investment issues at a time when the development agenda,
especially in Africa, is shifting dramatically from aid to trade.
Michael FromanU.S. trade representative
Photo by: World Trade Organization / CC BY-SA
Thomisee runs a high-level advisory group appointed to
provide independent insight and analysis of the administrations’ global development policies and goals. The council’s first public
meeting was delayed for a year, but last month the group issued
recommendations to the president and plans to continue
doing so.
Jayne ThomiseeExecutive director, Global Development
Council
Photo by: Tim Hamilton / CC BY-NC-ND
Photo by: Kris Krug/PopTech / CC BY-SA
Described as a serial entrepreneur, Greenblatt leads his office’s efforts
to “leverage human capital and financial capital to elevate
community solutions.” As the White House point person on impact investing and social
enterprise, Greenblatt has elevated the conversation around how the government should interact with the private sector to accomplish
social goals — such as supporting USAID’s Grand Challenges for
Development.
Jonathan GreenblattSpecial assistant to the president and director,
Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation in the Domestic Policy Council
Feldbaum advances global health and food security within the NSC. He has worked in refugee camps and on mountain rescue teams, holds a doctoral degree in public health and served with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Harley FeldbaumDirector for global health, food security and
development, National Security Council
Photo by: Harley Feldbaum
Photo by: Robynn Steffen
Steffen has focused as much White House energy as possible
on innovation for global development, through prizes and challenges that link innovators and entrepreneurs with public policy goals. Steffen previously served as deputy chair of the
Clinton Global Initiative Education Working Group.
Robynn SteffenAssistant director for global development,
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Photo by: Tim Hamilton / CC BY-NC-ND
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