Pamela A. White (born 1948 in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous ci ...

) is an American diplomat. In November 2010, White was named

United States ambassador to The Gambia This is a list of United States ambassadors to the Gambia, the first of who was appointed on May 18, 1965, exactly three months after it attained independence from the United Kingdom. Ambassadors Notes See also *The Gambia–United States r ...

by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

.Auburn native named U.S. ambassador to Gambia
Sun Journal, November 16, 2010 In January 2012, White was appointed

United States ambassador to Haiti This is a list of United States ambassadors to Haiti. See also * Haiti – United States relations * Foreign relations of Haiti * Ambassadors of the United States References * External links United States Department of State: Chiefs of ...

Early life and education

Born in

, White was raised in nearby Auburn. In 1967, White graduated from

Edward Little High School Edward Little High School is a public high school in Auburn, Maine, United States that was first established as Lewiston Falls Academy in 1835. Philanthropist Edward Little donated and considerable money to the academy, which was named in his h ...

. She then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

in 1971. She earned a master's degree from the

School for International Training The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Instit ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and then a degree in international development from the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Career

White served in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

from 1971 to 1973. Prior to her appointment as ambassador, White worked for the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...

beginning in 1978. With USAID, White served in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and Haiti,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. From 1999 to 2001, she was the deputy director for East Africa.

References

External links

U.S. Embassy Banjul: Biography of the ambassadorStatement of Pamela L. White Ambassador-Designate to the Republic of The Gambia Before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
September 22, 2010
In Praise of Pamela White
Liberian Observer, November 2, 2010 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Pamela 1948 births Ambassadors of the United States to Haiti Ambassadors of the United States to the Gambia Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni Living people People from Auburn, Maine People from Lewiston, Maine People of the United States Agency for International Development SIT Graduate Institute alumni University of Maine alumni United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors Edward Little High School alumni 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American women