Bobby J. Pittman Jr. served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs from 2006 to 2009. In that capacity, he was the lead advisor to the National Security Advisor

National Security Advisor (United States)

The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...

 and the President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 on Africa issues. He also served as the President's Africa Personal Representative (APR) to the G8

G8

The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...

.http://www.bmz.de/en/EU_G8/Blickpunkte/g8_afrikabeauftragte/index.html

Early life and education

Pittman graduated summa cum laude

Latin honors

Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...

from Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 with a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

; he studied economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

, computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

, and mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

. He received an Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in economics from the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, where he also did doctoral

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 work in applied economics

Applied economics

Applied economics is a term that refers to the application of economic theory and analysis. While not a field of economics, it is typically characterized by the application of economic theory and econometrics to address practical issues in a range of fields including labour economics, industrial...

.

Career

Pittman began his career as an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

. In 2002, he was appointed as Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council

United States National Security Council

The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...

. In this position, he helped plan and advise the White House on the 2003 U.S. intervention in Liberia

2000s in Liberia

A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy , emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001 they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex...

, was a member of the working group that designed the Millennium Challenge Account initiative and assisted in organizing the U.S.-Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (African Growth and Opportunity Act

African Growth and Opportunity Act

In May 2000, the U.S. Congress approved legislation known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA . The purpose of this legislation was to assist the economies of sub-Saharan Africa and to improve economic relations between the United States and the region...

 Forum). http://news.findlaw.com/wash/s/20060605/20060605125111.html

Pittman then served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Development Finance and Debt at the Department of the Treasury

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

, http://www.treas.gov/organization/bios/pittman-e.html where he was a key architect and the lead U.S. negotiator of the 100 percent debt relief

Debt relief

Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. From antiquity through the 19th century, it refers to domestic debts, in particular agricultural debts and freeing of debt slaves...

 proposal endorsed by the G8 at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa22265.000/hfa22265_0f.htm To date, this effort has delivered more than $40 billion in debt stock cancellation for the world’s poorest countries.

Pittman is now a Vice President at the African Development Bank

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

. http://www.afdb.org/en/about-us/structure/complexes/infrastructure-regional-integration-oivp/vice-president-infrastructure-private-sector-and-regional-integration/