Pamela L. White is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 diplomat. In November 2010, White was named United States Ambassador to The Gambia

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.-Ambassdors:*Mercer Cook - Non-career appointee...

 by President Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

. She is the second Maine woman to serve as a United States ambassador, with the first being Margaret Joy Tibbetts

Margaret Joy Tibbetts

Margaret Joy Tibbets was an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer, she was the United States Ambassador to Norway from 1964 to 1969 under President Lyndon Johnson. She attended Gould Academy, Wheaton College in Massachusetts and her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College...

.

Education and early life

White was born in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in neighboring Auburn

Auburn, Maine

Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...

. In 1967, White graduated from Edward Little High School

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 honor...

 in Auburn. She then attended the University of Maine

University of Maine

The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...

, from which she graduated from in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She earned a master's degree from the School for International Training

School for International Training

SIT Graduate Institute is the accredited college program of World Learning in Brattleboro, Vermont. The president and CEO is Adam Weinberg.History=SIT Graduate Institute began as the Experiment for International Living...

 in Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

 and the a degree in international development from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces

Industrial College of the Armed Forces

The Industrial College of the Armed Forces is a U.S. military educational institution tasked with preparing military officers and civilian government officials for leadership and executive positions in the field of national security...

.

Career

White served in the Peace Corps

Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...

 in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 from 1971-1973. Prior to her appointment as ambassador, White worked for the United States Agency for International Development

United States Agency for International Development

The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...

 beginning in 1978. With USAID, White served in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

, Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

 and Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

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

External links

• U.S. Embassy Banjul: Biography of the ambassador
• Statement 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