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March 1, 2000
Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022
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Media Advisory

Defense Department Official to Deliver Women's History Month Keynote Address at the Library of Congress

Ana Maria Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support, will deliver the 2000 Women's History Month keynote address at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, March 7, in the Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison memorial Building, at 10 a.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

"We are pleased to have Ms. Salazar with us to kick off our monthlong celebration of women's history," said Federal Women's Program Manager Jean Parker. "This year's theme, created by the National Women's History Project, is 'An Extraordinary Century for Women: Now Imagine the Future.' With her national and international experience in a field that was historically nontraditional for women, Ms. Salazar is a wonderful example of how women can prepare themselves for their future career."

Ms. Salazar is a recognized international law expert in the field of law enforcement, judicial reform and mediation. She received a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

From 1990 to 1995 she served as the Judicial Attach? at the United States Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, where she assisted in the prosecution of drug trafficking kingpins. Also in Colombia, she acted as the Project Coordinator for a $36 million project designed to improve the administration of justice in that country. Other international experience includes her work in Guatemala as the director for a judicial training program sponsored by Harvard Law School's Center for Criminal Justice.

Ms. Salazar served at the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from 1995 to 1997, where she advised the assistant secretary in formulating the administration's antidrug policies. She subsequently served at the White House as Policy Advisor for the President's Special Envoy for the Americas. On July 23, 1998, she was appointed to her current position. In this role, she oversees an annual budget of more than $1 billion, which supports the Defense Department's antidrug program in the United States and more than 20 other countries.

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PR 00-026
3/1/00
ISSN 0731-3527