Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones was sworn-in as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs on August 20, 2009.
Dr. Jones joins the leadership of the U.S. Department of State after serving as an independent consultant specializing in strategic planning and the development of research and education portfolios. Her most recent position in federal government was as Director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Office of International Science and Engineering (2002-2005). Her prior professional experience includes serving as the Director for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) for the state of Maine (2000-2002), and as Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). She has also worked in management and technical positions with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
At the National Science Foundation, Dr. Jones was responsible for coordinating NSF’s international activities and managing a program investment focused on fostering international collaborative research and providing international research experiences for U.S. students and researchers. Under her leadership the Office of International Science and Engineering established the Partnership for International Research and Education.
In her Senate-confirmed position as Associate Director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1996-1999), Dr. Jones was responsible for policy development, budget analysis, and interagency coordination of security and international science and technology issues, including nuclear non-proliferation, counterterrorism, emerging infectious disease and international cooperation. During her tenure at OSTP, she testified before the Senate and served as interim Director of the Office. Dr. Jones also served on the National Security Council as the Senior Director for Science and Technology Affairs.
At USAID Dr. Jones worked with the Science and Technology and the Asia Near East Bureaus. She directed the Division of Technical Resources where she was responsible for a portfolio that included policy and programs in the areas of science and technology, agriculture, health, education and environment. She designed and managed the U.S. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Partnership for Education, the first major U.S. contribution to APEC. She was instrumental in the initial design of the U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership. At NIH’s Fogarty International Center, Dr. Jones served as the program manager for biomedical programs in the Near East and South Asia region.
Prior to U.S. Government service, Dr. Jones worked as an independent consultant. She served for a year in New Delhi, India as the Biotechnology Advisor to the USAID mission. In 1985, she was the recipient of a Science Engineering and Diplomacy Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Dr. Jones obtained her Ph.D. from the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University, where she studied the effects of stress on protein expression and metabolism, using nuclear magnetic resonance. Before her graduate study, she worked as an assistant for research at the Rockefeller University in immunology and development biology. She holds a bachelors degree in chemistry from Barnard College, Columbia University.
