Maura Ann Harty (born 1959) was United States

Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Consular Affairs within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary of State for ...

from November 21, 2002 to February 29, 2008. She was a career member of the Senior

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. She was then the President and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the

Make a Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquar ...

. In November 2014, Harty was appointed President & CEO of the

International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with a regional presence in Brazil, Singapore, and Australia, is a private 501(c)(3) non-governmental, nonprofit global organization. It c ...

(ICMEC).

Biography

Harty is a native of Staten Island, New York. She graduated from

New Dorp High School New Dorp High School, commonly referred to as New Dorp or NDHS, is a public school in New Dorp on the East Shore of the New York City borough of Staten Island in the New Dorp neighborhood. The school is administered by the New York City Departme ...

in 1977, where she was elected "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Class Citizen". Harty received her bachelor's degree at Georgetown University's

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at bot ...

, where she was a member of the Mu Alpha chapter of the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega. She began her career with the Department of State in 1981 as a

vice-consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Mexico City, Mexico, and was one of two Foreign Service Officers sent to accompany U.S. forces during the invasion of Grenada (to help evacuate American citizen medical students from the island). Harty went on to serve several tours in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, including tours in the State Department's Operations Center and as special assistant to Secretary of State George Shultz, executive assistant to

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

Warren Christopher Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as president, he served as the 63rd United States Secretary of State. Born in Scranton, North Dakota, ...

, and Executive Secretary of the Department under

Colin Powell. She also served abroad at the U.S. Embassies in Bogotá, Colombia, and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, before being appointed U.S. Ambassador to

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

from 1997 to 1999. During her tenure as Assistant Secretary, Harty oversaw the introduction of new visa security regulations in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as the identification and evacuation of American citizens after the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and the war between

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in 2006. In her position, she served as primary liaison within the Department of State to the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection and Citizenship and Immigration Services on security and

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues. She announced her February 2008 retirement from the Foreign Service on November 21, 2007, the five-year anniversary of her swearing-in as Assistant Secretary. In November 2014, Harty was appointed President & CEO of the

(ICMEC).

References

External links

Bureau of Consular Affairs website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harty, Maura 1959 births Living people People from Staten Island Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni United States Foreign Service personnel American women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United States to Paraguay United States Assistant Secretaries of State American women chief executives American nonprofit chief executives New Dorp High School alumni

Biography

See also

References

External links