Carol Z. Perez
Carol Z. Perez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Chile | |
| Assumed office October 13, 2016[1] | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Michael A. Hammer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Hiram College George Washington University |
Carol Zelis Perez is a career Foreign Service Officer and the current U.S. Ambassador to Chile.
Early life and education
Perez was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Marymount High School in nearby Garfield Heights in 1971. She earned a bachelor of arts in political science at Hiram College in 1975 and subsequently a master’s degree in health care administration at George Washington University.[2]
Career
Perez joined the U.S. State Department in 1987. Most of her assignments have been administrative or consular in nature, with early postings as a special assistant in the office of the Under Secretary of State for Management, as operations officer in the State Department Operations Center, and as a consular officer in Madrid.
In 1994, Perez was made administrative and human relations officer at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. She returned to Washington in 1997 for a series of assignments, first as a supervisory general services officer, deputy executive director in the Executive Secretariat; then the following year as office director in the Secretariat staff office; and beginning in 1999 as deputy executive secretary. She was assigned overseas in 2001 as the Consul General in Barcelona.
Two years later, she was reassigned to Washington as Deputy Executive Secretary of the department. Part of her duties were organizing and staffing trips made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In 2009, Perez was named Consul General in Milan.
Perez returned to Washington in 2011 as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. The following year, she vouched for the department after auditors found the United States spent $200 million on a training program for Iraqi police.[2] She was named Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the bureau in 2013 and helped coordinate anti-drug-trafficking efforts in Haiti, Ukraine and the South China Sea. In January 2015, Perez became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources.
In May 10, 2016, Perez was nominated by President Barack Obama to be U.S. Ambassador to Chile.[3] Perez testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 21, 2016,[4] and was confirmed on July 14, 2016.[5][6] Perez is the first ever woman ambassador accredited to Chile.[7]
Personal life
Perez and her husband, Al, have three children, Michael, Caroline and Marissa. Perez speaks Spanish and Italian.
References
- ^ Bustos, Pablo (October 13, 2016). "¿Quién es Carol Perez, la primera mujer embajadora de Estados Unidos en Chile?". Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "U.S. Ambassador to Chile: Who Is Carol Z. Perez?". September 10, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". White House. May 10, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "Statement of Carol Perez, Nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Chile" (PDF). United States Senate. June 21, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "PN1423 — Carol Z. Perez — Department of State". United States Congress. July 14, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ Lardner, Richard (July 15, 2016). "Senate confirms US ambassadors to 6 countries". Associated Press. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ McIntyre, Michael (September 30, 2016). "Garfield Heights native Carol Z. Perez (known then as Carol Zelis) to be sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Chile". Retrieved November 18, 2016.