Ms. Babbitt practices in our Washington, DC office, assisting clients on issues of public policy and strategy, especially with regard to their international operations. She is an accomplished attorney with a distinguished background in both private and public service. Over the course of her career she has provided counsel to diverse interests at the intersection of law, policy, and public interest.

Ms. Babbitt serves on a number of not-for-profit and for-profit boards. She is chair of the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP), co-chair of the Global Water Challenge (GWC), serves as vice-chair of the World Resource Institute (WRI), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and Population Action International (PAI), and serves on the boards of The Water Initiative (TWI) and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University (ISD). She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Babbitt served as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. As the second most senior official for U.S. foreign assistance programs, she oversaw programs in the fields of democratization, humanitarian relief, women's empowerment, climate change, economic growth, education, health, and the environment. Her responsibilities included oversight of USAID efforts to assist post-conflict reconstruction in the Balkans and East Timor. Ms. Babbitt served at the Department of State from 1993 to 1997 as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States. While in that role she led the U.S. negotiating effort to completion of the world's first anti-corruption convention and worked to strengthen the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and Inter-American cooperation against arms trafficking.

Ambassador Babbitt also served as a Senior Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Professional Background

• Hunt Alternatives Fund, Washington, D.C., Senior Vice President, 2002-2006
• The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., Senior Public Policy Scholar, 2001
  
• United States Agency For International Development (USAID), Washington, D.C., Deputy Administrator, 1997-2001
• Department of State, Washington, D.C. United States Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to the Organization of American States (OAS), 1993-1997
• Robbins & Green, P.A., Partner, 1973-2001

Other Languages

• Spanish (Fluent)

Professional Affiliations

• U.S. Water Partnership
  Chair, 2012-present
  
• Global Water Challenge
  Co-Chair, 2011-present
  Board of Directors, 2006-present
  
• World Resources Institute
  Board of Directors, 2006-present
  Vice Chair Executive Board, 2008-present
  
• Council on Foreign Relations
  Member, 1997-present
  
• American Bar Association-Latin America Law Initiative
  Executive Chairman, 2007-2008
  
• U.S. - Mexico Bar Association
  Board of Advisors, 2007-present
  
• American Bar Association–Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA-CEELI)
  Vice Chair Executive Board, 2001-2007
  
• National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
  Middle East and Latin America Committees
  Vice Chair Executive Board, 2011-present
  Board of Directors, 1988-1993, 2001-present
  
• North American Center for Transborder Studies (NATCS) at Arizona State University
  Board of Advisors, 2006-Present
  
• Population Action International (PAI)
  Vice Chair Executive Board, 2010-present
  Board of Directors, 2002-present
  
• Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University
  Board of Directors, 2004-present
  
• The President’s Management Council (PMC)
  Member, 1998-2001
  
• Baltic-American Partnership Fund
  Founding Member, Ex Officio
  Board of Directors, 1998-2001
  
• Inter-American Foundation
  Board of Directors, 1994-1999
  
• Alan Guttmacher Institute
  Board of Directors, 1991-1993
  
• Citibank (Arizona)
  Board of Directors, 1986-1993
  
• International Women’s Forum
  Member, 1984-present
  
• The Arizona Chapter of the International Women’s Forum
  Founding Member, 1984-1993
  President, 1989
  
• Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona
  Recipient of the Golden Anniversary Honor Roll Award
  Board of Sponsors, 1978-1993
  
• Babbitt Brothers Trading Company
  Board of Directors, 1985-1990
  
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
  Member, 1985-1989
  
• Great Western Bank (Arizona)
  Board of Directors, 1981-1986
  
• Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)
  Board of Directors, 1981-1985
  Finance/Fundraising Committee, Co-Chair, 1983-1984
  
• American Bar Association
  Dispute Resolution Section, Member
  International Law Section, Member
  

Admitted to Practice

• District of Columbia, 2003
• Arizona, 1972, Inactive

Court Admission

• U.S. Supreme Court

Education

• J.D., Arizona State University College of Law , Political Science, 1972
  With Distinction
  Recipient of John S. Lancy Distinguished Law Journal Alumna Award, 2004
• B.A., Arizona State University , Spanish, 1969
  With Honors