Board of Advisors: John F. Maisto
Former U.S. Ambassador
Ambassador John F. Maisto was nominated by President George W. Bush to be U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States on March 25, 2003. He was sworn in on July 31, 2003. He was named U.S. Coordinator for the Summit of the Americas on July 18, 2003. Ambassador Maisto served as Special Assistant to President Bush and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs for National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice from January 2001 to April 2003. He was Ambassador to Venezuela from 1997 – 2000, and served as Foreign Policy Advisor at the U.S. Southern Command in 2000-01. He previously served as Ambassador to Nicaragua from 1993-96. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central American Affairs, 1992-93; and Deputy U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States, 1989-92. Earlier, he served in Panama as Deputy Chief of Mission, as Director of the State Department's Office of Philippine Affairs, and at American Embassies in Manila, San Jose, and La Paz. He was in the U.S. Information Agency in Argentina and Bolivia. He began his career as a Foreign Service Officer in 1968.
A native of Braddock, Pennsylvania, Ambassador Maisto has a B.S. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and an M.A. from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala.
Education:
- M.A., University of San Carlos
- B.S., Georgetown University School of Foreign Service