Anne Richard

Anne C. Richard served as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in the Obama Administration (2012-2017).   In this position, she was responsible for a $3.4 billion budget and was the Administration’s top diplomat on refugee issues as well as a leader on humanitarian and migration policies for the US Government.

Since leaving the Federal Government, Ms. Richard has taught or lectured at a number of Universities, including the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and its Institute for the Study of International Migration, Hamilton College, and Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has also been an advisor/activist on refugee issues to a wide range of efforts.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Ms. Richard was the vice president of government relations and advocacy for the International Rescue Committee (IRC). She was also a non-resident Fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University/SAIS and a board member of the Henry L. Stimson Center.

Earlier in her career, she served in other senior positions at the State Department, at Peace Corps Headquarters and at the US Office of Management and Budget. As an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations (1993-94), she was part of the team that created the International Crisis Group. She also was a fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation in Germany and a Presidential Management Intern. 

Ms. Richard is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.  She has lived overseas in Austria, Germany and France and traveled extensively to crisis zones around the world.