Mary Beth Goodman, Class of 1999

Director for international economic affairs on the national security staff at the White House

As Director for International Economic Affairs on the National Security Staff at the White House, Mary Beth Goodman develops policy related to economic governance and assistance for the Middle East and North Africa in response to the Arab Spring. She leads on key issues for the Group of Eight, including the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, the Transparency Advisory Group, and the Forum on Asset Recovery. She also serves as the lead coordinator for the Group of Twenty Anti-Corruption Working Group covering transparency, corruption, bribery, money laundering and sectorial issues.

Goodman began her career practicing international trade law and served at the headquarters for U.S. Customs and Border Protection as an attorney advisor.  She participated in the negotiations of several free trade agreements and oversaw the implementation of preferential trade programs for Africa and the Caribbean. She later served as a foreign service officer in Pakistan and Mali before becoming the Senior Economic & Energy Advisor to the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke.  In that role, she helped negotiate and coordinated ratification of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, which opened cross border trade and boosted the economies of both countries. In 2011, Goodman received the Herbert Salzman Award for Excellence in International Economic Performance from the U.S. Department of State for her contributions to providing economic stability and security in Afghanistan and Pakistan.