Kerri-Ann Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kerri-Ann Jones
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| 14th Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs | |
| In office August 20, 2009 – April 25, 2014 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Claudia A. McMurray |
| Succeeded by | Monica Medina |
| Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy | |
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Acting
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| In office April 4, 1998 – August 3, 1998 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Jack Gibbons |
| Succeeded by | Neal Francis Lane |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1954 (age 70–71) |
| Education | Columbia University (BS) Yale University (MS, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Characterization of the response to stress in yeast (Heat shock, NMR) (1985) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert G. Shulman |
Kerri-Ann Jones (born in 1954) is a smart scientist and government leader. She used to be a top leader at The Pew Charitable Trusts, which is a group that works to solve big problems. She also served the United States as the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. This means she helped the U.S. government with important decisions about oceans, the environment, and science around the world. President Barack Obama chose her for this job in 2009.
About Kerri-Ann Jones
Her Education
Kerri-Ann Jones studied chemistry at Barnard College of Columbia University, earning her first degree in 1975. After college, she worked as a research assistant at Rockefeller University. There, she helped study how the body's defense system (called immunology) works and how living things grow and develop (called developmental biology).
Later, she went to Yale University. In 1985, she earned her PhD, which is a very high degree. She studied Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. She used a special method called nuclear magnetic resonance to learn how living things react to stress. She looked at how stress affects their body processes (like metabolism) and how their genes work (called gene expression).
Her Career Journey
In 1985, Kerri-Ann Jones won a special fellowship. This allowed her to work with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She then joined the Science and Technology Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID is a government group that helps other countries.
She spent a year in New Delhi, India. There, she was an advisor on biotechnology, which is about using living things to make new products or solve problems.
After returning to the U.S., Jones worked for a short time at the National Institute of Health's Fogarty International Center. Then, from 1988 to 1995, she worked again at USAID. She held many important jobs there. She managed programs related to science, technology, farming, health, education, and the environment.
She also helped create the U.S. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Partnership for Education. This was a big project to help education in Asian countries. She also helped start the U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership.
In 1996, President Bill Clinton asked Jones to join the Office of Science and Technology Policy. This office helps the President make decisions about science and technology. She worked there until 1999. She also served on the United States National Security Council, advising on science and technology for national safety.
In 2000, she became a director for a science program in Maine. This program helped improve scientific research in the state. In 2002, she moved to the National Science Foundation. This group supports science and engineering research. She led their international science and engineering efforts. She left this job in 2005 to work as an independent consultant.
As Assistant Secretary of State, Kerri-Ann Jones also helped lead a partnership between the U.S. and Ireland for research and development.
