Elizabeth Hattingh ’97

Overview

Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC

• BA, Art, Vassar College
• MSS, Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College
• MBA, Executive MBA, Washington State University

Elizabeth Hattingh (she/her) is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Office of Macroeconomic Affairs, which leads on issues such as sovereign debt discussions in the Paris Club, engagement with the International Monetary Fund, and promoting U.S. policy related to digital assets. She is also head of the U.S. Delegation to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery. From July 2022 to July 2025, she was Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy Manama in Bahrain where she advanced bilateral security and economic cooperation, as well as cooperation under the Abraham Accords. Prior to that, she was Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary, covering economic affairs, China policy, and other matters in the East Asia and Pacific region. Earlier assignments included serving as the senior Indonesia desk officer and as the regional environment, science, technology, and health officer in Amman, Jordan, furthering Jordanian, Israeli, and Palestinian water and scientific cooperation. She also had tours in Algiers, Singapore, and Riyadh. Elizabeth lives in Virginia with her husband, son, and daughter, where they enjoy mountain biking and horse riding.

Advice to Students:

I think there are important elements to success: consistency, commitment to excellence (not perfection), humor, and grit. These characteristics will help you whether you are working to meet what seems like an impossible deadline, trying to do something really innovative, or managing a major crisis. It’s also important to keep an open mind and challenge assumptions. Sometimes the best outcomes come from unexpected beginnings.