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Name: Andrew, Anne Slaughter
Current Position: Former Ambassador
Anne Slaughter Andrew has her husband, Joseph J. Andrew, in part, to thank for her nomination as the next U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica. While the environmental lawyer and lobbyist has made friends in the Democratic Party and contributed to campaigns, it was her husband’s endorsement of Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary in Indiana that left the president with a debt of thanks to repay to the Andrew family. Andrew was confirmed by the Senate on December 24, 2009.
Before getting married, Anne Slaughter graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts. She attended law school at Indiana University-Indianapolis, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Indiana Law Review and earned her Juris Doctorate in 1983.
She fashioned a career as an environmental lawyer, working for the firms Bingham McHale, Baker & Daniels (where she co-chaired the environment/energy team) and Patton Boggs, where she served as a partner. She was a registered lobbyist with Baker & Daniels in 2000, representing Steel Dynamics Inc. In 2004, she co-founded a medical biotech consulting company, Anson Group, serving as a director until 2007, when she founded another company, New Energy Nexus, an energy consulting firm.
Andrew has been involved with environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and the Indiana Natural Resources Foundation. Andrew has worked with the Nature Conservancy (TNC) since 1995, serving as an Indiana Trustee, and as a member of the TNC President’s National Advisory Council. Andrew also served as special counsel and director for TNC in Arlington, Virginia.
The Andrews family has contributed approximately $88,000 to federal candidates, committees and leadership PACs since 1989, according to OpenSecrets.org. Her husband is a former national chair of the Democratic National Committee (1999-2001), and chair of the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. He served as a superdelegate during the 2008 presidential contest and switched his endorsement from Hillary Clinton to Obama five days before the Indiana primary.
He was a registered federal lobbyist in 2001, working for the firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and representing the New York Board of Trade and TeleCorp PCS, a subsidiary of AT&T. He also has served as chairman of the liberal think tank, the New Democratic Network.