Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pleased to announce the appointment of Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs as Special Advisor to the Office of Children’s Issues. A long-time advocate for children, Secretary Clinton has created this new foreign policy position to address intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction. In her work on these important issues, Special Advisor Jacobs will actively engage with foreign government officials to protect the welfare and interests of children.
Special Advisor Jacobs most recently served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. A former U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, she also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Issues in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Her distinguished Foreign Service career has also included tours in Caracas, Tel Aviv, New Delhi, Bucharest, and San Salvador.
Special Advisor Jacobs graduated from the University of Michigan and later studied at Georgetown University Law School and the George Washington University. She has received numerous awards, including the Department of State's Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, and the U.S. Embassy New Delhi’s Community Achievement Award.
The Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues, located within the Bureau of Consular Affairs, assists parents, children, and families in matters related to intercountry adoption and international parental child abductions. It serves as the U.S. Central Authority for both the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
For more information about the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues, please visit our websites at:
www.adoption.state.gov,
www.travel.state.gov/childabduction
