Charlotte M. Ponticelli
Charlotte M. Ponticelli
Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Charlotte M. (Charlie) Ponticelli was appointed Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau in May 2007. Previously, Ms. Ponticelli served for almost four years as the State Department's Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues, followed by an additional year at State as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Ms. Ponticelli has extensive government experience, serving previously at the White House (Director of Congressional Correspondence in the Office of Legislative Affairs), the U.S. Agency for International Development (Congressional Liaison Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean), and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. During the Administration of President George H.W. Bush, Ms. Ponticelli was Director of Human Rights and Women's Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of International Organization Affairs, and later moved to the International Republican Institute, where she designed and implemented several projects to assist democratic forces in the Balkans. From 2001-2002, she was Director of Lectures and Seminars at the Heritage Foundation.
Ms. Ponticelli is the recipient of various Superior Honor Awards from the State Department. She received the Veritas Award from Albertus Magnus College in 1996. In 1984, she was given the Outstanding Young Alumna Award at her Alma mater, Hood College, in Maryland. On December 4, 2006, she received the "Afghan-American Sisterhood Award" from Ariana Outreach in recognition of her work on behalf of the women of Afghanistan. In addition to her Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from Hood College, Mrs. Ponticelli earned a Master of Arts degree in Spanish literature through New York University's program in Madrid and studied in the doctoral program in Spanish at the Catholic University of America.