Rena Bitter

Rena Bitter, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is Dean of the Leadership and Management School at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Previously, she was the U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and chief of the consular section in Amman, Jordan. She also served in London, Bogota, and Mexico City. In Washington, she was Director of the State Department’s Operations Center, and a Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. Bitter has a Bachelor’s Degree from Northwestern University, and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University. She is a recipient of American Citizens Abroad’s Thomas Jefferson Award for outstanding service to the American community abroad. She speaks Spanish, Arabic and Vietnamese.