- President Biden appoints Nigerian-Born as Acting Director
The President of the United States (US), President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has appointed a Nigerian-born, Enoh Titilayo Ebong, has the Acting Director of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
Titilayo is a daughter of a former Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Development and Reconstruction, Mr Ime James Ebong.
She earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, a Master of Arts in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Arts in History, with Honors, from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a member of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bar.
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She has served in different roles at the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) since 2004 to 2019. Her recent appointment has been described as a return to the agency.
As an acting Director, Titilayo Ebong “leads an agency that partners with the U.S. private sector to develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in emerging economies, while supporting U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services.”
According to the statement by USTDA, before her appointment at the USTDA in 2004, Titilayo Ebong “practiced law at the Boston office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris and Popeo, P.C., representing public and private companies in public offerings, financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance issues.”
Before her return to MTDA, she served as the Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, where, according to the statement, she drove the development of strategic partnerships to expand access to education, health, financial empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Titilayo Ebong said during the swearing-in ceremony:
“It is an honor to return to USTDA. The opportunity to lead the Agency comes at a critical moment when the world is turning to the United States for leadership on clean energy and climate-smart infrastructure, as well as safe and secure ICT solutions.”
She added that “the Agency is one of the most effective, targeted and proven tools within the U.S. government. I’ve long believed in USTDA’s mission and program, which are fully aligned with the President’s vision of strengthening our economy and addressing climate as an essential component of American foreign policy and national security.”