Rosa Whitaker

Rosa Whitaker
Nationality	American
Alma mater	American University, Washington, D.C.
Occupation	CEO and President of the Whitaker Group
Spouse(s)	Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams (m. 2008)

Rosa Whitaker, president and CEO of The Whitaker Group (TWG),  is recognized as a leading expert on African trade, investment and business.

TWG, which she founded 2003, is a transaction advisory, investment facilitation and project development firm specializing in Africa with offices in Washington DC and Accra, Ghana.

As the first ever Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa, Whitaker served in the administrations of Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush and played a leading role in the development, passage, implementation and extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. AGOA grants virtually all African products duty free access to the US market and continues to be the cornerstone of US economic engagement with Africa.

Whitaker started the United States Trade Representative's Office of African Affairs and was the lead U.S. negotiator for trade agreements with African countries. Under her leadership, the US undertook a string of initiatives to enhance American trade, investment and economic cooperation with African countries.

On the 10th anniversary of AGOA's passage, the then US Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, said: "Of course, we owe special thanks to Rosa Whitaker, the “Mother of AGOA.” Rosa was among those who created the concept of AGOA, nursed it through ups and downs in Congress, and was the leading US Government figure in translating AGOA from law to successful program." 

Before joining USTR, Whitaker was Senior Trade Adviser to Congressman Charles Rangel, the legendary "Lion of Harlem", who would go on to chair the House Ways and Means Committee. She advised Rangel on issues related to the WTO and trade with China as well as Africa.

Whitaker joined Rangel's staff from the State Department. As a career foreign service officer, she was posted to the US embassy in Cote d'Ivoire and served in the Office of International Energy Policy.

Whitaker began her career in trade and economic diplomacy as Executive Director of the Washington DC Office of International Business.

Whitaker launched The Whitaker Group after leaving USTR in 2003. At the outset, her goal was to help companies and governments take full advantage of the opportunities created by AGOA. Clients included the governments of Uganda, Ghana, Lesotho, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria as well as a number of well-known multinationals. As co-chair with the late Congressman Jack Kemp of the AGOA Action Committee, Whitaker remained in the forefront of efforts to strengthen AGOA.

In 2006 Whitaker added health to TWG's portfolio, developing partnerships between governments and the private sector to strengthen African health systems with Global Health Progress.

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