Beth Tritter advocates US foreign aid rethink

For nearly a decade, Beth Tritter has been a fixture on Capitol Hill, helping to determine how the U.S. government doles out its foreign assistance dollars. She was a lead staffer for Rep. Nita Lowey when the New York lawmaker served as the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.

“I gained a strong appreciation for the importance of bipartisanship and strong relationships built on trust in achieving policy goals,” Tritter said. “And I learned the importance of being clear about what you’re trying to achieve and then asking for it from the right person, respectfully, and at the right time.”

Three years after leaving the public sector, Tritter is using her expertise to assist development practitioners and donors with an interest in U.S. foreign assistance, and to advocate for a rethinking of development approaches. As the managing director for the consulting firm Glover Park Group, Tritter advises her clients on strategies for better engaging their target audiences.

“Advocacy has to be smart, strategic and, above all, respectful or it just won’t work,” Tritter said. “Your job as an advocate is to clearly present complex issues to busy people and suggest solutions. You can’t trick people into supporting you, and you need to be honest with people about their options, the trade-offs, and why what you’re advocating is the smartest path.”

Tritter is also one of the principal coordinators of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, a coalition looking to influence the implementation of President Barack Obama’s new international development blueprint and legislative reform of foreign assistance.

“Reform is now an integral part of the debate over what constitutes a ‘smart’ U.S. approach to the world,” she said. “Though many challenges remain, I’m proud of the work that [the] coalition has done to get to this point.”