Dorothy (Dottie) Jordan Rayburn has enjoyed a 40-plus year career immersed in international affairs and global development, including with the Peace Corps, the U.S. Congress, the State Department, and primarily with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Following two+ years as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher in the Philippines, she moved to Capitol Hill for five years as Congressional staff. She then served at Peace Corps HQ as Chief of Operations for the North Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Pacific Regions. Next, she served five years at the then U.S. Information Agency and earned a law degree at American University Washington College of Law. In August 1987, Dottie found her professional home in USAID’s Office of Legislative Affairs, where she represented USAID on the Hill until February 2025, except for an eight-year stint at State Department and a break in 2014.
At USAID, Dottie specialized in the budget and appropriations process and developed close relationships with Members and staff on both sides of the aisle, enabling her to help secure Congressional support for many key initiatives. Illustratively, she pursued maintaining bipartisan Congressional support for the sensitive undertaking of getting humanitarian supplies into Afghanistan to support the families of Afghans fighting the Soviet invasion. Dottie worked with Congress on passage of legislation to build the economies of Eastern European countries following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her international travel with Members and staff often helped gain Congressional support. In the wake of the devastating 2004 Tsunami that swept the Indian Ocean, USAID led on both response and reconstruction efforts, but the price tag was high. After seeing first-hand how USAID was leading the response effort on the ground, Congress passed a supplemental which helped to rebuild Aceh in Indonesia, fostering an atmosphere of trust that led to a peace process ending years of civil conflict engulfing that region.
Since fully retiring in February 2025, Dottie has remained an active advocate on the Hill for international development issues.
