Welters, Beatrice Wilkinson, 1951-

<p> Welters was 12 when her father died. Five years earlier, her mother had also passed on. So she grew up in foster care with her adoptive family in Brooklyn, New York, a fate that she embraced to spur her on as she successfully climbed the corporate ladder. It would later allow her to make exceptional provision for others who would be raised in similar circumstances.</p>

<p>Welters was engaged in the full-time function she embraced as a philanthropist away from her corporate days at IBM-where she held several positions including systems engineer-when the call came to serve her country. As chairman and president of the AnBryce Foundation she had met US President Barack Obama in 2007, when the aspiring senator invited she and her husband to have breakfast with him on Capitol Hill.</p>

<p>Beatrice W. Welters (1951–)<br>
Non-career appointee<br>
State of Residence: Virginia</p>

<p>Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Trinidad and Tobago)<br>
Appointed: March 11, 2010<br>
Presentation of Credentials: May 11, 2010<br>
Termination of Mission: Left post on November 2, 2012</p>

<p>Like all his recent predecessors, President Barack Obama is appointing old friends and big party donors to diplomatic posts across the globe. The most recent example is his nomination of Beatrice Wilkinson Welters in November of 2009 to be the next ambassador to the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. Wilkerson, her husband Anthony, and their then-teenaged sons all contributed the maximum amount of $2,300 to Obama’s presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008. Furthermore, the Welters gave $100,000 to the Obama inauguration and “bundled” contributions of at least $500,000 to Obama.</p>

<p>Born circa 1951, Welters earned an A.A. from Ulster County Community College, a B.A. from Manhattanville College and an M.A. from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at City University of New York. She worked at IBM from 1977 to 1991, where she held several positions, including systems engineer. </p>

<p>She and her husband founded the AnBryce Foundation in 1995, and the Vincent Wilkinson Foundation in 2004. The centerpiece of AnBryce is the Camp Dogwood Summer Academy. These foundations focus on providing educational opportunities for underserved youth and young adults. She was appointed to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees in 1992 and serves on its Executive Committee and Education Committee. She serves on the board of the Aspen Institute. She serves as a board member of the National Symphony Orchestra and as its Vice President for Community Development. Welters aslo serves on the board of the Library of Congress as a member of the James Madison Council Steering Committee and as Co-Chair of the Acquisitions Committee, as a board member at the Brookings Institution, on the board of the Washington Jesuit Academy, and as a Trustee at the Maret School.</p>

<p>In 1989, Welters’ husband founded AmeriChoice, which provides health care plans for government programs in 22 states, specializing in Medicaid patients. In 2007, AmeriChoice was bought out by UnitedHealth Group, of which Anthoony Welters is executive vice-president and president of its Senior Markets Group. The Welters have two sons, Bryant and Andrew.</p>

<p>Beatrice Wilkinson Welters was confirmed on March 10, 2010 by the U.S. Senate to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. She was sworn in on April 27.</p>

<p>Prior to taking up her new position, Ambassador Welters was President and Chairperson of the AnBryce Foundation, which provides long-term academic and leadership enrichment programs for underserved youth. The Ambassador established the Foundation in 1995. From 1977 to 1991, she worked at IBM, holding several positions, including systems engineer. Ambassador Welters was also a past Presidential Appointee to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, serving on its Executive Committee. She also served on the Library of Congress Madison Council and as a Trustee for several organizations, including the Brookings Institute, the Aspen Institute, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Jesuit Academy, and the Maret School.</p>

<p>Ambassador Welters holds an A.A. from Ulster County Community College, a B.A. from Manhattanville College, and an M.A. from the City University of New York. She also received an Honorary Doctorate from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina in 2009. Along with her husband Anthony, the Ambassador was the recipient of the 2008 Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service.</p>