With a background in urban issues and planning, Mrs. White has established an impressive record of achievement in assisting Eastern European and other governments in economic development and infrastructure projects. Through her term on the Austin Planning Commission and Zoning Board, she assisted in the development of a new master plan for the city and organized grassroots groups for input relating to citizens' concerns of growth, preservation and the environment.
Her experience includes surveying and developing information and standards for labor laws at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulating wages and protection of health for agriculture workers. Mrs. White has also worked with the international Free Trade Union organizers in Central East Europe.
As a long-time participant in Democratic politics, Mrs. White served as an advisor and consultant to the Democratic National Committee on issues pertaining to politics and governance of the Party, including planning and execution of the 1980 Democratic National Convention. Mrs. White has been active in fundraising efforts at the local, state, and national levels.
Through her knowledge of the democratic process, Mrs. White has been active in not only national elections but international democracy building. She has participated in election training and observation missions in Albania, the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Bosnia. Through the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and the OSCE, in 1991, Mrs. White helped organize the first-ever gathering of regional elections commissions in Central East Europe, establishing that Association, which is still in operation and has been the model for other regional election associations around the world. She received a Presidential Appointment by President Clinton in 1994 to the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund, under the mandate for Most-Favored Nation status for having established new democracies and holding free and fair elections.
Mrs. White has worked with the United Nations in Russia and also in Beijing, China. In 1992, she was the Coordinator for a seminar held in Moscow on agricultural restructuring in the republics of the former USSR, which included trade policy issues and clarifying the role of government in market economies.
Mrs. White's interests have also included humanitarian efforts in Romania, Bosnia, and the United States. Through a joint effort with The George Washington University, Mrs. White served on the Board of the American Friends of Romania to select, encourage, and fund Romanian students to the U.S. During the war in Bosnia, Mrs. White spent considerable time working in refugee centers and orphanages. This project was organized by the U.N. and several NGO's to assess basic needs and to gain support and safe access for this work.
In 2000, Mrs. White was appointed by Stephen Trachtenberg, President of The George Washington University, to the Advisory Board of the Columbia School of Arts and Sciences. She also served on the Board of Washington International Student's House, which provided guidance and hospitality to foreign students.
Mrs. White is owner and director of W.W. White Properties in Austin, Texas. She is also a partner and chief financial officer of the White Consulting Group.
