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John F. Maisto is a former career diplomat with over three decades of service. He was Ambassador to the Organization of American States (2003–2006), Venezuela (1997–2000), and Nicaragua (1993–1996). From 2001 to 2003 he was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council. He was Foreign Affairs Adviser at the U.S. Southern Command, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central American Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’affaires in Panama, and Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative at OAS. He headed the State Department’s Philippine Affairs office during the “People Power” transition to democracy in 1986. He served in embassies in the Philippines, Costa Rica, Bolivia and at U.S. Information Agency centers in Argentina and Bolivia.

He is a Director of the Miami–based U.S. Education Finance Group, a board member of the Washington–based International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), and of the North American Center for Transborder Studies (NACTS) at Arizona State University. He is also a board member of ECI, a Central American resort and retirement development company. He serves on the Board of Advisors at The Inter American Dialogue. A native of Braddock, PA, he holds degrees in Foreign Service from Georgetown and Latin American History from San Carlos University, Guatemala.