Ashley Bubna is the Senior Commercial Officer for the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, leading the bureau’s commercial diplomacy efforts to advance U.S. trade and investment with Africa. She also leads the bureau’s Commercial and Infrastructure Unit, covering energy, transportation, and digital alongside United States economic initiatives Power Africa, Prosper Africa, and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI). Ashley leads the Department wide efforts on Digital Transformation with Africa (DTA).



Ashley spent the previous six years as a Senior International Trade Specialist (Desk Officer) in the Office of Africa at the U.S. Department of Commerce where she covered the Horn of Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa at various stages. Ashley also served as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PAC-DBIA) and as the Acting Director for the Office of Africa and as the Senior Commercial Officer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Maputo, Mozambique; and Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to the Office of Africa, Ashley worked in the department’s trade promotion office, leading delegations of U.S. companies in the energy, digital and health sector on international trade missions and organizing U.S. company participation at domestic and international trade shows.  

 

Before joining the Commerce Department, Ashley served as an International Program Specialist in the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she worked on trade policy and international trade capacity building for Latin America, Asia and Africa. Ashley holds a M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution with a concentration in U.S. Foreign Policy from American University. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Louisiana State University.