The Hon. Aldona Woś, M.D.
Ambassador Aldona Woś, M.D. was born in Warsaw, Poland. Her father, Paul Zenon Woś, survived Flossenburg Concentration Camp and her mother, Wanda Krystyna Woś, survived Nazi Germany’s child slave labor. Mr. Woś received many distinguished awards, including the “Righteous Among the Nations” medal from Yad Vashem. Dr. Woś earned her medical degree at the Warsaw Medical Academy and completed her internship and residency in internal medicine with a fellowship in pulmonary medicine in New York City. Her career as a medical doctor included private practice, corporate medicine, clinical care, teaching, and consulting for both hospitals and private industry.
In 2002 and 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Ambassador Woś to the US Holocaust Memorial Council. In 2004, she was appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia. During her tour she focused on winning the hearts and minds of the next generation of Estonian leaders, Russian integration, HIV and AIDS prevention, and the preservation of Estonian culture. For her service, Ambassador Woś was awarded the Order of the Cross of TerraMariana 1st Class by the President of the Republic of Estonia, the Distinguished Service Cross ofthe Estonian Defense Forces, and the Cross of Merit of theEstonian NationalPoliceBoard. In 2007, she received the Commander’s Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 2008, shewaspresentedtheEllisIslandMedalofHonor.Shewas invested in the Sovereign Order of Malta in 2010.
In 2012, Ambassador Woś served on The University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors. From 2013 to 2015 she served as North Carolina’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services overseeing more than 18,000 employees across North Carolina and a nearly $20 billion budget. In 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Ambassador Woś as the Vice Chair of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. In 2020, President Donald Trump nominated Ambassador Woś to be the U.S. Ambassador to Canada.
Ambassador Woś is currently the President of The Institute of World Politics, a graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs, and she also serves on the boards of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, the Council of American Ambassadors, the Duke Law Board of Visitors and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is married to Louis DeJoy.
