In his fourth decade of service, Dr. Duncan Cameron continues to deploy his effective advocacy, international network and wise counsel on behalf of Zamorano and its mission.
Dr. Cameron joined Zamorano’s Board of Trustees in 1986, originally recruited for his expertise in international law and his breadth of relationships among global agencies in Washington, DC. He was elected chairman of the board in 1991 and provided skillful leadership through seven productive years. As chair, Dr. Cameron made a point of attending graduation ceremonies and otherwise visiting campus between board meetings to build greater knowledge of the university community, business and culture. He focused on strengthening unity among Latin American and U.S.-based trustees, and instigated a practice of holding periodic board meetings off-campus in constituent countries. He remembers it as a fertile time at Zamorano, as the university began developing new specialties within and beyond its agronomy curriculum and saw growth in the training of rural development specialists.
In 2002, Dr. Cameron was honored for “Outstanding Commitment as a Trustee and Chairman of the Board” and named a Trustee Emeritus. He continues to provide legal insight and open doors to international agencies in the Washington, DC area.
Dr. Cameron’s passion for Latin America harks back to his undergraduate days at Harvard University, when he spent a summer teaching history at Mexico City College. After completing his juris doctor at Columbia Law, he worked for two years with a large New York law firm, and then lived in Panama while writing his dissertation on the internationalization of the Panama Canal. He received his Ph.D. in Public Law and Government from Columbia University in 1965.
Dr. Cameron began practice as an attorney for USAID in Washington, DC, focused primarily on Latin American issues. In 1972, he co-founded Cameron & Hornbostel L.L.P, specializing in the representation of foreign clients doing business in the United States. He served as managing partner until 2003, and continued as a partner and of counsel to the firm for a number of years. He was also founder and principal of Global InterMediation PLLC, an organization providing an international panel of mediators to resolve international commercial disputes.
Dr. Cameron’s expertise in the law and Latin America was also manifest in his contributions as an educator. He served as an adjunct professor of international law at Georgetown University Law School and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in the 1970s and ‘80s, and taught at INCAE Business School in Costa Rica from 2001-2007.
Among other civic leadership roles, Dr. Cameron served as trustee of the Historical Society of Washington, DC. He continues to volunteer as a mediator for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Dr. Cameron and his wife Caroline have two daughters, Sarah and Anne, and four lively grandchildren ranging from 8 months to 3 years of age. Sarah is an associate professor of Russian Studies at the University of Maryland; Anne is a hedge fund manager in New York. The Camerons reside in Washington, DC and delight in family retreats to the Adirondacks.
