in Political Science from Bates College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1959.

In 1971, Richard Nixon appointed Newman to serve as director of AmeriCorps VISTA, the domestic arm of the Peace Corps.

She co-founded Newman and Hermanson Company, a consulting firm specializing in the government regulatory procedures from 1977.

Newman served as the Assistant Administrator for Africa of the United States Agency for International Development from November 2001 to June 2004.

On June 24, 2004, President George W. Bush appointed her Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

She helped determine that "genocide has been committed" in Sudan's Darfur region for Colin Powell's speech in September 2004.