### Biography of Ann Dunham
#### 1. Early Life
Ann Dunham was born Stanley Ann Dunham on November 29, 1942, in Wichita, Kansas. She was the only child of Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Lee Payne. Her early life was marked by frequent moves, as her father worked in furniture sales and her mother worked in banking. The Dunham family moved to California, Texas, and eventually to Mercer Island, Washington, when Ann was a teenager. It was here that she attended Mercer Island High School, where she stood out due to her progressive views, interest in cultures, and anthropology.
Ann developed an early interest in the cultures of other countries, inspired by her father's stories of his World War II service in Europe and Asia. She graduated from high school in 1960 and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It was there that she focused on anthropology.
#### 2. Career
After earning her bachelor's degree in anthropology, Ann Dunham continued her education by pursuing a master's degree and later a PhD in anthropology from the University of Hawaii. Her research focused primarily on women's roles in cottage industries in Indonesia, which was a relatively understudied area at the time.
Dunham's professional career was largely centered around rural development, microfinance, and women's work, particularly in Indonesia. She worked for the Ford Foundation in Jakarta and later as a consultant for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. Her work involved crafting programs that aimed to provide credit to small rural enterprises, blending her expertise in anthropology with practical economic development strategies.
#### 3. Notable Achievements
One of Ann Dunham's notable achievements was her pioneering work in the field of microfinance in Indonesia during the 1970s and 1980s, which helped to promote small-scale, sustainable economic development. Her research contributed significantly to understanding the role of women in rural economies and supported the creation of policies that benefitted them. Additionally, her doctoral dissertation, "Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia: surviving and thriving against all odds," was considered groundbreaking in its field.
Dunham's work has been recognized as ahead of its time, particularly in terms of integrating anthropological insight into practical development policies. Her efforts have had a lasting impact on the fields of economic anthropology and rural development.
#### 4. Personal Life
Ann Dunham married
Barack-Obama-Sr., a Kenyan student, in 1961. The couple had one son,
Barack-Obama, the future 44th President of the United States. The marriage, however, was short-lived, and they divorced in 1964. Later, Dunham married
Lolo-Soetoro, an Indonesian student, in 1965. From this marriage, she had a daughter named
Maya-Soetoro-Ng.
Throughout her life, Dunham raised her children with an appreciation for their multicultural heritage, which significantly shaped their perspectives and careers. Ann Dunham passed away on November 7, 1995, from ovarian cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the age of 52.
Ann Dunham's life was one of intellectual pursuit and practical application of her knowledge to improve the lives of others. Her legacy lives on through her children and the positive impacts of her work on rural development and women's roles in Southeast Asia.