In October, 1963, Anna was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and worked on the council until her resignation in 1968. In February of that year, she was appointed vice-chairman of the President's Commission for the Observance of Human Rights. The Halsteds relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1964. While living there, Anna became involved in the Washington Work and Training Opportunity Center, Americans for Democratic Action, the Capitol Area Division of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, the National Committee of Household Employment, the Wiltwyck School, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation.