Appointments | 2022 – State Magazine

Daniel N. Rosenblum | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan
Daniel N. Rosenblum (SFS), of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sept. 9. Previously, he was a deputy assistant secretary in the Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Prior to that, Rosenblum served as coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia. He also served as the primary U.S. government liaison with other international donors, including the European Union and multilateral development banks. Earlier, Rosenblum was deputy coordinator, director of the Eurasia division, and special advisor for economic programs in the Department of State’s Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. Before joining the Department, Rosenblum worked as senior program coordinator at the Free Trade Union Institute, and as a legislative assistant to Senator Carl Levin. Rosenblum holds a B.A. from Yale and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He speaks Russian.
Yohannes Abraham | U.S. Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Yohannes Abraham, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, Sept. 12. Previously, he was the deputy assistant to the president, chief of staff, and executive secretary of the National Security Council. Prior to that, Abraham served as the executive director of the Biden-Harris Transition. During the Obama-Biden administration, Abraham served as senior advisor to the National Economic Council and deputy assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement. Abraham has also worked in the Vanguard Group’s global investment unit and served on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Abraham holds a B.A. from Yale and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar. 
Marie C. Damour | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji
Marie C. Damour (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji, and concurrently to the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, the Kingdom of Tonga, and Tuvalu, Aug. 9. Previously, she served as consul general at Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to that, Damour was the director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asian Affairs in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs; director of the Office of Policy Coordination and Public Affairs in the Bureau of Consular Affairs; and the deputy chief of mission (as well as chargé d’affaires) at Embassy Wellington. Her earlier overseas postings include tours in Brasilia, London, Baghdad, Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, and Nouakchott. She was also previously a desk officer for Cambodia and Laos and a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of State in Washington. Damour holds a B.A. from the College of William and Mary. She speaks French, Vietnamese, and Portuguese.
Bruce I. Turner | U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament
Bruce I. Turner (SFS), of Colorado, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the Conference on Disarmament with the rank of Ambassador, Sept. 15. Previously, he served as the senior bureau official for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, where he had been a deputy assistant secretary since 2015, following a short stint as director of the Human Resources Bureau’s Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment. Prior to that, Turner was consul general at Consulate General St. Petersburg and spent a year at Embassy Kabul as director of the Office of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Earlier, he served in Washington as principal deputy and director of the European and Eurasian Bureau’s Office of Security and Political Affairs. Other work abroad included assignments to Paris, Moscow, Vienna, Brussels, and Ankara. In Washington, he worked on North Korean as well as German and Turkish affairs. Turner speaks German, French, and Russian.
Geoffrey R. Pyatt | Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
Geoffrey R. Pyatt (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Sept. 16. Previously, he served as the ambassador to Greece, and before that as ambassador to Ukraine. Prior to that, Pyatt was principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, as deputy chief of mission at Embassy New Delhi, and also as political counselor there. Earlier, Pyatt served as economic officer at Consulate General Hong Kong, and as principal officer at Consulate General Lahore. He has also served on the National Security Council staff, on the staff of Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, and at posts in Honduras and India. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Pyatt worked with the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. Pyatt holds a B.A. from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.A. from Yale.
Puneet Talwar | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco
Puneet Talwar, of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, Sept. 15. Previously, he served as assistant secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, and as the Department of State’s principal liaison with the Department of Defense. Prior to that, Talwar served as the special assistant to the president and senior director for Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf States at the White House National Security Council. From 1995-1999 and 2001-2008, Talwar was the chief Middle East advisor to then-Senator Joe Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also served on the Department’s policy planning staff from 1999-2001, and was a foreign policy advisor in the House of Representatives. Talwar holds a a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Nathaniel Fick | Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy
Nathaniel Fick, of Maine, was appointed to serve as the new Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Sept. 16. Prior to joining the Department, Fick was a technology executive and entrepreneur. He was CEO of the cybersecurity software company Endgame from 2012 through its acquisition by Elastic in 2019. Thereafter, he led Elastic’s information security business globally. Fick spent nearly a decade as an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, working with management teams to build technology businesses. From 2009 to 2012, he was CEO of the Center for a New American Security, a national security research organization in Washington. Earlier in his career, he served as a Marine Corps infantry and reconnaissance officer, including combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Michael J. Adler | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan
Michael J. Adler (SFS), of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, July 18. Previously, he served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State. Prior to that, he served as the deputy senior director for South Asia at the Department, as the director for Afghanistan on the National Security Council (NSC) staff, and as the acting deputy assistant secretary for the Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. He also held assignments as director of the Office of Afghanistan Affairs, director of the Office of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and as a senior advisor in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs. Overseas, Adler served as deputy chief of mission in Lebanon and Kuwait and as political counselor in Kabul. Earlier in his career, Adler held assignments in NEA’s Office of Regional Affairs, as the deputy political counselor in Baghdad, and as a political officer in Sarajevo, and at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. He also served in France and Qatar and in the Department’s Operations Center. Prior to joining the Department, Adler worked at USAID. Adler has a B.A. from Pomona College and an M.A. from Stanford University.
Angela Price Aggeler | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia
Angela Price Aggeler (SFS), of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of North Macedonia, Aug. 9. Aggeler recently served as chargé d’affaires in Pakistan, as well as deputy chief of mission. Before that, she was minister counselor for public affairs in Paris, acting-principal deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) and the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Washington, and deputy assistant secretary of state for press and public diplomacy in SCA. Earlier, she was counselor for public affairs in Islamabad, public affairs officer in Skopje, cultural and press attaché in Hanoi, spokesperson for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and held assignments in Paris and New Delhi. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Aggeler worked at U.S. embassies in Ouagadougou, Budapest, and as the consulate general in Madras. Earlier in her career, she was also a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic. Aggeler is a graduate of the University of Utah. She speaks French, Macedonian, and some Hindi. 
Reuben E. Brigety II | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa
Reuben E. Brigety II, of Florida, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, July 25. Previously, Brigety served as the vice-chancellor and president of the University of the South and as the mayor of Sewanee, Tenn. Brigety also served as an adjunct senior fellow for African Peace and Security, Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Board of Counselors of McLarty Associates in Washington. During the Obama Administration, Brigety served at the Department of State as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration; deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs; ambassador to the African Union; and as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Earlier in his career, Brigety was a civil-military affairs consultant for the U.S. Central Command, the director of the Sustainable Security Program for the Center for American Progress, and as the special assistant to the assistant administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at USAID. He was also dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. Brigety has a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy, and an MPhil and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in England. He speaks Spanish, French, and Amharic.
Richard Lee Buangan | U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia
Richard Lee Buangan (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, Aug. 9. Previously, he served as the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Department of State’s Bureau of Global Public Affairs (GPA). He served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and before that he was the executive assistant to the secretary of state. Buangan also served as the public affairs officer in Jerusalem and, before that, as managing director for international media in GPA. He served as the deputy press attaché then embassy spokesperson in Beijing, and held positions as a staff officer on the secretariat staff in the executive secretariat, as a consular officer in Paris, and as a political officer and general services officer in Abidjan. Buangan has a B.A. from Saint Edward’s University. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, and Spanish.
Timmy T. Davis | U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar
Timmy T. Davis (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar, Aug. 9. Most recently, Davis served as the executive assistant to the secretary of state. Prior to that, he served as the consul general for Basrah and Southern Iraq. He has served at posts overseas in Guatemala City, Najaf, Canberra, and Bogota. In Washington, he has served as a senior watch officer in the Department of State’s Operations Center, special assistant to the secretary of state, director for Iraq at the National Security Council, deputy chief of staff to the special presidential envoy to counter-ISIS, senior advisor to the counselor of the Department, chief of staff to the undersecretary for political affairs, and acting chief of staff of the Department of State. Before joining the Foreign Service, Davis served in the United States Marine Corps for nearly a decade including operations in the Horn of Africa and Iraq. Davis attended the University of Alabama and the University of Southern Mississippi. He speaks Spanish and Arabic.
Robert F. Godec | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand
Robert F. Godec (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, Aug. 9. Previously, he served as senior coordinator for Afghanistan in the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Prior to that, he was acting-assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of African Affairs, and he also served as principal deputy assistant secretary, and deputy assistant secretary in that bureau. Earlier, Godec was deputy commandant and international affairs advisor at the National War College. He served as the ambassador to Kenya from 2013 to 2019; chargé d’affaires in Nairobi in 2012; principal deputy coordinator for counterterrorism in the Bureau of Counterterrorism; ambassador to Tunisia; deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; deputy coordinator for the transition in Iraq; and acting-deputy chief of mission and minister counselor for economic affairs in Pretoria. Earlier in his career, he served as an economic counselor in Nairobi, assistant office director for Thailand and Burma in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and director for Southeast Asian Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.   Godec has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from Yale University. He speaks French and German. 
John T. Godfrey | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan
John T. Godfrey (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Sudan, July 18. Previously, he served as acting-counterterrorism coordinator and the acting-special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in the Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism. Prior to that, he served as the bureau’s principal deputy coordinator, and before that, as the deputy coordinator for regional and multilateral affairs. Godfrey also served as the acting-deputy chief of mission and the political counselor in Riyadh, and as the chief of staff to the deputy secretary of state. Godfrey’s other previous assignments include serving as arms control counselor to the U.S. Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna, as deputy political counselor (Northern Affairs) in Baghdad, and as the political and economic counselor and acting-deputy chief of mission in Tripoli. Godfrey has a B.A. from the University of California, and an M.A. degree from the University of Michigan. He speaks Arabic, and has studied Russian and Italian.
Michael C. Gonzales | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia
Michael C. Gonzales (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia, Aug. 9. Previously, he served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs. Prior to that assignment, Gonzales was the director of analysis of Africa in the Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Overseas, he has held leadership positions as the deputy chief of mission in Kathmandu and in Lilongwe, and as the political and economic counselor in Harare and Addis Ababa. Gonzales also served as spokesperson and information officer in Addis Ababa, and he was the Ethiopia desk officer, deputy public affairs officer in Kampala, and a consular officer then economic officer in Dhaka. Prior to joining the Department, Gonzales was an antitrust analyst for the Department of Justice. Gonzales has a B.A. from Occidental College and an M.A. from American University. He speaks Spanish and French.
Bernadette M. Meehan | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chile
Bernadette M. Meehan, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chile, July 25. Previously, she served as the executive vice president of Global Programs for the Obama Foundation where she also served as chief international officer and executive director of international programs. Prior to that, Meehan was a career Foreign Service officer for more than a decade, during which she served in detail positions in multiple roles at the National Security Council (NSC), including as a senior advisor, special assistant to the president, and NSC spokesperson, and earlier, as director for strategic communications. Meehan also served as a dean and Virginia Rusk fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, and as special assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At the Department of State, Meehan was a special assistant in the Executive Secretariat; a public affairs officer in Dubai, both a consular officer and special assistant to the ambassador in Baghdad, and a consular officer in Bogota. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Meehan worked as a vice president at both Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan Chase in New York. Meehan has a B.A. from Boston College. She speaks Spanish and Arabic. 
Constance J. Milstein | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta
Constance J. Milstein, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, Aug. 9. As co-founder, she previously served as principal of Ogden CAP Properties, LLC, based in New York, and is an owner of The Jefferson, a hotel in Washington. Milstein is a founding board member of Blue Star Families, a support organization for military spouses and children, and she pioneered a non-profit, Dog Tag Bakery, dedicated to empowering disabled veterans. During the Obama administration, Milstein served as a civilian aide to the secretary of the army. Milstein has a B.S. from New York University and a J.D. from North Carolina Central University. She speaks French and Italian. 
Carrin F. Patman | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland
Carrin F. Patman, of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland, Aug. 9. Most recently, Patman served as the first female chair of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas. Prior to that role, Patman was a partner of Bracewell LLP where she worked as a trial lawyer for three decades. She was the first woman elected to the firm’s Management Committee, and served as a member of the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, the Houston Chapter of the International Women’s Forum, and has served on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership and the Houston–Galveston Area Transportation Policy Council. She was a founding board member of The Center for Women in Law, and has served on numerous boards and committees. She was also an American Leadership Forum (Houston) senior fellow. Patman has a B.A. from Duke University, a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, and she completed a yearlong advanced leadership fellowship at Harvard University. 
David Pressman | U.S. Ambassador to Hungary
David Pressman, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, Aug. 1. Pressman previously served as a partner at Jenner & Block LLP where he represented clients in national security and human rights-related litigation. He served as the co-chair of both the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Law Committee and Jenner & Block’s International Human Rights Practice. During the Obama Administration, Pressman served as the ambassador to the U.N. for special political affairs. Earlier, he served as assistant secretary of Homeland Security, at the White House as director for war crimes and atrocities on the National Security Council, and at the Department of State as an aide to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. Pressman has a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Gautam A. Rana | U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic
Gautam A. Rana (SFS), of New Jersey, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic, Aug. 9. Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission in Algeria and was also the chargé d’affaires there from Aug. 2020 to Feb. 2022. Prior to that, he was the deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires in Ljubljana. Rana was director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff and the deputy minister counselor for political affairs in New Delhi. He served as special assistant to the deputy secretary of state, special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, and the political advisor for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Khost, Afghanistan. He served as the Jordan, Syria, and Egypt desk officer in the Office of Egypt and Levant Affairs, was the political officer in Peshawar, and the political advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Governance Team in Mosul, Iraq. Rana has a B.A and B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of Law, and an M.A. from the National Defense University. He speaks Hindi, Spanish, and Gujarati, and has studied Arabic and Pashto.
Dean R. Thompson | U.S. Ambassador to Nepal
Dean R. Thompson (SFS), of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Aug. 9. Previously, he served as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and was the acting-assistant secretary for the region from 2020-2021. Earlier, Thompson was the deputy chief of mission in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to that he was the deputy chief of mission and also charge d’affaires in Bucharest, and he was also the consul general in Kolkata. Earlier in his career, Thompson represented the Department of State as a student at the National War College. He served as director of the Department’s Executive Secretariat staff, deputy director of the Operations Center, director of the Operations Center Crisis Management staff, and deputy director for the Bureau of Information Resources Management’s Executive Secretariat. He also served as economic counselor in Colombo, and held positions in Paraguay and Bangladesh. Thompson has a B.A. from Wittenberg University and an M.A. from the University of Maryland. He speaks Romanian and Bengali.
Alexander Mark Laskaris | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chad
Alexander Mark Laskaris (SFS), of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chad, July 18. Previously, he served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of African Affairs. For almost 20 years, Laskaris has worked specifically on African issues in a variety of roles including as the deputy to the commander for civil military engagements at the United States Africa Command and as ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. He has also served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Bujumbura, the political section chief at Embassy Luanda, and desk officer for Rwanda and Burundi in the Department of State’s Office of Central African Affairs. Laskaris has also served on the faculty of the National War College, as consul general in Erbil, and he was team leader of the Mosul Province Reconstruction Team in Ninewa Province, Iraq. He also served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Pristina, and as a member of the Department’s Policy Planning staff. Earlier in his career, he was part of the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping team in the Sinai and also held assignments in Botswana and Liberia. Laskaris has a B.A from Georgetown University, and an M.A. from the U.S. Army War College. He speaks French, Portuguese, Greek, Kurdish, Albanian, and Spanish.
Margaret C. Whitman | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya
Margaret C. Whitman, of Colorado, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya, July 18. Previously, she served as the national board chair of Teach For America, a member of the board of directors of the Procter & Gamble Company and the General Motors Corporation, and a member of the board of governors of Major League Soccer. Whitman has served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of three Fortune 100 companies: eBay Inc., the Hewlett Packard Company, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Whitman also served as CEO of FTD and Quibi and has held senior leadership positions at the Walt Disney Company, Hasbro, and Stride Rite Corporation. She was formerly a board member of the Nature Conservancy, a partner at Bain & Co., and the Republican nominee for governor of California in 2010. Whitman has a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
Naz Durakoglu | Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs
Naz Durakoglu, of New Jersey, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, June 21. Durakoglu has served in this role, in acting capacity, since January 2021. Prior to that, she served as national security advisor for Senator Jeanne Shaheen. From 2015 to 2017, Durakoglu served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She later worked for the Digital Forensic Research Lab as a part of the Atlantic Council. She was a staff director for the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Emerging Threats; legislative director for Congressman Bill Keating; legislative assistant for Congressman Anthony Weiner; and deputy finance director for Michael McMahon’s 2008 campaign for New York’s 13th congressional district, as well as his legislative assistant from 2009 to 2011. She also worked on the national advance staff of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential primary campaign. Durakoglu has a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.A. from the Naval War College. She speaks Turkish.
Philip S. Goldberg | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
Philip S. Goldberg (SFS), of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, May 31. Previously, Goldberg served as the ambassador to Colombia. Before that, he served as the Department of State’s senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Goldberg served as chargé d’affaires at Embassy Havana, ambassador to the Philippines, ambassador to Bolivia, chief of mission of the U.S. office in Pristina, and assistant secretary of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Goldberg received a B.S. from Boston University. He speaks Spanish.
Rebecca Eliza Gonzales | Director of the Office of Foreign Missions
Rebecca Eliza Gonzales (SFS), of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, May 23. Previously, she served as ambassador to Lesotho. Before that, Gonzales served as chief of staff in the Bureau of Administration. She served as Bureau of Near Eastern and Asian Affairs (NEA) deputy executive director, deputy management counselor in Pretoria, management officer in Gaborone, and special assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Management. She was also post management officer in NEA, and served at posts in Riyadh, New Delhi, Bogota, Athens, and Panama City. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Gonzales worked as a paralegal specialist and secretarial assistant in Washington. Gonzales has a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the George Washington University, and an M.S. from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at Fort McNair, Washington. She speaks Spanish and Greek.

Jane Hartley | U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Jane Hartley, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, May 26. Hartley previously served as ambassador to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco from 2014-2017. Earlier in her career, Hartley was chief executive officer of Observatory Group, an international economic and political advisory firm. Before that, she was chief executive officer of the G7 Group, a research firm providing macroeconomic and political analysis to global clients. She was a presidential appointee to the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, served as vice president at both Universal Pictures and Westinghouse Broadcasting, and also served at the White House during the Carter Administration. Hartley has a B.A. from Boston College. She speaks French.

Caroline Kennedy | U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia
Caroline Kennedy, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia, May 9. Previously, she served as honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a trustee of the Carnegie Corporation, a director of the United States-Japan Foundation, and on the Board of Advisors of the International Rescue Committee. From 2013 to 2017, Kennedy served as ambassador to Japan. She is an author and lecturer, and for more than a decade, Kennedy was at the forefront of New York City public school reform efforts, serving as vice chair of the Fund for Public Schools, chief executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships, and on the Board of Directors New Visions for Public Schools. She founded the International Poetry Exchange Program in association with The DreamYard Project, a leading arts organization in the Bronx. Kennedy has a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Columbia University. She also studied at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.
Barbara A. Leaf | Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
Barbara A. Leaf (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, May 20. Previously, she served as special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for the Middle East and North Africa at the White House’s National Security Council (NSC). Leaf served as the ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2014-2018, was the Ruth and Sid Lapidus fellow at The Washington Institute, and director of the Beth and David Geduld Program on Arab Politics from 2018 until joining the Biden administration in January 2021. In 2014, Leaf served in Abu Dhabi as a senior Foreign Service officer. She was deputy assistant secretary of state for the Arabian Peninsula, and deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq. She directed the U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team in Basrah, Iraq, and served as the Department of State’s first director of the Office of Iranian Affairs. In addition, during her career she has served at posts in Rome, Sarajevo, Paris, Cairo, Tunis, Jerusalem, and Port-au-Prince. Leaf has a B.A. from the College of William and Mary, and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. She speaks Arabic, French, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian.
Alan M. Leventhal | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark
Alan M. Leventhal, of Massachusetts, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, June 16. Previously, he was chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Beacon Capital Partners—a company he founded in 1998. Prior to that, he was a general partner, and then president and CEO, of Beacon Properties Corporation—one of the leading owners and managers of office properties in the United States. He was board chair of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, on the Executive Committee of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a life trustee of Northwestern University, was a trustee and board chair of Boston University, and was board chair of the Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library and on the Board Executive Committee of A Better City. Leventhal has a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.
John N. Nkengasong | Ambassador-at-Large, Coordinator of U.S. Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally
John N. Nkengasong, of Georgia, was appointed to serve as the new Ambassador-at-Large, Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally, May 9. Previously, he served as director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which is a specialized technical institution of the African Union, in Addis Ababa. Prior to that, Nkengasong was acting deputy director for the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and before that he was the chief of the International Laboratory Branch, Division of Global HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis at the CDC. Nkengasong also served as the associate director for laboratory science at the CDC, and co-chair of PEPFAR’s Laboratory Technical Working Group. He has also served as a board member for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in New York, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation in Norway. Nkengasong has a B.S. from the University of Yaoundé in Cameroon, an M.S. from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, and a Ph.D from the University of Brussels in Belgium. He also received a diploma in leadership and management from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Bridget A. Brink | U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine
Bridget A. Brink (SFS), of Michigan, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, May 20. Previously, she served as ambassador to the Slovak Republic. Prior to that, Brink served as a deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She joined the Department of State in 1996 and has served in a number of positions both domestically and overseas. She served as deputy chief of mission in both Uzbekistan and in Georgia, deputy director for Southern European Affairs, political-economic chief in Tbilisi, and special assistant for Europe to the Department’s undersecretary for political affairs. Brink has a B.A. from Kenyon College and an M.S. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She speaks Russian and has studied Slovak, Serbian, Georgian, and French.
MaryKay Loss Carlson | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines
MaryKay Loss Carlson (SFS), of Arkansas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, May 9. Previously, Carlson served as the deputy chief of mission at Embassy Buenos Aires. Prior to that, Carlson has served as deputy chief of mission in New Delhi for three years, including a 10-month stint as chargé d’affaires. A Foreign Service officer since 1985, Carlson has held the position of principal deputy executive secretary on the staff of the secretary of state in Washington, and has also served at U.S. diplomatic missions in China (twice), Ukraine, Hong Kong, Mozambique, Kenya, and the Dominican Republic. She has served as director of the secretary’s executive secretariat staff and deputy director of Korean affairs. Carlson has a B.A. from Rhodes College, and two M.A.s from Georgetown University and the National War College. She speaks Spanish and Chinese.
Deborah E. Lipstadt | Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Deborah E. Lipstadt, of Georgia, was appointed to serve as the new Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, March 31. Previously, she served as a Dorot Professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, a program which she helped to found. Lipstadt has also taught at the University of Washington, University of California, Los Angeles, and Occidental College. Lipstadt served as the director of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute and was a research fellow at the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is also an award winning author and historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, helping to design the section of the Museum dedicated to the American response to the Holocaust. She has held a Presidential appointment to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council (from Presidents William Clinton and Barack Obama) and was asked by President George W. Bush to represent the White House at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Lipstadt has a B.A. from the City College of New York and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University.

Marc B. Nathanson | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway
Marc B. Nathanson, of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, May 9. Nathanson previously served as chairman of Mapleton Investments, a holding company, and chairman emeritus of Falcon Water Technologies. Nathanson founded Falcon Cable TV in 1975 and in 1999, he became vice chairman of Charter Communications. He was chairman of the United States Agency for Global Media (then called the Broadcasting Board of Governors) under two presidents. In 2012, he was appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as her representative to the Board of Governors of the East-West Center in Honolulu. He was co-chairman of the Pacific Council on International Policy and vice chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. For many years, Nathanson has been a trustee of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has a B.A. from the University of Denver and an M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a National Science Foundation fellow.

Claire A. Pierangelo | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar and to the Union of the Comoros
Claire A. Pierangelo (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar, and as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Union of the Comoros, March 3. Previously, she served as principal officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos. Prior to that, Pierangelo was an assistant professor at the National War College/National Defense University, and director of the Office of Performance Evaluation in the Department of State’s Bureau of Human Resources. Pierangelo was also the deputy chief of mission at Embassy Hanoi, the principal office in the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and she held multiple positions in the Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs including as director of the Office of Central Europe. Earlier in her career, Pierangelo worked in the Bureau of Human Resources as a career development officer, and served as the deputy director of European Regional Affairs. She also served as the economic counselor at Embassy Hanoi, and before that was the director for Bilateral Investment in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Pierangelo has a B.A. from the University of Santa Cruz, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and an M.S. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces/National Defense University. She speaks Vietnamese, French, Italian, Indonesian, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat | Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent
Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat (SFS), of New Jersey, was appointed to serve as the new Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent, May 27. Previously, she served as acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) until September 2021. Bernicat also served as the senior official for the Bureau of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment (E), senior advisor to the under secretary for E, and as principal deputy assistant secretary in OES. She was ambassador to Bangladesh from 2015-2018, and ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau from 2008-2011. Prior to that, Bernicat was deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources (HR). She served as the office director for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs, and as the senior-level director and career development officer in HR, among numerous other leadership positions. Bernicat has a B.A. from Lafayette College and an M.S. from Georgetown University. She was also awarded an honorary D.P.A. by Lafayette College in 2018. She speaks French, Hindi, and Russian.
Donald Armin Blome | U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Donald Armin Blome (SFS), of Illinois, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, March 3. Blome previously served as ambassador to Tunisia. Prior to that, he was chargé d’affaires at the Libya External Office in Tunis, consul general at then-U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, and director of the Office of Arabian Peninsula Affairs. He has also served as a political counselor at Embassy Kabul, and minister-counselor for economic and political affairs at Embassy Cairo. Earlier in his career, Blome served as the civilian co-director for the Multinational Force Strategic Engagement Cell in Baghdad, political counselor at Embassy Kuwait, as a desk officer for Israel, deputy director and acting director of the Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and desk officer for Iran. He has served in other assignments in the Office of Northern Gulf Affairs, Embassy Amman, and Embassy Riyadh. Before joining the Foreign Service, Blome practiced law in Chicago. He has a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. He speaks Arabic.
Steven H. Fagin | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen
Steven H. Fagin, of New Jersey, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen, April 12. Previously, Fagin served as the deputy chief of mission at Embassy Baghdad. Prior to that, he was the principal officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil, and before that position, the director of the Office of Iranian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He also served as the director of the Office of Regional Affairs in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Earlier in his career, Fagin served as the director of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office at Embassy Baghdad, the political-economic counselor at Embassy Brussels, and the deputy political counselor at Embassy Islamabad. He also held assignments in Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Georgia, and Egypt in addition to serving as special assistant to the under secretary for political affairs, and as the desk officer for Pakistan. Fagin has a B.A. from Williams College, and an M.A. from the University of Michigan. He speaks Russian, Georgian, and Serbo-Croatian.

Douglas T. Hickey | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland
Douglas T. Hickey, of Idaho, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, March 30. Previously, he served as the managing director for Hickey Gryphon QOF—a limited liability company based in Eagle, Idaho. In 2014, Hickey was named the United States commissioner general at Expo Milano with the personal rank of ambassador by President Barack Obama. Earlier, Hickey served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of San Francisco-based BinWise Inc., the leading provider of analytics to premier restaurant, hotel, and entertainment groups around the world. Before that, he was managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms, for more than 10 years. He was CEO of Critical Path, the leading provider of messaging services to corporations around the globe, and president and CEO of Global Center, which became one of the first and largest providers of advanced web hosting and content distribution on the web. Hickey has a B.A. and an honorary Ph.D. from Siena College.

Laura S. H. Holgate | U.S. Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency
Laura S. H. Holgate, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, March 30. Previously, she served as the U.S. representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations. Prior to that, she was the vice president for materials risk management at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a position she held since 2018. Holgate also served as the U.S. representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations from 2016-2017. Over the course of her career, Holgate served as vice president for Russia and the Newly Independent States at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington; as director of the Office of Fissile Material Disposition at the Department of Energy; special coordinator for cooperative threat reduction at the Department of Defense (DOD); and special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for international security policy at DOD. She also served as special assistant to the acting director for U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament, and as a project coordinator at the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Holgate has a B.A. from Princeton University and a M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She speaks French.

Julieta Valls Noyes | Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration
Julieta Valls Noyes (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, March 30. Previously, she served as deputy director and acting director of the Foreign Service Institute from 2018-2021. From 2015-2017, she served as ambassador to the Republic of Croatia. Prior to that, she served as a deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, deputy executive secretary for the Department of State, and served as chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See. Noyes has also served as deputy director of the Operations Center, director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and in domestic and overseas positions in the Bureaus of European and Western Hemisphere Affairs. Noyes has a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.A. from the National Defense University. She speaks Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and some French.

C.S. Eliot Kang | Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation
C.S. Eliot Kang (SES), of New Jersey, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation (ISN), March 30. From January 2021 to March 2022, Kang served as acting assistant secretary—a position he also held from January 2017 to January 2018, and January to June 2009. From January to July 2021, and January 2017 to January 2018, Kang also exercised the authority of the under secretary of state for arms control and international security. He served as ISN’s principal deputy assistant secretary, deputy assistant secretary for Nuclear Affairs, and deputy assistant secretary for threat reduction, export controls, and negotiations. Kang also served as the bureau’s special adviser for North Korean denuclearization. In February 2015, President Barack Obama accorded Kang the personal rank of ambassador to serve as the U.S. representative to the diplomatic conference for the convention on nuclear safety. Kang joined the Department of State in 2003 as a William C. Foster fellow and served in the Bureaus of Political-Military Affairs and Arms Control. A former tenured professor, Kang taught international security at the University of Pennsylvania and Northern Illinois University and has held fellowships at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution. His professional background also includes working as an investment banker specializing in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions for Dillon, Read & Co., Inc. Kang has a Ph.D. from Yale University, studied at Princeton University, and received his A.B. from Cornell University.

N. Nick Perry | U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica
N. Nick Perry, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica, March 11. Perry has served for three decades as an assemblyman in the New York State Legislature, where he previously served as the assistant speaker pro tempore of the New York State Assembly, and regional vice chairman of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Perry served on the New York State Assembly Standing Committees on Rules, Ways and Means, Codes, Banks, Labor, and Transportation. From 2015-2018, Perry was the chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus. He also served as chairman of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, Inc. from 2012-2015. An immigrant from Jamaica, Perry first volunteered for service in the U.S. Army and then, following his honorable discharge, attended college using the G.I. Bill. Upon graduation, he became active in community organizing and was appointed to the local community board where he was subsequently elected to serve as chair. He served five consecutive terms on the Brooklyn Borough Board before being elected to the State Assembly in 1992. Perry has a B.A. from Brooklyn College.

James C. O’Brien | Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination
James C. O’Brien, of Nebraska, was appointed to serve as the new Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination, April 7. Previously, he served as principal at the Washington-based Albright Stonebridge Group—a global business strategy firm that he co-founded. From August 2015 to January 2017, O’Brien served as the first special envoy for hostage affairs at the Department of State. Prior to that, he served as a senior advisor to the ambassador of the United Nations and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. He also served as deputy director of the Office of Policy Planning, special presidential envoy for the Balkans, and earlier in his career, he served as an attorney and diplomatic advisor. O’Brien has a B.A. from Macalester College, an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a J.D. from Yale University. 

Alina L. Romanowski | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq
Alina L. Romanowski (SES), of Illinois, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq, April 15. Previously, she served as ambassador to Kuwait. Prior to that, Romanowski served as principal deputy coordinator for counterterrorism and she served as the coordinator for U.S. assistance to Europe and Eurasia. Earlier, at USAID, she was deputy assistant administrator for the Middle East bureau. Romanowski joined the Department of State in 2003 to establish the Middle East Partnership Initiative Office and served as its first director. She also held deputy assistant secretary positions in the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and served as acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Romanowski also served in senior positions at the Department of Defense; she was the founding director of the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University; deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the director of the Near East South Asia Office; and country director for Israel. Romanowski has a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. She speaks French.

Mallory A. Stewart | Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance
Mallory A. Stewart, of Washington, D.C.,  was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance, March 30. Previously, she served as a special assistant to the president and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation on the National Security Council. Prior to that, Stewart was senior manager for Global Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation as Sandia National Laboratories. She also has served as a non-resident fellow in the Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nonproliferation, and Security Program at the Stimson Center, as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, and as a deputy assistant secretary of state for emerging security challenges and defense policy in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. Stewart served in the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser on arms control issues and, among other roles, served as the lead lawyer and one of the primary architects of the U.S.-Russia Framework to eliminate Syria’s declared chemical weapons stockpile. Stewart has an A.B. from Harvard College, and a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School.
George J. Tsunis | U.S. Ambassador to Greece
George J. Tsunis, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Greece, March 23. Tsunis is the founder, and previously served as chairman and chief executive officer, of Chartwell Hotels, LLC, which owns, develops, and manages hotels throughout the Northeast and Middle Atlantic states. He also previously served as chairman of Battery Park City Authority, and as a trustee for the New York City Convention Development Corporation and the New York City Convention Operating Corporation. Tsunis also served as the chairman of the Nassau University Medical Center. Earlier in his career, Tsunis was of counsel and partner for Rivkin Radler LLP in Uniondale, N.Y., and legislative attorney on the New York City Council. He served as counsel for Dix Hills Water District, and served on the Town Of Huntington Committee on Open Space Preservation in Huntington, N.Y. Tsunis has a B.A. from the New York University, and a J.D. from St. John’s University of Law. He speaks Greek.
Lisa A. Carty | U.S. Representative on the Economic and Social Council of the U.N. and U.S. Alternate Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the U.N.
Lisa A. Carty, of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Feb.10. In addition, she was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Alternate Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, March 30. Previously, she served as director for Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Carty has been a leader in both the public and non-profit sectors including 25 years as a diplomat with overseas assignments in Asia, the Middle East, and Russia. Her U.N. career has included work with the U.N. Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, as well as positions with the Joint U.N. Program on AIDS. Earlier in her career, Carty helped lead the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, and was a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. She has a B.A. from Georgetown University, and an M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University. She speaks French. 
Laura Farnsworth Dogu | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Honduras
Laura Farnsworth Dogu (SFS), of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Honduras, March 11. Previously, she served as a foreign policy advisor to the chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Prior to that, she served at the Federal Bureau of Investigations as the deputy director of the hostage recovery fusion cell, an interagency group of law enforcement, diplomatic, military and the intelligence experts responsible for the recovery of U.S. persons held hostage abroad. Dogu was the ambassador of the United States to Nicaragua from 2015-2018, and she served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Mexico City. Other overseas assignments included the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, and the U.S. embassies in Turkey, Egypt, and El Salvador. Washington assignments at the Department of State included deputy executive director of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Operations Center watch officer. Dogu has an M.S. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington, and a B.A., B.B.A. and M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She speaks Spanish, Turkish, and Arabic.

Christopher R. Hill | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia
Christopher R. Hill, of Rhode Island, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, March 11. Previously, he served as the George Ball adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He was dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, and then chief advisor to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice of diplomacy at the University of Denver. Before retiring from the Foreign Service in 2010, Hill served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Korea, Poland, and Macedonia, as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and as head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party Talks on North Korea. Earlier in his diplomatic career, Hill served as an economic officer in Belgrade, deputy chief of mission at Embassy Tirana, and ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia. He has a B.A. from Bowdoin College and an M.S. from the Naval War College. Hill speaks Serbian, Polish, Macedonian, and French.

Randi Charno Levine | U.S. Ambassador to the Portuguese Republic
Randi Charno Levine, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Portuguese Republic, March 11. Previously, she served as commissioner at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington. Charno Levine also served as trustee at the Meridian International Center, trustee at the New Museum in New York, and Artemis council member She is a member of the Friends of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a board member of FACES at New York University’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and a founding member of the High Line Council. She has also served as a former board member at the University of Arizona’s Norton School of Family Consumer Science, the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, the Hamptons International Film Festival, and she is a published author. Charno Levine has a B.A. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Patricia Mahoney | U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic
Patricia Mahoney (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Prior to that, Mahoney served as acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) and the office director of EAP’s Office of Mainland Southeast Asia. Earlier, she was the deputy chief of mission at Embassy Kampala, and deputy chief of mission at Embassy Kathmandu. She also served as director for South Asia at the National Security Council, deputy director of the Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh Affairs in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the political chief at Embassy Colombo, and the political and economic chief at Embassy Kathmandu. Mahoney has a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the University of Hawaii, and an M.S. from the National War College in Washington. She speaks French, Thai, Nepali, and Lao.

Virginia E. Palmer | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana
Virginia E. Palmer (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana, March 3. Previously, she served as principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources. She also served as acting assistant secretary since Jan. 2021. Prior to that, Palmer was the deputy commandant and international affairs advisor at the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. She served as ambassador to the Republic of Malawi, deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at Embassy Pretoria, and deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at Embassy Hanoi. Previous positions included deputy coordinator for counterterrorism, director of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs’ Office of Economic Policy and assignments in Canada, Zimbabwe, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Kenya. Palmer has a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University, and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. She speaks Chinese and French.

Elizabeth “Beth” Van Schaack | U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Criminal Justice
Elizabeth “Beth” Van Schaack, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Criminal Justice, March 16. Previously, she served as the Leah Kaplan visiting professor in human rights at Stanford Law School, and was the acting director of the Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic. She was also a faculty fellow with Stanford’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Prior to returning to academia, Van Schaack served as deputy to the ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues in the Department of State’s Office of Global Criminal Justice. She has also spent time in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP and with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. Van Schaack has a B.A. from Stanford University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Leiden School of Law.

David John Young | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi
David John Young (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi, March 3. Previously he served as chargé d’affaires at Embassy Lusaka. Prior to that, he served as chargé d’affaires at Embassy Pretoria, deputy chief of mission at Embassy Abuja, and he held an earlier assignment as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires in Lusaka. Young served as deputy director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, and executive assistant to the under secretary for democracy and global affairs. Earlier in his career, Young was a Pearson fellow in the Office of Jim Moran in the U.S. House of Representatives, a public affairs officer at Embassy Guatemala City, director of the Office of International Religious Freedom in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and he held positions in Vietnam and Panama, as well as domestic positions in the Operations Center, at the United Nations, and in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Bureau of International Organizations. Young has a B.A. degree from the University of Missouri, a diploma from Trinity College, University of Dublin, and an M.Div. degree and an M.A. from Boston University. He speaks Spanish. 

Joseph Donnelly | U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See
Joseph Donnelly, of Indiana, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Jan. 24. Previously, he served as a partner at Akin Gump in Washington. Donnelly served as a U.S. senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019, and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013, representing Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District. Donnelly also served as a member of the Afghanistan Study Group and has been a professor at the University of Notre Dame. He served as chairman of the board of the Soufan Center in New York, and a senior advisor to Inovateus Solar in South Bend, Indiana. Donnelly received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School. 

Amy Gutmann | U.S. Ambassador to Germany
Amy Gutmann, of Pennsylvania, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Feb 10. Previously, she served as the president of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, she served in several positions at Princeton University, including as a professor, was the founding director of the University Center for Human Values, and as director of the Ethics and Public Affairs Program. Gutmann is also an award-winning author and editor. She received a B.A. at Harvard-Radcliffe College, an M.S. at the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. at Harvard University.

Christopher John Lamora | U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon
Christopher John Lamora (SFS) of Rhode Island was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission at Embassy Accra. Lamora served as acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Africa and African Security Affairs, during which time he also served as the U.S. representative to the Great Lakes Contact Group. Prior to that, he was the director of the Office of Central African Affairs and the deputy director of the Office of Economic and Regional Affairs, both in the Bureau of African Affairs. Also, Lamora served as the director of the Los Angeles Passport Agency, the deputy consular section chief in Guatemala City, and as a desk officer for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He spent a year as a Pearson Fellow in the Washington office of Senator Richard Durbin. Other assignments included two tours in the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ (CA) Office of Children’s Issues and as the CA’s press spokesperson. Overseas he has held positions at posts in Santo Domingo, Athens, Bangui, and Douala. Lamora received a B.S. from Georgetown University. He speaks French, Spanish, Modern Greek, and Russian.

Tulinabo S. Mushingi | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Angola, and to the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe
Tulinabo S. Mushingi (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Angola, and to the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Dec. 20.  Previously, he served as ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Prior to that, Mushingi served as ambassador to Burkina Faso from 2013 to 2016. He served as deputy executive secretary; executive director, and supervisory general services officer in the Executive Office of the Secretary; deputy chief of mission in Ethiopia; counselor for management affairs in Dar es Salaam; management officer in Casablanca; and counseling and assignment officer in the Bureau of Human Resources. Before that, he served as post management officer in the Bureau of International Organizations Affairs, and foreign affairs analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He also served in Mozambique and Malaysia, at the Foreign Service Institute, and as a consultant for the Peace Corps. Mushingi received a B.A. and M.A. from the Institute of Education in Bukavu, Congo, an M.A. from Howard University, and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He speaks French, Swahili, Portuguese, and some Malay.

Michèle Taylor | U.S. Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council
Michèle Taylor, of Georgia, was appointed to serve as United States Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Feb. 22. Previously, Taylor served as a board member of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and served as its “Power to Inspire” chair and development chair. Since 2010, she has also served as the treasurer of the Atlanta Midtown Improvement District board. Taylor has served as a member of the Committee on State Sponsored Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial, a member of the Committee on Conscience, and a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council. In addition, she has served for almost two decades in various roles for the North Carolina Outward Bound School where she served on the board and also as an instructor and course director. Taylor received a B.A. from Mills College, and an M.A. from Boston University.

Peter Hendrick Vrooman | U.S. Ambassador to Mozambique
Peter Hendrick Vrooman (SFS), of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda. Prior to that, Vrooman served as chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at Embassy Addis Ababa. He served as director for Iraq on the National Security Council staff and was deputy political counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York. Vrooman served as the spokesperson of Embassy New Delhi, senior adviser for Northern Iraq at Embassy Baghdad, and deputy political counselor at Embassy Tel Aviv. He was an economic/commercial attaché and political officer at Embassy Beirut. He also served as the Algeria desk officer and as a watch officer in the Operations Center. Vrooman’s first overseas assignments were at Embassy Djibouti and the U.S. Liaison Office in Mogadishu. Vrooman received a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.S from the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He speaks French and Arabic, as well as some Kinyarwanda, Hebrew, German, and Portuguese.
Julie Chung | U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Julie Chung (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as the acting assistant secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs after serving as principal deputy assistant secretary since Nov. 2018. Chung served as the director for Japan and acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. She was deputy chief of mission in Cambodia and served as an economic counselor in Thailand, deputy political counselor in Bogota, chief of staff in Baghdad, and worked in the Office of Korean Affairs in Washington. She also served in Guangzhou, Tokyo, and Hanoi as a public diplomacy officer and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation coordinator. Chung joined the Foreign Service in 1996 as the first cohort of the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship program. She received a B.A. from the University of California San Diego and an M.A. from Columbia University. She speaks Korean, Japanese, Spanish, and Khmer.

Sharon L. Cromer | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia
Sharon L. Cromer (SFS), of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as the mission director at Embassy Accra for USAID. Prior to that, she served as USAID’s mission director for Embassy Dar es Salaam and for Embassy Abuja. Cromer also had an earlier assignment in Accra as mission director. In Washington, she served in USAID as senior deputy assistant administrator and acting assistant administrator in the Africa Bureau, as the deputy assistant administrator in the Management Bureau, and as the acting senior deputy assistant administrator and acting Assistant administrator in the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. Earlier in her career, Cromer served as a supervisory contracting officer, the USAID deputy mission director at Embassy Jakarta, regional supervisory contracting officer at the USAID Mission in Dakar, and she also held positions in the Ivory Coast and Pakistan, and as a contracting officer in the Office of Procurement in USAID’s Management Bureau. Cromer has a B.A. from Barnard College of Columbia University, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law School.

Claire D. Cronin | U.S. Ambassador to Ireland
Claire D. Cronin, of Massachusetts, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as a representative, and as majority leader in the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. During her service as a legislator, Cronin was also vice chair, and then chair of the Committee on the Judiciary. Since 2003, she has served as a mediator/arbitrator for Commonwealth Mediation. Prior to her election as representative, Cronin maintained the Law Office of Claire Cronin in Brockton, Mass. Earlier in her career, she was first a law clerk, and then an associate attorney at Wynn & Wynn, P.C. She serves on numerous committees and boards. Cronin has a B.A. from Stonehill College and a J.D. from Suffolk University. 

Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons | U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic
Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons (SFS), of Delaware, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Togolese Republic, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as acting principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs. Prior to that, she served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Africa and Public Diplomacy. She was previously the acting deputy spokesperson for the Department of State from March to August 2018, deputy executive secretary to Secretaries of State John Kerry and Rex Tillerson, senior advisor at the Foreign Service Institute, deputy assistant secretary for public diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Fitzsimmons has also served in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, India, and Bulgaria. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Operations Center and as deputy director of the Executive Secretariat. She has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a certificate from the International Division at Waseda University in Tokyo. She speaks French, Chinese, and Bulgarian.

David R. Gilmour | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea
David R. Gilmour (SFS), of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as chargé d’affaires ad interim at Embassy N’Djamena. He is a former ambassador to the Togolese Republic, deputy chief of mission in Malawi, where he served as chargé d’affaires ad interim for one year as well. Gilmour served in the Bureau of African Affairs as the deputy assistant secretary for Central Africa. He was director of East African Affairs, and director of public diplomacy for Africa, and served at the U.S. embassies in South Africa and Cameroon. He served as deputy chief of mission in Panama, counselor for public affairs at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, and other overseas assignments include Australia and Costa Rica. Gilmour has a B.A. from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, and an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He speaks French and Spanish.

Laura S. H. Holgate | U.S. Representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations
Laura S. H. Holgate, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as the vice president for materials risk management at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a position she held since 2018. Prior to this, she served as the U.S. representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations from 2016-2017. Prior to that, Holgate served as vice president for Russia and the Newly Independent States at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington. She served as director of the Office of Fissile Material Disposition at the Department of Energy, special coordinator for cooperative threat reduction at the Department of Defense (DOD), and special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for international security policy at DOD. She also served as special assistant to the acting director for U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament, and as a project coordinator at the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Holgate has a B.A. from Princeton University, and a M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She speaks French.

Rashad Hussain | U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
Rashad Hussain, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as director for partnerships and global engagement at the National Security Council. He served as special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and special envoy for strategic counterterrorism communications, among other key roles in the Obama administration. Earlier in his career, Hussain worked as a legislative aide for the House Judiciary Committee, he was a 2003 fellow of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, and he served as a law clerk for civil rights icon Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Hussain has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. and M.P.A. from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Yale University. 

Christopher P. Lu | U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, and as Alternate U.S. Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Christopher P. Lu, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, and as Alternate U.S. Representative to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Dec. 20. He was the 35th deputy secretary of labor from April 2014 to Jan. 2017. Lu served as assistant to the president and White House cabinet secretary for President Barack Obama, and as co-chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He also served as legislative director and acting chief of staff for Obama in his U.S. Senate office, after briefly serving as an advisor on Senator John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. Earlier in his career, Lu served as a law clerk to Judge Robert Cowen in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and he worked as a litigation attorney in Washington. He also served as deputy chief of counsel for Representative Henry Waxman and the Democratic staff of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the House of Representatives. He served as a senior fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center. Lu has a B.A. from Princeton University, and a J.D. from Harvard University. 

Jack A. Markell | U.S. Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Jack A. Markell, of Delaware, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dec. 20. A former governor and state treasurer of Delaware, Markell previously served as the president of Jack Markell Consulting, LLC. He is a former senior vice president of Comcast Corporation and Nextel Communications. He has served as chair of the National Governors Association, president of the Council of State Governments, and chair of the Democratic Governors Association. Markell has a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Marc Ostfield | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay
Marc Ostfield (SES), of Pennsylvania, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as the Department of State’s ombudsman. From 2013-2018, Ostfield served as acting director and deputy director of the Foreign Service Institute. He served as director of the Office of Policy and Global Issues in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and senior advisor on bioterrorism, biodefense, and health security in the Department’s Office of International Health and Biodefense. From 1987-2002, he created and led large-scale HIV/AIDS and global health programs worldwide.  Over the course of his career, he has worked in more than 50 countries throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Near East—and with the U.S. and many international organizations. Ostfield has a B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and French.

Brian Wesley Shukan | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin
Brian Wesley Shukan (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as chief of mission at Embassy Khartoum. From 2017-2019, Shukan served as the Department of State’s director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. He has served as deputy chief of mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, including 11 months as chargé d’affaires, and as consul general in Casablanca. Earlier in his career, Shukan was deputy political counselor at Embassy Baghdad, and led the political section at Embassy Accra. He also served as political officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia desk officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, consular/political officer in Luxembourg; and general services officer in Cotonou. Shukan has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, and an M.A. from the Naval War College. He speaks French and Arabic.

Cynthia Ann Telles | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica
Cynthia Ann Telles, of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as a clinical professor in the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Department of Psychiatry. She also served on the Executive Committee of the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and has been director of the UCLA Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic for more than thirty years. Telles is the founding director of the UCLA Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence. She served on the board of the Pacific Council on International Policy, was the chair of the Los Angeles/U.S. Section of the Mexico-Los Angeles Commission, and has served on numerous other boards and commissions. Telles has a B.A. from Smith College and a Ph.D. from Boston University. She speaks Spanish. 

Ramin Toloui | Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs
Ramin Toloui, of Iowa, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Dec. 17. Previously, he served as a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team supporting transition efforts related to the Department of State. Prior to that, he served as a professor of international finance and fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. In 2014, Toloui was appointed to serve as the Department of Treasury’s assistant secretary of the treasury for international finance and development. Also at the Department of Treasury, he served as deputy director and international economist in the Office of Central and Southeastern Europe, senior adviser to the under secretary for international affairs, and director of the Office of Western Hemisphere. Earlier in his career he served as a portfolio manager for Pacific Investment Management Company, LCC, where he also served as global co-head of Emerging Markets Portfolio Management, and chaired the firm’s Asia-Pacific Portfolio Committee. He has a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.Phil. from Balliol College at Oxford University. 
Anne A. Witkowsky | Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations
Anne A. Witkowsky, of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Jan. 6. In government roles, Witkowsky most recently served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for stability and humanitarian affairs from 2014-2016 in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense. Prior to that, she served in the Department of State as the acting principal deputy coordinator in the Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT), and the CT deputy coordinator for Homeland Security and Multilateral Affairs. From 1993-2000, she served as a director for defense policy and arms control on the White House National Security Council staff, and she spent her early government career in DOD’s Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, where she started out as a presidential management intern in 1988. Outside government, Witkowky has been a non-resident senior democracy fellow at Freedom House and a senior fellow and non-resident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Among other advisory roles, she served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace 2019 Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States, and as a member of the 2019 CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access. Witkowsky has a B.A. from Yale University, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. 
Michael M. Adler | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium
Michael M. Adler, of Florida, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of the Adler Group, Inc., one of South Florida’s largest real estate companies. He has served as chairman of the Mount Sinai Medical Center, president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation where he served as a representative at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and as vice chairman of Florida International University’s Board of Trustees. He also participates on various boards with charities and non-profit organizations. Adler has a B.A. from the University of Miami.

Larry Edward André Jr. | U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Somalia
Larry Edward André Jr. (SFS), of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Somalia, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as ambassador to Djibouti from 2017-2021, and ambassador to Mauritania from 2014-2017. André has served as senior advisor for the Bureau of African Affairs, director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, deputy chief of mission in Dar es Salaam, political counselor in Nairobi, deputy director of the Office of West African Affairs, deputy chief of mission in Freetown, regional environment officer in Addis Ababa, and management officer in Conakry. He has also served in Bangladesh, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he worked with a nongovernmental organization in Chad, as a Peace Corps staff member in Washington, and as a volunteer in Senegal. Andre has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College, and an M.B.A. from the American Graduate School of International Management. He speaks French. 

Elizabeth Moore Aubin | U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Elizabeth Moore Aubin (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as acting principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for regional multilateral affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA). Aubin served in several leadership positions in NEA and the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), as deputy chief of mission and then chargé d’affaires in Ottawa, executive director for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, deputy chief of mission in Algiers, special assistant to the under secretary for management, post management officer in WHA, and as a watch officer and a line officer. Overseas, she has also served as a management counselor in Tel Aviv, international resource management officer for the U.S. Mission to N.A.T.O. in Brussels, management officer in Toronto, and general services officer in Hong Kong, as well as tours in Rome and Curacao. She is also an elected board member of Executive Women @ State. Aubin has a B.A. from Barnard College and has attended Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She speaks French and Italian. 

John R. Bass | Under Secretary of State for Management
John R. Bass (SFS), of New York, was appointed to serve as the new Under Secretary of State for Management, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as a senior advisor at the Foreign Service Institute. Bass has served as ambassador to Afghanistan, ambassador to Turkey, executive secretary of state, and ambassador to Georgia. Overseas, he has served in positions in Iraq, Italy, Belgium, and Chad. In Washington, he has served on Vice President Dick Cheney’s staff, chief of staff and advisory to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, director of the Department of State’s Operations Center, and in several assignments focused on European security issues. Bass has a B.A. from Syracuse University. He speaks Italian and French.

Thomas Barrett | U.S. Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Thomas Barrett, of Wisconsin, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Dec. 17. Barrett has served as mayor of Milwaukee since 2004. He served five terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and was a state senator and state representative in Wisconsin. He has served on a number of committees during his long career in public service, and earlier in his career, he clerked for the Honorable Robert W. Warren in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Barrett has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison. 

Denise Campbell Bauer | U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic, and the new U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco
Denise Campbell Bauer, of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the French Republic, and the new U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as security director of Women for Biden. Bauer served as ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium from 2013-2017. Bauer began her career as a television journalist. She then moved into leadership positions with a number of non-profit organizations. Bauer became active in national politics in 2007, serving on the Obama for America National Finance Committee during both of his presidential election campaigns, and as a national finance chair for Women for Obama in 2012. She was also on the DNS National Finance Committee, where she served as chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum and co-chair of the annual National Issues Conference for four consecutive conferences. Bauer has a B.A. from Occidental College. She speaks French. 

Maria E. Brewer | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho
Maria E. Brewer (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone. Prior to that, Brewer served as the deputy director for career development and assignments in the Bureau of Human Resources, deputy chief of mission and chargé in Abuja, and she also was part of the management leadership team in Islamabad. Earlier in her career, Brewer served in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Mumbai, India, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Lagos. In Washington, Brewer served as deputy executive director and supervisory post management officer in the Bureau of African Affairs, as special assistant for the under secretary for management, and as special assistant for the assistant secretary for administration. Brewer has a B.A. from Valparaiso University, and a M.S. from the National Defense University. She speaks Spanish.

Mark Brzezinski | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Poland
Mark Brzezinski, of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Dec. 20. Brzezinski is founder and previously served as principal of Brzezinski Strategies LLC. He has served as ambassador to Sweden, managing director at Makena Capital Management, and as the first executive director of the White House’s Arctic Executive Steering Committee. Prior to serving with the Obama Administration, Brzezinski was a partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Washington. From 1999 to 2001, he served on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council staff, first as a director for Russia and Eurasia, and then as a director for the Balkans. He is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. He also served as a Fulbright Scholar in Poland between 1991-1993. Brzezinski has a B.A. from Dartmouth College, a J.D. from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. from Oxford University.

R. Nicholas Burns | U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
R. Nicholas Burns, of Massachusetts, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Dec. 17. Previously, he served as professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He also served as executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Security Forum and senior counselor at the Cohen Group. A career diplomat, Burns previously served as under secretary of state for political affairs, ambassador to NATO and to Greece, Department spokesman, and on the National Security Council staff on Soviet and Russian affairs. Burns has a B.A. from Boston College and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He speaks French, and has familiarity with Arabic and Greek. 
Bathsheba Nell Crocker | U.S.  Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva
Bathsheba Nell Crocker, of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S.  Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as a senior advisor at the Department of State. From 2017-2020, Crocker served as a vice president covering humanitarian issues at CARE USA. Prior to that, she served with the Department as assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, senior advisor to the secretary of state, principal deputy director in the Office of Policy Planning, and as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of state. Earlier in her career, Crocker was an attorney-adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser; deputy U.S. special representative for Southeast Europe Affairs, and executive assistant to the deputy national security advisor at the White House. She also held senior roles at numerous foundations and has served as a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and the Brookings Institution; at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University; and at the Council on Foreign Relations, as an International Affairs Fellow. She has taught at Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and American University. Crocker has a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Rahm Emanuel | U.S. Ambassador to Japan
Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Dec. 20. He previously served as the mayor of the city of Chicago, and as the White House chief of staff to President Obama. From 2003 to 2009, Emanuel served in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he held a number of leadership positions. He also served as assistant to the president for political affairs and senior advisor for policy and strategy during the Clinton Administration. Emanuel is currently national chair of the Advisory Council of Youth Guidance’s Becoming a Man mentoring program. He has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. from Northwestern University.

Troy Damian Fitrell | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea
Troy Damian Fitrell (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as director of the Office of West African Affairs. Fitrell has served as deputy chief of mission in Ethiopia and Mauritius, and as deputy director of the Office of Southern African Affairs. He was senior advisor to the United States special envoy for the great lakes of Africa, a Pearson Fellow on the staff of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he also served overseas as chief of the Political Section in Portugal, labor attaché in Guatemala, chief of the economic section in Zambia, and as a political and consular officer in Ghana and Denmark. Fitrell has a B.A. from the University of Maryland and an M.S. from the National War College. He speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Danish.

Jeffry Lane Flake | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey
Jeffry Lane Flake, of Arizona, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, Dec. 7. Flake served as a distinguished fellow at Arizona State University and a distinguished fellow at the Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership at Brigham Young University. He was a member of Congress for 18 years, representing Arizona in the U.S. Senate (2013-2019) and the U.S. House of Representatives (2001-2013), where he served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was a former contributor to CNN and CBS News, and was director of Taylor Morrison, a home builder in Scottsdale, and a former executive director of the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix. Flake was a resident fellow at Harvard University’s Institute for Politics and served on its Senior Advisory Committee. Early in his career, he lived overseas as executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia.  He has a B.A. and an M.A. from Brigham Young University. He speaks Afrikaans.  
Rufus Gifford | Chief of Protocol
Rufus Gifford, of Massachusetts, was appointed to serve as the new Chief of Protocol, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as deputy campaign manager on President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. He served as ambassador to Denmark from 2013-2017, and prior to that served as a senior staff member of President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Gifford served as finance director for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, and has served in positions in many other presidential campaigns. Earlier in his career, Gifford worked as an assistant to producer John Davis in Hollywood, and appeared in films as an actor. Gifford has a B.A. from Brown University. 

Mark Gitenstein | U.S. Representative to the European Union
Mark Gitenstein, of Washington, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the European Union, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as senior counsel at Mayer Brown LLP, Gitenstein served as ambassador to Romania, and spent 17 years in the U.S. Senate, as chief counsel or minority chief counsel of the Judiciary Committee, chief counsel of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on criminal justice, and counsel for the Intelligence Committee. He has also served as a senior lecturer and co-director of the University of Washington’s Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine Study. Gitenstein has an A.B. from Duke University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.
Peter D. Haas | U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Peter D. Haas (SFS), of Virginia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as acting assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs and concurrently held the position of principal deputy assistant secretary in the same bureau. Haas was senior advisor/deputy assistant secretary for trade policy and negotiations, deputy permanent representative to the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. He has served in positions across five geographic bureaus, including as consul general in Mumbai, economic counselor in Jakarta, economic officer in London, Rabat, and in the Office of East European Assistance, in Haiti, and in Berlin. Haas has a B.A. from Wesleyan University and attended the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar, where he earned M.Sc. He speaks French and German.

Jamie L. Harpootlian | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia
Jamie L. Harpootlian, of South Carolina, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia, Dec. 20. She previously served as counsel to the law firm of Richard A. Harpootlian, P.A. in Columbia, S.C. She was a court-appointed special master who facilitated case resolution in complex, mass disaster class actions by formulating and implementing fair and equitable criteria to allocate and distribute settlement funds. Harpootlian served as a hearing officer on the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 at the Department of Justice on behalf of the Special Master Kenneth Feinberg, serving as a special government employee. She served 17 years as a career judicial law clerk for the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and is also a leader and patron of non-profit groups supporting the environment, the arts, and historic resources. Harpootlian has a B.A. from Mary Baldwin University and a J.D. from Tulane University Law School. She speaks basic French.

Marc Evans Knapper | U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Marc Evans Knapper (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as the deputy assistant secretary for Japan and Korea in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Knapper served as chargé d’affaires in Seoul, and in 2017 and 2018, served as the deputy chief of mission. Formerly, Knapper was director of the Office of India Affairs and director of the Office of Japanese Affairs. He spent three years leading the political section in Hanoi, and held other leadership positions in Baghdad, and in Tokyo. Earlier in his career, Knapper served in the Office of China and Mongolia Affairs, he held two assignments in Seoul, and he served as Ambassador Walter Mondale’s aide in Tokyo. Knapper has a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.A. from the Army War College. He also studied at the University of Tokyo prior to joining the Foreign Service. He speaks Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Kent Doyle Logsdon | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova
Kent Doyle Logsdon (SFS), of Pennsylvania, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as chief of staff to the under secretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. Logsdon has served as principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Energy Resources, and was the deputy chief of Mission in Berlin, where he also served as chargé d’affaires. Prior to that, Logsdon was the chief of staff to the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, and deputy executive secretary. Earlier in his career, he served as director of the Operations Center, director of the Office of Russian Affairs, and deputy chief of Mission in Tbilisi. He has also served at posts in Kyiv, Bangkok, Almaty, Islamabad, and Stuttgart. He has a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.A. from the University of Virginia. He speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Thai and German.
Caryn R. McClelland | U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam
Caryn R. McClelland (SFS), of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as minister counselor for economic affairs in London, and served as acting deputy chief of mission during the United Kingdom’s G7 Presidency. Prior to that, she served as deputy chief of mission in Vietnam and Latvia, as consul general in Surabaya, as acting principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and as deputy special representative for commercial and business affairs in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Earlier in her career, McClelland served as senior advisor for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy and regional energy advisor in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. She also worked overseas at posts in Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, and Ireland. McClelland has a B.A. from the University of California Los Angeles, an M.A. from San Francisco State University, and an M.S. from the National War College. She speaks Indonesian, Latvian and Russian.

Scott Miller | U.S. Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, and U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein
Scott Miller, of Colorado, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, and U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein, Dec. 20. Miller is an LGBTQ rights activist and philanthropist. He served as co-chair of the Gill Foundation’s board of directors, directing the foundation’s national giving strategy to advance LGBTQ equality. He has also served as an account vice president at UBS Wealth Management in Denver, and began his career as a management consultant for Accenture, followed by work as an event planner for global clientele. Miller has a B.A. from the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Michael J. Murphy | U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Michael J. Murphy (SFS), of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dec. 20. Previously he served as deputy assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR). He served as acting principal deputy assistant secretary of state for EUR, director of the Office for European Security and Political-Military Affairs in EUR, and associate dean of the Leadership and Management School at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Prior to that, Murphy served as deputy chief of mission in Gaborone, Botswana, chargé d’affaires in Botswana, deputy chief of mission in Pristina, and he served for three years as political counselor in Sarajevo. He has also served at posts in London, Yaoundé, and Lagos. In Washington, he served as chief of staff to both the assistant secretary of state for EUR and the director general of the Foreign Service, as well as desk officer for Bulgaria and for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His Foreign Service career included tenure in the Transatlantic Fellowship Program, and from 2001-2002, he served in the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office as office director for Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1991, Murphy worked in the U.S. Congress for three years as the senior legislative aide to Congresswoman Marilyn Lloyd of Tennessee. He has a B.A. from Hamilton College.

Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain
Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Principality of Andorra, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as assistant to the president and chief of staff to Dr. Jill Biden, as well as co-chair of the Gender Policy Council at the White House. Reynoso Pantaleon served as ambassador to Uruguay and as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. She is a former partner at the international law firms of Winston & Strawn LLP, and Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York, and was a lecturer and adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Law and School of International and Public Affairs. She also clerked for the Honorable Federal Judge Laura Swain. Reynoso Pantaleon has a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. the University of Cambridge, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. She speaks Spanish.

Erik D. Ramanathan | U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden
Erik D. Ramanathan, of Massachusetts, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as chairman of the Board of Heluna Health, a national public health non-profit. He served as executive director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession, and board chair at Immigration Equality, the national legal services and advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ and HIV+ immigrants and asylees. Ramanathan served as senior vice president—general counsel of ImClone Systems, and chair of the non-profit board of New Politics Leadership Academy. Ramanathan has a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Michael Raynor | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Michael Raynor (SFS), of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal, and the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as ambassador to Ethiopia. Raynor also served as the assistant chief of mission in Kabul, and as ambassador to Benin. Formerly, Raynor was the director of the Office of Career Development and Assignments in the Bureau of Human Resources, and executive director for the Bureau of African Affairs. Earlier in his career, Raynor served as a management officer in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Guinea and Djibouti (serving at each post for extended periods as chargé d’affaires or acting deputy chief of mission). Other earlier assignments included consular officer in Luxembourg, general services officer in Brazzaville, Zimbabwe desk officer, as well as legislative management officer and special assistant in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. Raynor also served as an analyst for the U.S. Senate’s Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition in 1987. Raynor has a B.A. from Lafayette College, and an M.A. from Columbia University. He speaks fluent French.

Adam Scheinman | Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation
Adam Scheinman (SES), of Virginia, was appointed, Dec. 20, to serve as the new Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation, a position he held from September 2014 to January 2017. Previously, he served as a professor of practice and the Department of Energy faculty chair at the National War College. Scheinman has also served as senior advisor to assistant secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation, director for Nonproliferation on the White House National Security staff, and from 1999 to 2009, he held a number of positions in the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, including assistant deputy administrator in the Office of Nonproliferation and International Security; director in the Office of Export Control Policy and Cooperation in the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation; and senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Nonproliferation and National Security. At the Department of Energy, he served as foreign affairs analyst in the Office of International Policy and Analysis Division. Before that, he was a policy analyst and program coordinator for several non-governmental organizations that focus on arms control and nonproliferation matters. Scheinman has a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. from George Washington University.

Michele Jeanne Sison | Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs
Michele Jeanne Sison (SFS), of Maryland, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Dec. 20. Previously, she served as ambassador to Haiti, and as the U.S. deputy representative to the United Nations. Sison served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, ambassador to Lebanon, and ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Other diplomatic assignments included assistant chief of mission in Baghdad, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs, deputy chief of mission in Islamabad, consul general in Chennai, and tours in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, and Togo. She also served as the Department of State’s director of Career Development and Assignments. She has a B.A. from Wellesley College, and also studied at the London School of Economics. 

Marc R. Stanley | U.S. Ambassador to the Argentine Republic
Marc R. Stanley, of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Argentine Republic, Dec. 20. Stanley has served as a trial lawyer, political activist, Jewish community leader, and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Stanley Law Group, a Dallas-based firm that focuses on national class actions and complex litigation. He served as chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority by Governor Ann Richards, member of the Board of Visitors of the Air University of the United States Air Force, and as a council member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Stanley is a member of the Board of Directors and has served as president of both the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. He has served as a board member and leader of many Jewish charitable and political organizations, including six years as chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Israel Policy Forum, and served as chairman of The Legacy Senior Communities, Inc., a Jewish senior housing initiative. Stanley has a B.B.A. from George Washington University, and a J.D. from the University of Texas-Austin. 
C.B. Sullenberger III | U.S. Representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization
C.B. Sullenberger III, of Texas, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, Dec. 7. He is a retired Air Force captain and fighter pilot, and airline captain—known for his role as pilot in command in the 2009 ditching of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off of Manhattan. He served as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles, and served with CBS News as an aviation and safety expert. Sullenberger has a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy, an M.A. from Purdue University, and an M.P.A. from the University of Northern Colorado. 

Eugene S. Young | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo
Eugene S. Young (SFS), of New York, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Dec. 20. Previously, he served as the economic counselor in Jerusalem. Prior to that, Young was the chargé d’affaires and deputy chief of mission in Vienna, the consul, and senior civilian representative in Herat, and the deputy chief of mission in Ljubljana. Earlier in his career, he was the economic counselor in Nairobi, Kenya and the consul general in Durban, South Africa. Among Young’s other assignments, he served as a special assistant in the office of the deputy secretary of state, as a senior watch officer in the Operations Center, and as a desk officer for Hungary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. He was also a sanctions officer in the U.S. Mission to the U.N., and served on the Economic Policy staff in the Bureau of African Affairs. Overseas he has also held assignments in Bratislava, Belgrade, Zagreb in the former Yugoslavia, and Kingston. Young has a B.A. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and an M.A. from George Washington University. He speaks German, French, Slovene, Slovak, and Serbo-Croatian.

Michael Carpenter | U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Michael Carpenter, of the District of Columbia, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Nov. 10. Previously, he served as managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania. Carpenter also served at the Department of State as deputy director of the Office of Russian Affairs, special Assistant for the under secretary for political affairs, political-military officer in the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, and advisor on regional conflicts in the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts. Outside of the Department, he has served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, and was special advisor for Europe and Eurasia in the Office of the Vice President. He also served as director for Russia in the National Security Council. With OSCE, Carpenter has served as an election monitor, an advisor to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and as the senior Pentagon official responsible for conventional arms control. He has a B.A. from Stanford University, and an M.A. and Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley. He speaks Polish, Slovenian, Czech, French, and German.

Jeffrey M. Hovenier | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo
Jeffrey M. Hovenier (SFS), of Washington, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Nov. 19. Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission in Ankara, where he also served as chargé d’affaires from Aug. 2018 to July 2019. Prior to that, Hovenier served as deputy chief of mission and minister-counselor for political affairs in Berlin. He has served at posts in Croatia, Greece, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru as well as at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; on the staff of the United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Status; and on temporary assignments in Serbia, Montenegro, and a U.S. delegation to the 1999 Kosovo Peace Talks. In Washington, he was director for Central and Southeastern European Affairs at the National Security Council, and in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibility for NATO and Central European affairs. Hovenier has a B.A. from Brigham Young University, and an M.A. from Georgetown University. He speaks German, Greek, Croatian, and Spanish.
Jonathan Eric Kaplan | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore
Jonathan Eric Kaplan, of California, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, Nov. 19. Previously, he served as founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Melt, a multi-unit California chain of fast casual restaurants based in San Francisco. He also founded and recently served as chairperson of EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit organization to bring high-speed internet to 48.6 million children in K-12 classrooms across the nation. Kaplan also founded Pure Digital Technologies which was acquired by CISCO, and he served as senior vice president and general manager of its Consumer Products Division. He has served as president and CEO of Sega.com, and before that was founder and CEO of FamilyWonder, an entertainment and technology company. He is a longtime member and former chapter chair of the Young President’s Organization. Kaplan has a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.
Victoria Reggie Kennedy | U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Austria
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, of Massachusetts, was appointed to service as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Austria, Nov. 15. Previously, she served as senior counsel in the corporate group of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP. Kennedy served as  president of the board and co-founder of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a non-partisan non-profit that educates the public about the constitutional role of the U.S. Senate, encourages active citizenship, and works to inspire a new generation of civic and political leaders. She also chaired the Education Committee of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and is on the board of other non-profit and civic organizations. Earlier in her career, she clerked for Hon. Robert A Sprecher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. Kennedy has a B.A. from Newcomb College, and a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law.
Lee Satterfield | Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Lee Satterfield, of South Carolina, was appointed to serve as the new Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Nov. 22. Previously, she was president and chief operating officer at Meridian International Center, a non-profit center for diplomacy that strengthens engagement between the United States and the world. She previously served in the Department of State as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Prior to that, Satterfield was deputy chief of protocol of the United States, and in the Clinton Administration, she held several senior positions including chief of staff to Secretary Alexis Herman at the Department of Labor, and special assistant to the president and staff director for The White House Office of Public Liaison. Satterfield has a B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Julianne “Julie” Smith | U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Julianne “Julie” Smith, of Michigan, was appointed to serve as the new U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Nov. 19. Previously, she served in the Department of State as senior advisor to the secretary. Prior to that, she served as the director of the Asia and Geopolitics Programs at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. From 2014-2018, Smith served as the director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, and from 2012-2013, she served first as the deputy national security advisor and then the acting-national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden. Before the White House, she served as the principal director for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon for three years. She also directed the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Smith received a B.A. from Xavier University, and an M.A. from American University. She also studied at the University of Munich in Germany and the Sorbonne in Paris. Smith speaks French and German.h and German.
Previous Appointments
October 2020
March 2020
November 2019
September 2019
June 2019
April 2020
February 2020
October 2019
July/August 2019
March 2019

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