Diplomat in Residence – Texas
(TX)
Tours: Bamako, Mali (Consular/Political Officer); Pretoria, South Africa (Assistant Information Officer); Washington, D.C. (Desk Officer for Haiti); Washington, D.C. (Foreign Service Recruiter); Washington, D.C. (Branch Chief for Student Programs—Civil Service); Washington, D.C. (Public Diplomacy Desk Officer for Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan); Brussels, Belgium (Assistant Public Affairs Advisor, USNATO); Recife, Brazil (Public Affairs Officer); Baghdad, Iraq (Cultural Affairs Officer); Ottawa, Canada (Cultural Affairs Officer)
Career Track: Public Diplomacy
Years of Service: 23
Prior Experience: The U.S. Foreign Service was my first and has been my only real job! But I like to remind people that the Foreign Service is looking at the total package of a candidate and what you can bring to the career. French language skills learned to communicate with francophone family members served me well in my first assignment. A college internship with a PR firm helped me develop media relations skills. Critical thinking and strong writing skills honed in undergrad and graduate school formed the bedrock of the skills set which diplomats use most…written communication, which we use to inform, influence, and convey America’s foreign policy priorities within the Department and to our host countries. Just as important as my understanding of world affairs was my years of training and performance as a singer which helped me to share some of the richest aspects of what it means to be an American, our culture.
Languages: French, Portuguese
Education: BA in English from Morehouse College; Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Interesting Experience: Asking a Foreign Service Officer to choose one interesting experience to encapsulate their career is like asking a parent to choose which child they love best. Over the course of my career, living and working in six countries (seven including the U.S.!) on five continents, I’ve had too many amazing experiences to count. I knew I had chosen the right career when on my first assignment as a Consular Officer in Bamako, Mali I was sent solo into the Sahel to monitor elections taking place in the fabled city of Timbuktu. At the end of the first day, a local guide invited me to have dinner with his family on the roof of his house. He wanted to know what I, an American diplomat, thought of his city, his country, and his people. Beneath the stars, fed and cared for by complete strangers in one of the world’s most remote locations, I reflected on the pride I saw in the faces of the voters, on our responsibilities and our rights as citizens in a democracy, and the importance of the role I had taken on as representative of the United States of America. I was there to support people freely exercising a right that I cherished, the right to vote. And I realized that in other parts of the world what the United States “thinks” and does matters, even to the man on the street. I felt grateful to my hosts and immensely proud of my country and career choice. I have felt and savored those same emotions every day of my career. While helping to launch the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief in South Africa, working across agencies to support stability in Haiti, and coordinating the voices of America’s closest allies to challenge Russia’s first illegal invasion of the Ukraine in 2014 while serving at NATO. During moments of crisis, helping frightened American’s stranded abroad during the early days of the pandemic to return home to their loved ones. Whether singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at the July 4th celebration in Recife, or “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the U.S. Embassy to Canada’s first official celebration of America’s newest federal holiday, Juneteenth. No matter where I’m assigned, I’m always grateful and reminded that we are guests in the countries in which we serve. And I remain proud to represent the United States at home and abroad.
Last Post: Cultural Affairs Officer, Ottawa, Canada
Why I Chose a Foreign Service Career: In many ways, the Foreign Service chose me. I never connected the dots of my life, interests, and experiences to a career, until someone took the time to lay it out for me. Like many, I had heard the term “Ambassador” on the news in reference to world events, but never met one, nor did I have any understanding of what a diplomat did. While pursuing an English degree in undergrad, a chance encounter with an Alumni familiar with the Foreign Service opened my eyes. I told him I had family from the French West Indies I had just visited, that I was excited by international travel, and I was pursuing French as a second language. I explained I had been active in Model U.N. and German exchange in high school. I spoke of my interest in public service, described my strong belief in giving back to my country and community, and noted I was participating in AmeriCorps. And I talked about my love of writing and American literature, especially African American literature, and how important culture and expression was to telling the story of a people. He said, “You sound like a diplomat.” In my work as a Diplomat-in-Residence, I hope to help others connect the dots. And with over 23 years experience, having served in the Foreign Service and Civil Service, I have a strong understanding of the many different pathways to service available to American citizens of all backgrounds and skill sets.