River Falls, Wisconsin
A career diplomat for thirty years with the US Department of State, I served in Munich, Moscow, Melbourne, Baku, Ankara, and Washington. Retired in 2014, I returned to the State Department from August 2020-July 2021 as Cultural Affairs Specialist in our embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, supporting 27 American Corners across the country and organizing civic education programs directed at students and young adults.
Highlights of my State Department career include managing US government-funded democracy building programs throughout the former Soviet Union, including rule of law, policing, civil society, elections and free media. I also supported the press work of our 54 US embassies across Europe and Eurasia, and developed communications strategies for major events across the region, such as the color revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia. As Director of the Office of Strategic Communications and Outreach of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, my work included building public and congressional support for US-led efforts to remove chemical weapons from Syria and strengthening treaties for nuclear and biological weapons.
I have a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Since retiring, I have worked as a consultant in international affairs, speaking with groups on US foreign policy and threw myself into my life-long passion for art history, leading tours at three Minneapolis art museums. I am married to another former diplomat, Ross Wilson and have two adult sons.