The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service is pleased to welcome Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield as the Institute’s first Distinguished Resident Fellow in African Studies. Thomas-Greenfield, who has been with ISD as Senior State Department Fellow since spring 2017, takes up her new post effective November 1.
“Linda Thomas-Greenfield brings tremendous knowledge and insights on global diplomacy, having served as both US Ambassador to Liberia and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, as well as Director General of the Foreign Service,” ISD Director Ambassador Barbara Bodine remarked.
“I look forward to continuing my discussions with students about the many rewards of public service, and what it means to practice diplomacy,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And I am excited to teach an ISD graduate capstone class this spring on South Sudan, and the politics of negotiating in conflict.”
Ambassador Linda-Thomas Greenfield recently retired after a distinguished 35-year career with the US Foreign Service. From 2013 to 2017 she served as Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, charged with leading the development of US policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to this appointment, she served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources (2012-2013), where she led the team of approximately 400 employees who handle the full range of State Department personnel functions. She served as US Ambassador to Liberia from 2008-2012. Her other postings include Switzerland (at the US Mission to the United Nations), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica as well as assignments in Washington.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield was the 2015 recipient of the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the 2000 recipient of the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. In June 2017, she received the Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Award from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in recognition of her three decades of work promoting the values of humanitarianism and responsible global engagement. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she also did work towards a doctorate. She previously taught at Bucknell University.
“The appointment of Linda Thomas-Greenfield as our first Distinguished Resident Fellow brings new depths and vibrancy to ISD’s mission to bridge the academic and practitioner’s worlds, “ Ambassador Bodine noted. “We are so grateful to the generosity of a member of the ISD Board of Advisers for making this fellowship possible.”
Founded in 1978, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, an integral part of the Walsh School of Foreign Service, brings together diplomats, other practitioners, scholars, and students from across and beyond Georgetown University to explore global challenges and the evolving demands of diplomatic statecraft, to better understand the nexus of theory and practice, and to enhance and expand an appreciation of the role of diplomacy as a critical element in national policy formulation and implementation.