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Topic

The State of the State Department: Reforming U.S. Diplomacy

Description

Under the Trump Administration, the State Department took a public hammering: funding cuts of up to a third were proposed, diversity in top positions has been practically nonexistent, more than a third of top-tier positions went vacant or were filled by acting officials, and seven percent of the Department's staff left in one year. Yet, the issues the State Department faces have roots that predate the Trump Administration. What should be the mission and mandate of U.S. diplomacy for the coming decades? And how can reforms help the State Department achieve that vision? Tune in on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at 12:00 PM to listen to distinguished panelists discuss those questions. We will be joined by Ambassador Marcie Ries, Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center's Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School; Elizabeth Shackelford, Former U.S. Diplomat and Non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute; and Chris Richardson, Former U.S. Diplomat. Immigration attorney, and Co-Founder of Argo Visa.

Time

Jan 6, 2021 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Message preview	Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Jan 6, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: The State of the State Department: Reforming U.S. Diplomacy Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KM6C0awzRluHr7bsbfXgVw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers Ambassador Marcie Ries (Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project @Harvard Kennedy School) Ambassador (Ret.) Marcie Ries is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project. She is also a Senior Advisor in the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute Leadership and Management School. During thirty-seven years of diplomatic service, she served in Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. She is a three-time Chief of Mission, serving as Head of the U.S. Office Pristina, Kosovo (2003-2004); as United States Ambassador to Albania (2004-2007); and, most recently (2012-2015), as United States Ambassador to Bulgaria. Ambassador Ries is a graduate of Oberlin College and holds a Masters Degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is a graduate of the State Department’s Senior Seminar and the Department of Defense Pinnacle Course and is a recipient of the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Civilian Service Medal and a Presidential Meritorious Service Award. Elizabeth Shackelford (Non-Resident Fellow @Quincy Institute) Elizabeth Shackelford is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute and an independent consultant. She was a career diplomat with the State Department until December 2017, when she resigned in protest of the Trump administration. Her resignation letter was the first to draw widespread attention to the declining state of diplomacy under Trump. She is the author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age (2020), which shows firsthand that the crisis in our foreign policy predates current efforts to sideline the diplomatic corps. As a Foreign Service Officer, Shackelford served in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Poland, and Washington, D.C., analyzing information on political and conflict developments, advising Mission and Washington leadership, and advocating for U.S. interests with foreign counterparts. For her work in South Sudan, Shackelford received the Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence, the Department’s highest honor for consular work. Christopher Richardson (Former U.S. Diplomat ) Chris Richardson is a former U.S. Diplomat, prominent immigration attorney, and Co-Founder of the world’s leading remote video immigration consulting technology company, Argo Visa LLC. Richardson served in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Spain as a Consular Officer. He was an American Citizens Services Chief, a visa officer, Deputy Nonimmigrant Visas Chief, Acting Nonimmigrant Visas Chief for the largest visa post in Africa (Lagos, Nigeria), Immigrant Visas Chief, and a Deputy Consular Section Chief. A native of South Carolina, Richardson serves on the Board of Directors for Upstate Forever (an environmental group), Upstate International, and the Hispanic Alliance. He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law and graduated summa cum laude from Emory University in 2003. He is also the co-author of the Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement (2014) and lectured on the American Civil Rights Movement at universities and colleges across the globe.

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