Harriet Elam-Thomas

Ambassador (ret.) Harriet Elam-Thomas directs the Diplomacy Program at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida. In that capacity, she is shaping a global initiative with education and training for both students and professionals.

From 2003-2005, she served as Diplomat-in-Residence at UCF under the auspices of a national U.S. Department of State program. She was the U.S. Department of State’s official liaison in Central Florida, conducting workshops, providing information on careers, connecting students to internship and scholarship opportunities, and speaking on policy matters.

Until the fall of 2005, she was a Senior Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister. Previously, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal (from 1999-2002); Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Information Agency; Public Affairs Counselor at the American Embassy in Brussels, Belgium; Cultural Attaché at the American Embassy in Athens, Greece; Director of the American Press and Cultural Center in Istanbul, Turkey.

Her numerous awards include The Director General’s Cup for the Foreign Service (the most prestigious honor for former foreign service officers), the U.S. Government’s Superior Honor Award and a Meritorious Honor Award for her work in connection with the first Persian Gulf War. She holds a B.S. in International Business from Simmons College (Massachusetts) and an M.A. in Public Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, as well as four honorary doctorates.

From 2003-2006, she served on the Senior Advisory Group of the United States European Command, which was then headed by General James Jones.

A member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, she currently is on the board of the Cultural Academy for Excellence, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Institute for International Education. In addition to English, she speaks French, Greek and Turkish.

See also

* [http://www.ucfglobalperspectives.org University of Central Florida: Office of Global Perspectives]
* [http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bios/e/8835.htm U.S. Department of State: Harriet L. Elam-Thomas Biography]