February Club Meeting: The Road to Ambassadorship

How much do we know about the workings of the U.S. Department of State? How does someone become an ambassador? What are the job requirements? Answers to these questions and other fascinating facts and information about the role of those who work for the state department will be shared at our next University Park Woman’s Club Zoom meeting on Monday, February 1st, as we welcome special guest, Ambassador Kathleen M. Fitzpatrick. She is the U.S. Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor. She was sworn in on December 22, 2017. Her topic will be “The Road to Ambassadorship.” 

Ambassador Fitzpatrick previously served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). Before joining INR, she served as Chief of Staff in the office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. She has also served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where she worked on human rights, democracy and international religious freedom issues in the Middle East, Latin America, and East Asia. 

In her different roles within the Department of State, she has traveled the world and served under both Republican administrations such as Ronald Regan’s and Democratic ones such as Barack Obama’s. Ambassador Fitzpatrick has held leadership positions in the Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs as Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs and as Director of the Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs. She has served as Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Madrid, as a Political Officer at U.S. Embassy Moscow and the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, as well as Vice Consul in Antwerp, Belgium. 

She has a M.A. in Political Science from Georgetown University and a M.S. in National Security Studies from the United States National War College. She has received the Presidential Rank Award, the Department’s 2017 Arnold L. Raphel Award (for leadership, mentoring and professional development of colleagues), and a number of Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State. Her languages include Spanish, Russian, Dutch, French, and some Arabic. We look forward to hearing of her many adventures and insights.