PRESS RELEASE November 10, 2014 Contact: Thomas V. Murray tmurray@murraylawyers P: (508) 754-4900 United States Ambassador to Visit Worcester Public Schools The Worcester Educational Development Foundation’s (WEDF) Distinguished Alumni and Friends of the Worcester Public Schools Awards are being presented on Monday, November 10, 2014. Included among the honorees is Worcester Public Schools graduate and former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Mali, Mary Beth Leonard. Ambassador Leonard will be visiting and speaking to students at Doherty Memorial High School on November 13th and South High School on November 17th. Leonard recalls that she first learned about the Foreign Service reading the brochure about the exam at Doherty. “I’m not only grateful to the WEDF for recognizing my 26 year (and counting) diplomatic career, but I now have a job where my duties are to help people learn about career opportunities with the State Department, so I can introduce others to the path of adventure and discovery that is the Foreign Service.” This annual awards event recognizes former students of the Worcester Public Schools who have distinguished themselves in their chosen career pathways. Stephen Pitcher, WEDF President, said, We are proud to honor the distinguished alumni who received their educational foundation in the Worcester Public Schools and have gone on to excel in their respective fields. WEDF is pleased to be the catalyst for Ambassador Leonard’s visit with our students. This will be a phenomenal learning opportunity and also serves as an example of what WEDF is really about – helping students and teachers thrive. Past U.S. Ambassador to Mali Mary Beth Leonard who grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, is currently the U.S. Department of State’s “Diplomat in Residence” for New England, a recruiting function for Foreign and Civil Service positions and student programs with the State Department, based at Tufts University. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali from 2011 until September of this year. In that role, she received the State Department’s Diplomacy for Human Rights Award in 2013, which annually recognizes a U.S. Chief of Mission who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to defending human rights and advancing democratic principles in his or her host country. Her assignments prior to being Ambassador were as Director for West African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Bamako, Mali. After joining the State Department in 1988, Ambassador Leonard served overseas as an economic and consular officer in Yaoundé, Cameroon; Windhoek, Namibia; and Lome, Togo. She also worked in the Department’s Operations Center and in its Office of Central African Affairs. She then served as political and economic officer in Cape Town, South Africa and thereafter as Deputy Chief of Mission in Paramaribo, Suriname. A 1980 graduate of Doherty Memorial High School, Ambassador Leonard graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Boston University, with a major in economics and minor in French. In 1988, she earned a master’s degree in international relations, with an emphasis on African studies, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. In 2004, she graduated from the U.S. Naval War College with distinction.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:54:06 +0000
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