Aurelia Erskine Brazeal

Biographical Information

"Ambassador Rea Brazeal had a distinguished career as a U.S. diplomat, retiring in 2008 after serving 41 years. Ambassador Brazeal is the first African-American woman career foreign service officer to be promoted into the U.S. Senior Foreign Service and to be appointed an Ambassador.

"She served as U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya and first U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia. She also was the first Dean of the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute and is a former Diplomat-In-Residence at Howard University.

"In addition, Ambassador Brazeal was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific with policy responsibility for 24 countries plus the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an organization and the ASEAN Regional Forum, the premier security/political body for Southeast Asia.

"In the course of her career, Ambassador Brazeal received several honor awards including Superior Honor, Performance Pay and Presidential Performance. She is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ambassador Brazeal received the Department's prestigious Ambassador-level Cobb Award for Initiative and Success in Trade Development. She was a member of the Advisory Boards for the Morehouse College Andrew Young Center for International Affairs and the Institute for International Public Policy, which addresses the lack of diversity in the Foreign Service. She currently is President of the Association of Black American Ambassadors."

• Ex Officio Board member, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training