What Diplomats Do and Why It Still Matters

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Talk-About Event with Ambassador Barbara Stephenson. We had a wonderful evening in which Ambassador Stephenson shared her work with the State Department, Members of Congress, the foreign affairs agencies and others involved in the foreign policy process dedicated to advocating for a strong and compelling U.S. diplomatic presence in the world. She explained how diplomacy and leadership abroad keep Americans safe and prosperous at home at a very minimum cost. She also stressed the importance of citizen, cultural and public diplomacy in San Diego in laying the ground for a successful American diplomacy overseas. When citizens and organizations in San Diego engage with foreign visitors in the U.S. through events, hospitality and exchange programs, the conversations they have and relationship they build, create a lasting positive impression, which impacts relations between the U.S. and other countries. She told us about her work as Deputy Senior Adviser to the Secretary and Deputy Coordinator for Iraq (2006-2008), and how she developed and implemented the “civilian surge” that helped improve governance and reduce violence in Iraq’s provinces.

Thank you to Ambassador Barbara Stephenson and Dean Haas for speaking at our event, as well as our sponsors and partners, including the San Diego World Affairs Council, World Trade Center San Diego, the Charles Hostler Institute on World Affairs at SDSU, and the City of San Diego’s International Affairs Board.

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