Representing a Nation: Women in Diplomacy
The GW Women’s Leadership Program is proud to present Representing a Nation: Women in Diplomacy as our 25th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference panel. Diplomats from around the world will speak to their experiences of leadership, advocacy, and initiative on the international stage.
Please join us on Thursday, April 3rd from 6:00 - 8:30 pm to hear from these extraordinary women. This event is open to all GW students, faculty, staff and alumni. Please fill out this form to indicate your interest!
This discussion will offer a unique window into the lives and careers of women who have shaped global diplomacy. The conversation will explore the inspiring journeys that led these women to the highest levels of international service, as well as the challenges they faced along the way — from navigating male-dominated spaces to representing their countries during moments of global crisis. Through their stories, attendees will gain hopeful, practical insights on leadership, resilience, and the importance of diverse voices in diplomacy.
Meet the Panelists
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley is a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. A thirty-year diplomat, Abercrombie-Winstanley served as the US ambassador to the Republic of Malta and is the person to serve longest in the role. Through a series of senior positions that included advising the commander of US cyber forces on US foreign-policy priorities, expanding US counterterrorism partners and programs as deputy coordinator for counterterrorism, and coordinating the largest evacuation of US citizens from a war zone since World War II, her professional life has played out almost daily in international media.
Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins
Bonnie Denise Jenkins is an American diplomat who served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security in the Biden Administration. During the Obama administration, she was the U.S. Department of State's coordinator for threat reduction programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. She is currently the Shapiro Visiting Professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.
The Shapiro Professorship, created in 1992 by the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Foundation, aims to bring in high-level professionals to teach at the Elliott School, offering students a chance to learn from those who have accomplished extraordinary work throughout their careers.
Ambassador Piper Campbell
Piper Anne Wind Campbell is a professor of practice and former American diplomat. She was the 9th U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia. From June to December 2018, Campbell was the Chargé d'affaires ad interim at the United States Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. She is the inaugural Chair of the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security at American University's School of International Service, directing its US Foreign Policy and National Security (USFP) as well as International Affairs Policy and Analysis (IAPA) graduate programs.
Moderator - Dean Alyssa Ayres
Alyssa Ayres was appointed dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University effective February 1, 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the role of permanent dean at the school. Ayres is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. From 2013 to 2021, she was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where she remains an adjunct senior fellow.