2021 Black History Month Program “Sitting at the Head of the U.S. Diplomatic Table: Black American Ambassadors Speak”

2021 Black History Month Program “Sitting at the Head of the U.S. Diplomatic Table: Black American Ambassadors Speak”

Thursday, February 25, 2021 | 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm  ET

Join BPIA and partners for a distinguished panel of Black American Ambassadors on February 25, 2021 at 12:00 pm ET in celebration of Black History Month. ABAA Senior Advisor, Dr. Carlton McLellan will moderate the discussion and provide remarks on his research on the contributions and history of Black American Ambassadors. Our guest speakers will share their career journeys as well as thoughts on the current state of Black leadership in diplomacy and international affairs. There will also be a Q&A to follow. 

PANELISTS 

• Carlton McLellan, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA), Moderator
• Amb. Dereck J. Hogan,  U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova
• Amb. (ret.) Reuben Brigety, Former US Ambassador to the African Union and Assistant Secretary, Current Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee
• Amb. (ret.) Pamela Spratlen; Former U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

EVENT PARTNERS 

Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA)

Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI) 

Thursday Luncheon Group (TLG)

SPEAKER BIOS

Carlton McLellan, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA), Moderator

Carlton McLellan, Ph.D., is a senior diplomacy and international affairs professional and researcher. He holds multiple concurrent positions including as a Senior Fellow at the Association of Black American Ambassadors (ABAA), Senior Advisor to the International Labor Organization’s Office for the United States, and Senior Associate and Founding Director at Global Ties South Africa. At ABAA, Dr. McLellan oversees The American Ambassadors Project, which is the first comprehensive attempt to compile, organize, and report on the lives and contributions of Black Americans who have held the title and rank of U.S. Ambassador. In his 20+ year career he has also worked or consulted at nonprofit, citizen diplomatic-focused agencies such as Global Ties U.S., FHI 360, the Academy for Educational Development (AED), the Institute of International Education (IIE), and Meridian International Center, all managing U.S. Department of State programs; and at multilateral agencies such as the ILO and the World Bank.

Dereck J. Hogan,  U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova

Dereck J. Hogan is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service.  Prior to being sworn in as Ambassador to U.S. Embassy Moldova, he served as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the U.S. Department of State.  Mr. Hogan previously served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires in U.S. Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan.  Mr. Hogan’s other senior positions in the U.S. State Department include Director of the Central European Affairs and Nordic and Baltic Affairs Offices and Senior Advisor to the President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.  He previously served as the U.S. Department of State Representative on two civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Teams in southern and eastern Afghanistan.  His other overseas assignments include Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.  In Washington, Mr. Hogan served as Special Assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell and a Watch Officer in the State Department’s Operations Center.

Mr. Hogan has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master's Degree in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.  He speaks Russian, Spanish, and Romanian.  Mr. Hogan is married to Anny Hogan and they have a daughter named Hannah. 

Amb. (ret.) Reuben Brigety, Former US Ambassador to the African Union and Assistant Secretary, Current Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee

Reuben E. Brigety II is adjunct senior fellow for African peace and security issues at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is also the vice chancellor and president of the University of the South. From 2015 to 2020, he was dean of the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. From 2013 to 2015, Brigety served as the appointed representative of the United States to the African Union and permanent representative of the United States to the UN Economic Commission of Africa, with rank of Ambassador. Prior to these appointments, Brigety served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of African Affairs from November 2011 to September 2013 with responsibility for southern African and regional security affairs.

Amb. (ret.) Pamela Spratlen; Former U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan