(Virtual) Closing Ceremony - 2024 Inaugural Powell Institute Cohort

Join us on Monday, November 4, 2024 at 7pm EDT via zoom for the Powell 2024 Cohort Closing Ceremony for the Colin Powell Leadership Institute. 

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9794618227

Cohort Members and Attendees are encouraged to join on camera if possible and use the zoom virtual background as well as #PowellInstitute for live tweeting. DOWNLOAD ZOOM VIRTUAL BACKGROUND HERE 

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Alex T. Johnson, Deputy Director of U.S. Foreign Policy at the Open Society Foundations

Alex T. Johnson is deputy director of U.S. foreign policy at the Open Society Foundations. Prior, he served as chief of staff to the U.S. Helsinki Commission and senior policy advisor for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations. Johnson is a former Obama Administration appointee at the Department of Defense where he served as special advisor for Russia/Ukraine External Affairs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy). In this role, he coordinated public affairs, strategic communication, and congressional engagements supporting the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Johnson served from 2007 to 2015 as a policy advisor at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, where he advised bicameral and bipartisan contributions to parliamentary diplomacy. His service included almost four years as representative of the Helsinki Commission at the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna, Austria. Prior to his service at the Helsinki Commission, he was a Congressional Black Caucus fellow in Chairman Hasting’s office and a consultant for local government initiatives in Portland and Corvallis, Oregon. Johnson received his BS in natural resources and MPP from Oregon State University.

Amb. Harriet Elam-Thomas

Harriet L. Elam-Thomas was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal on November 23, 1999, and was approved as Chief of Mission to Guinea-Bissau on June 19, 2001. Ambassador Elam-Thomas is a Senior Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister.

Following a four-year assignment as Cultural Attache at the American Embassy in Athens, she returned to Washington as Country Affairs Officer for Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus. Earlier U.S. assignments have included the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the President's Appointments Office at the White House, and Career Counselor for Foreign Service Personnel. Other posts abroad have included France, Senegal, Mali, and the Ivory Coast.

In July 1994, she completed a four-year tour as Director of the American Press and Cultural Center at the American Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. She participated in the Department of State's 37th Senior Seminar, the premier global affairs leadership program in the U.S. Government. In September 1995, Ms. Elam-Thomas began a four-year tour as Counselor for Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Brussels, Belgium. In September 1997, she was called back to Washington to become the Counselor of USIA, the most senior career Foreign Service position in the U.S. Information Agency, and on February 1, 1999, she gained the additional duties of Acting Deputy Director of USIA. (USIA became part of the Department of State on October 1, 1999.)

At the end of her Athens tour, she received the U.S. Government's Superior Honor Award for improving U.S.-Greek cultural relations and a similar award from the Piraeus Cultural Association in Greece. In June 1988, Simmons College presented her the Alumnae Achievement Award. On June 5, 1991, she received USIA's Lois Roth Award for Excellence in Informational and Cultural Diplomacy. She has been a recipient of a Group Superior and Meritorious Honor Award for her work in connection with the Persian Gulf War; a special Achievement Award for President Bush's 1991 visit to Turkey; and Secretary Christopher's 1993 and June 1994 visits to Turkey. In February 1993, the Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel presented her an award from the Turkish Educational and Cultural Foundation for improving U.S.-Turkish cultural relations. On May 21, 2000, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. She received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Richmond -The American International University in London on May 10, 2001.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Elam-Thomas holds a B.S. in International Business from Simmons College and an M.A. in Public Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University. She speaks Turkish, Greek, and French.

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The Colin Powell Leadership Institute was founded in 2024 by Black Professionals in International Affairs with the mission to prepare, inspire, and empower mid-career professionals for the senior ranks through: leadership development training, leadership salon dinners, media trainings, White House and think tanks policy briefings, and amplifying engagements featuring mid-career professionals. 

The Ceremony is open to the general public. There are 100 virtual spots available and attendees will be let in the virtual ceremony on a first-come-frst serve basis. This event will be recorded. 

For more information on the Institute, please visit www.iabpia.org/powell-leadership-institute or email powellinstitute@iabpia.org.