The Norman Williams Public Library Presents Elizabeth Shackelford in conversation with Al Alessi in a virtual talk. Free. Advance registration needed.
Register at: https://bit.ly/NWPL_Presents_Elizabeth_Shackelford
Through her story, former career diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford makes policy and politics come alive. And in navigating both American bureaucracy and the fraught history and present of South Sudan, she conveys an urgent message about the devolving state of US foreign policy.
"In these norm-shattering times, we urgently need to examine and learn from mistakes of the past. This beautifully written, personal story exposes uncomfortable truths about the costs of America's foreign policy approach and, without cynicism, offers some hope for a better way forward. —Yara Bayoumy, National Security Editor, The Atlantic
Elizabeth Shackelford is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute and an independent consultant. She was a career diplomat with the State Department until December 2017, when she resigned in protest of the Trump administration. Her resignation letter was the first to draw widespread attention to the declining state of diplomacy under Trump. She is the author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age (2020), which shows firsthand that the crisis in our foreign policy predates current efforts to sideline the diplomatic corps.
As a Foreign Service Officer, Shackelford served in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Poland, and Washington, D.C., analyzing information on political and conflict developments, advising Mission and Washington leadership, and advocating for U.S. interests with foreign counterparts. For her work in South Sudan, Shackelford received the Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence, the Department's highest honor for consular work.
Shackelford's commentary and interviews have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Foreign Policy, NPR, PBS, and MSNBC. She also speaks with community groups, students, and political organizations to raise broader awareness of our foreign policy challenges. She is chair of the Rochester VT Democratic Committee and a member of the Emerge VT 2019 class. Born and raised in Mississippi, Shackelford now resides in Rochester, VT.
Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tI1bWNjkSNO6pHALU9GR1Q
Meg Brazill
Norman Williams Public Library
802.457.2295 / programs@normanwilliams.org