Barbara Stephenson

Amb. Barbara Stephenson, a former U.S. ambassador, is the inaugural vice provost for global affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A global thinker and strategist, Amb. Stephenson brings academic experts together with foreign affairs practitioners and other stakeholders to discern trends and find ways to tackle complex global challenges.

During more than 30 years as an American Foreign Service officer, she served as the dean of the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute and as U.S. Ambassador to Panama. She was the first woman to hold the position of chargé d'affaires and deputy ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London, America's largest embassy in Europe. As Deputy Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Rice, Amb. Stephenson earned the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award for her work to stabilize Iraq. As president of the American Foreign Service Association, she conducted a national campaign to make the case that America's global leadership needs American diplomats deployed around the globe, tending alliances, building out agreements, and easing the path for Americans.

Originally from Florida, Amb. Stephenson earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.