84 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL job, cleaning the home of a wealthy family, young Ruth Davis was invited to view photos from the family’s vacation abroad. When she expressed her interest in one day experiencing such scenic places overseas for herself, she was told: “These places are not for people like you.” With that, she became determined that she would, indeed, see these places. Setting Her Sights During undergraduate studies at Spelman College, Davis received a prestigious Merrill Scholarship to study and travel abroad for 15 months in Europe. While traveling within Europe and the Middle East, she met several young African students interested in nation-building in their newly independent countries. Davis set her professional sights on a career that would give her the opportunity to work with these bright and excited individuals, which led her to the U.S. Foreign Service. After earning a master’s degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1968, Davis entered the Foreign Service in 1969 and undertook consular assignments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Japan, and Italy. During her assignment as consul general in Barcelona (19871991), Davis’ entrepreneurial prowess began to take shape. Through her work on the U.S. Olympic Committee for Barcelona’s 1992 Summer Games, she was able to provide support to Atlanta’s bid to host the 1996 Summer Games. Atlanta won, and the games were brought to her hometown, placing it squarely on the international stage. Her dream from her experience abroad, to help her African interlocutors build economic, social, and political democratic pillars, was realized during her tour as ambassador to Benin (1992-1995). In addition to democracy building, she focused particularly on supporting education for girls. In each of her overseas assignments except Japan, both her parents visited her. Sister Eugenia, late brother-in-law Jeff, niece Malaika, and nephew Austin joined her in visits to Benin and Barcelona, broadening their world perspectives. As her mother often said: “We showed Ruth the United States, and she showed us the world.” Leadership and Training With Amb. Davis’ return to Washington, D.C., her iconic status would be solidified and embraced. At a table in the State Department cafeteria, Amb. Davis met with Dr. Tom Rowe of the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Shortly thereafter, in 1997, Dr. Rowe established the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP), and Amb. Davis served as a steadfast senior adviser for nearly 30 years. Each year, a talented group of aspiring mid-level officers from government and members of nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, and academia would descend on the Aspen Institute in Colorado for a week of career development, engagement with senior advisers, participation in one-on-one mentoring sessions, and networking. The highlight of each annual session was Amb. Davis’ rousing, inspirational, and strategic speech and the engaging question and answer session that followed. Since its inception, 930 ICAP fellows have completed the program and have organically formed peer-to-peer mentoring support across disciplines. As the first Black director of the Foreign Service Institute (1997-2001), Amb. Davis established the School of Leadership and Management to develop a curriculum that could be used between Foreign Service officer assignments with a focus on leading people, leading change, taking language training, and managing resources. These efforts looked to ensure that the State Department retained a skilled workforce prepared for the future. With the arrival of Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2001, Amb. Davis’ vision was advanced. Powell made leadership and management training mandatory for both Foreign and Civil Service staff. Shortly after Powell’s arrival, President George W. Bush nominated Amb. Davis as Director General of the Foreign Service (2001-2003), the first Black woman to hold this position. MICHAEL GROSS Ambassador Ruth A. Davis attends the Thursday Luncheon Group’s Black History Month program on March 2, 2015, in Washington, D.C., where civil rights icon and U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.) was the keynote speaker. From left: Macon Phillips, Stacy D. Williams, former Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom, Lewis, Davis, and Andrew Aydin.
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