The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

26 SEPTEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FSJ: You joined the Foreign Service after getting a B.A. from Spelman College and an M.A. from the U.C., Berkeley School of Social Work. Did you see a connection then, and do you see one now, between social work and diplomacy? RAD: Yes, there is a strong connection between social work and diplomacy. Social work is about help- ing and protecting people; it promotes change, devel- opment and the empower- ment of people to address life’s challenges—it’s about social change at the individual and community level. I entered the Foreign Service as a consular officer, and one of my mandates was the welfare and protection of American citizens abroad. That cov- ers a lot of ground—from registering American citizens’ births to handling estate issues and many overseas life issues in between, such as ensuring that American citizens in trouble abroad receive equal treatment under local laws. At the more senior level of the Service I served as U.S. ambas- sador to the Republic of Benin, where I dealt with development issues and encouraged the empowerment of civil society, espe- cially women. Here in America, we automatically depend on efficient services provided by our local and federal government. In developing countries, the challenge is to create or improve the managerial and administrative structures necessary to provide basic public services. A background in social work gave me a leg up in helping the Beninese create the basic structures necessary to build and sustain their democracy. FSJ: Who were your role models coming in? RAD: My most important role models besides my parents, who taught me the value of hard work, integrity and spirituality, were my college and university professors. Dr. Lois Moreland of Spelman, a promoter of overseas experiences for students, supported my selection as a Merrill Scholar. Also, noted sociolo- gist and author Dr. Andrew Billingsley—who I worked for as a research assistant while he was writing his acclaimed work, Black Families in White America —taught me a good deal about writing and research that served me well in the Foreign Service. FSJ: You joined the Foreign Service in 1969. What was it like taking the Foreign Service exam then? Were there other African Americans in your A-100 class? Did you feel wel- come? RAD: Yes, I entered the Service in January 1969. Much like the Pickering and Rangel Fellows , I was a Foreign Affairs Scholar— a program supported by the Ford Foundation that was designed to increase the number of minorities in the Service. I had just finished my studies at the University of California at Berkeley and found Washington and the Foreign Service to have a much more formal atmosphere. I received a warm welcome frommy fellow Georgian and future Director General of the Foreign Service, Edward “Skip” Gnehm. In fact, Skip and I drove down to Georgia on a couple of long weekends and had the occasion to do a sit-in—against my Following a meeting on revamping and strengthening State’s visa anti-fraud procedures in 1996, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Ruth Davis meets with her mentor, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mary Ryan. “ It was like being in the United States with Mr. Washington and Mr. Jefferson, when they were building our country. ” COURTESYOFRUTHA.DAVIS