NICHOLAS KRALEV — Executive Director
Kralev is an author and entrepreneur specializing in the practice of diplomacy. A former Financial Times and Washington Times correspondent, he has witnessed firsthand the conduct of American diplomacy while accompanying four U.S. secretaries of state on their travels around the world — Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. He is the author of America’s Other Army and Diplomats in the Trenches. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
JACK ZETKULIC — Managing Director
A 26-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, Zetkulic has conducted and overseen training for both American and foreign diplomats. He has held more than a dozen diplomatic and other national security positions in Washington and overseas. He has a high level of expertise in both the practice and management of diplomacy, having led embassies as a chargé d’affaires. He is a board member of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
🌐 FACULTY ADVISERS
Ambassador Richard Boucher
Boucher is a retired career ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service, and a professor and senior fellow in international and public affairs at Brown University. He has served as chief State Department spokesman and assistant secretary for public affairs, as well as assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. He is also a former deputy director-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Ambassador William Burns
Burns is the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. A retired career ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service, he also served as undersecretary for political affairs, assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, and ambassador to Russia and Jordan.
Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin
Chamberlin is the president of the Middle East Institute in Washington and a former career diplomat. She served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and Laos, as well as deputy U.N. high commissioner for refugees. She has also held senior positions at the White House and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Ambassador Ryan Crocker
Crocker is a retired career ambassador in the U.S. Foreign Service, a professor at Texas A&M University, and a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. He served as ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. He began his diplomatic career in Iran in 1972 and has also served in Qatar and Egypt.
Ambassador Charles Ford
Ford is a retired career minister in the Foreign Commercial Service, where he held the position of director-general. A former ambassador to Honduras, he has also served in Britain, Spain, Venezuela, Guatemala and Argentina. He is the treasurer of the American Foreign Service Association.
Ambassador William Harrop
Harrop is a former State Department inspector-general and ambassador to Israel, Kenya, Zaire and the Seychelles. During his 39-year Foreign Service career, he also served in Australia, Italy and Belgium, among other countries. He is a former Marine and chairman of the American Foreign Service Association.
Ambassador Ronald Neumann
Neumann is the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, a membership organization of retired ambassadors. A former ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria and Bahrain, he has also served in the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Senegal and Iran. He was deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens
Stephens is a professor at Stanford University and former ambassador to South Korea. In Washington, she has served as acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs and deputy assistant secretary for European affairs. Her other overseas postings include China, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Trinidad and Tobago and North Ireland.
Lynne Weil
Weil is a senior communications professional with experience on Capitol Hill, at the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. She is currently communications director and senior policy adviser to Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Colorado Democrat, and an adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University.
Steven Weisman
Weisman is vice president for publications and communications at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Previously, he worked for more than three decades at The New York Times, where he was White House correspondent and diplomatic correspondent, among other assignments.
Molly Williamson
Williamson is a retired career minister in the U.S. Foreign Service. She has served as deputy assistant secretary at the departments of State, Defense and Commerce, and as senior adviser to the secretary of energy. A former consul-general in Jerusalem, she is currently a scholar at the Middle East Institute.