The Honorable Ruth A. Davis
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Biography
Ambassador Davis was born in 1943 and received a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) from Spelman College and a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. During her 40-year career in the Foreign Service, she served as chief of staff in the Africa Bureau (2005-2009), distinguished advisor for international affairs at Howard University (2003-2005), director general of the Foreign Service, director of human resources (2001-2003), director of the Foreign Service Institute (1997-2001), principal deputy assistant secretary for consular affairs (1995-1997), ambassador to the Republic of Benin (1992-1995), consul general in Barcelona (1987-1991), and a consular officer in nations around the globe.
Ambassador Davis established the Foreign Service Institute’s School of Leadership and Management in 1999, improved crisis management instruction and training for Locally Employed Staff, and led the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative that boosted Foreign Service hiring. She has also helped increase diversity in the Foreign Service, particularly as president and adviser to the Thursday Luncheon Group.
Since her retirement in 2009, Ambassador Davis has served as the chair (and a founding member) of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge, an organization devoted to promoting women’s economic empowerment by creating an international network of businesswomen. She also chairs the selection committee for the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship at Howard University’s Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center, where she helps to oversee the annual selection process. Finally, as vice president of the Association of Black American Ambassadors, she participates in activities involving the recruitment, preparation, hiring, retention, mentoring, and promotion of minority Foreign Service employees.
Davis currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Diplomacy Center Foundation, the Senior Seminar Alumni Association, and the Advisory Council of the Foreign Service Youth Foundation. She is vice president of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs, president of the International Mission of Mercy, USA, and chair of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge. She also acts as a senior adviser to the Thursday Luncheon Group and the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) at the University of Denver, where she serves annually as a counselor and speaker and was honored with ICAP’s first Diversity Award for visionary leadership and fostering diversity within foreign affairs. Finally, Davis is a member of the American Foreign Service Association and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
Davis, a career ambassador, has received the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award, the Arnold L. Raphel Memorial Award, the Equal Employment Opportunity Award, the Secretary of State’s Achievement Award, the Director General’s Foreign Service Cup, two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards, and an honorary doctorate of law from Middlebury and Spelman Colleges. She was named to the Economist’s 2015 Global Diversity List as one of the Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, and she is a recipient of The Foreign Service Association’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.