How does one become the US Ambassador to the African Union? For Mary Beth Leonard (CAS’84) it started at BU honing her passion for French, economics, and her intrigue with Africa.

Becoming an effective storyteller at home and abroad has served Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard well throughout her distinguished career in foreign service. Having held diplomatic positions in Cameroon, Namibia, Togo, South Africa, Mali and more, Ambassador Leonard has transformed her BU experience into a career dedicated to building a more peaceful and prosperous Africa. She was appointed as the US Ambassador to the African Union in 2016 by President Barack Obama and in her conversation on Proud to BU, Ambassador Leonard shares a behind-the-scenes look at her journey navigating the complexities of international diplomatic relations.

As you heard on the podcast, you can learn more about foreign service through the Department of State at careers.state.gov.

A transcript of this episode is also available. Please note, transcripts may be edited for clarity and do not represent a verbatim record of dialogue.

About the podcast:

The Proud to BU podcast series highlights some of our most interesting and accomplished alumni and how their path to success began at Boston University.

Listen now or find the Proud to BU podcast on YouTube.