The Program: “America’s Diplomats”
Produced by the Foreign Policy Association, “America’s Diplomats” takes you inside the Foreign Service and behind the scenes of US Foreign Policy. It describes the important role that our diplomats play in shaping American history. The film is followed by commentary and discussion with our expert panel, including Ambassador William H. Itoh, Ambassador Vicki Huddleston and Mr. Ken Chavez, Diplomat in Residence at the University of New Mexico.

Panel: Ambassador William H. Itoh served as U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and as Executive Secretary of the National Security Council at the White House. His overseas tours also included the U.S. Embassy in London and as U.S. Consul General in Perth, Western Australia. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a BA & MA in History.

Panel: Ambassador Vicki Huddleston served as U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar, U.S. Ambassador to Mali, and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim to Ethiopia. She also served as Principal Officer of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and Deputy Chief of Mission in Haiti. She earned a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from the University of Colorado.

Panel: Ken Chavez is the State Department’s Diplomat in Residence at UNM. He joined the Foreign Service in 2004 and was most recently the Deputy Consul General at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua. Ken attended the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a BA and MA in English and Creative Writing.