Join UNC Global Affairs and UNCMUNC XVI — Carolina’s Collegiate Model United Nations Conference — for a Diplomatic Discussion with U.S. Ambassador (ret.) Linda Thomas-Greenfield. During this conversation, Amb. Thomas-Greenfield will reflect on her lifetime of service to the country, including as ambassador to the United Nations, ambassador to Liberia, assistant secretary of state for African affairs and director general of the Foreign Service. Professor Jennifer Davis will moderate the conversation, focusing on Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s distinguished career in the U.S. Department of State and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Thursday, Oct. 9
5:30 p.m. (doors open at 4:45 p.m.)
The Great Hall, Frank Porter Graham Student Union

Plan to attend? Let us know! CLE credit is available.

The Diplomatic Discussion speaker series is part of Carolina’s Diplomacy Initiative, which introduces students to shared global challenges and provides them opportunities to practice skills necessary to address those challenges. In 2025, UNC Global Affairs launched the Carolina Diplomacy Fellows for students interested in deepening their engagement with the Diplomacy Initiative.

Read more about Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Linda Thomas-Greenfield served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, as well as the U.S. Representative in the UN Security Council from 2021-2025.  During her tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas-Greenfield was a member of President Biden’s Cabinet, and sat on the National Security Council. Prior to this, she headed the State Department’s transition team for the Biden Administration. 

As a career diplomat, Thomas-Greenfield has had a wide range of assignments. From 2013 to 2017, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, where she led U.S. policy development for sub-Saharan Africa. She previously served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources, overseeing the State Department’s workforce. Her notable Foreign Service roles include Ambassador to Liberia (2008-2012) and postings in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. In Washington, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs and as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. 

After retiring in 2017, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield led the Africa Practice at Albright Stonebridge Group and was a Distinguished Resident Fellow in African Studies at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, where she also pursued doctoral studies. Her honors include a Presidential Rank Award, Secretary Distinguished Service Award plus numerous other awards. She has honorary doctorates from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Liberia.