In April 2009, Melanne Verveer became the first-ever United States ambassador-at-large for global women's issues — a position she held for more than four years before joining Georgetown University as the executive director of the Institute for Women, Peace and Security.
What can the ambassadorship, now held by Catherine M. Russell, achieve given its “soft” power approach and limited funding?
“I think that we were able to really begin to push the envelope in a significant way” by integrating women’s issues within the overall policy agenda of the State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Verveer said during a recent interview with Devex Impact reporter Adva Saldinger.
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About the author
Rolf RosenkranzRolfRosenkranz
Rolf Rosenkranz has worked as a Global Editor for Devex. Previously, Rolf was managing editor at Inside Health Policy, a subscription-based news service in Washington. He has reported from Africa for the Johannesburg-based Star and its publisher, Independent News & Media, as well as the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, a German daily.
