The Council of American Ambassadors (CAA) is an association of non-career United States ambassadors. A nonprofit and nonpartisan organization, the CAA comprises over 200 members whose ambassadorial service collectively extends over five decades and eleven U.S. presidents. [1]
CAA supports the Department of State and its Chiefs of Mission, sponsors Fellowships to develop young leaders for careers in public diplomacy and international affairs, and conducts semiannual conferences on current international topics.
The Council convenes roundtable member discussions with Ambassadors to the United States, organizes overseas fact-finding missions, publishes a bi-annual journal, The Ambassadors REVIEW, administers Ambassadors Perspectives, an on-line forum for commentary, and educates the public about foreign policy issues affecting the national interest. [2]
The Council fulfills its mission through its programs, which serve to educate the public about critical foreign policy issues affecting the national interest. Council programs include:
Leadership Development
The Council supports fellowships that foster and develop young leaders in international affairs and public diplomacy.
The International Affairs Fellowship is a prestigious summer program that provides practical training through internships at the Department of State and academic studies in international affairs.
The Public Diplomacy Fellowship combines on-the-job training with academic study and mentoring by former U.S. ambassadors, public diplomacy/public affairs officers and media/communications executives. Its purpose is to enhance the conduct and practice of U.S. public diplomacy through the provision of specialized training and mentoring opportunities. [4]
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the nation's foreign policy and international relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations. The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.
A chargé d'affaires, plural chargés d'affaires, often shortened to chargé (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to charge-D, is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is French for "charged with business", meaning they are responsible for the duties of an ambassador. Chargé is masculine in gender; the feminine form is chargée d'affaires.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an executive department of the Government of Japan, and is responsible for the country's foreign policy and international relations.
Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.
The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) is a non-profit educational organization of graduate schools of international affairs, with 40 members and 26 affiliates around the world.
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington. FSI provides more than 800 courses—including up to 70 foreign languages—to more than 225,000 enrollees a year from the U.S. Department of State and more than 50 other government agencies and the military service branches. FSI is based at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia.
A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic missions, though some receive assignments to serve at combatant commands, Congress, and educational institutions such as the various U.S. war colleges.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked to contribute to the enhancement of national security and the protection of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty, to participate in the national endeavor of sustaining development and enhancing the Philippines' competitive edge, to protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos overseas and to mobilize them as partners in national development, to project a positive image of the Philippines, and to increase international understanding of Philippine culture for mutually-beneficial relations with other countries.
The Elliott School of International Affairs is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It is highly ranked in international affairs and is the largest school of international relations in the United States.
The American Academy of Diplomacy is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, elected organization whose active membership is limited to men and women who have held positions of high responsibility in crafting and implementing American foreign policy. They have served the United States as chiefs of mission in major embassies abroad, and/or equivalent high-level foreign policy positions in Washington.
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program is a graduate school fellowship program that provides funding for graduate students as they prepare academically and professionally to enter the U.S. Foreign Service.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is in charge of the country's foreign relations, as well as handling matters related to overseas Korean nationals. It was established on 17 July 1948.
The Pacific Council on International Policy is an independent, non-partisan, membership-based organization dedicated to global engagement. Founded in 1995 in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations and the University of Southern California, the Pacific Council is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its activities include events and conferences, policy-focused task forces, and international delegations.
The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is an Australian Government statutory agency in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio, reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ACIAR was established under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982 (Cth),(the ACIAR Act), as amended, to assist and encourage Australian agricultural scientists to use their skills to identify and find solutions to agricultural problems of developing countries.
Earl Anthony Wayne is an American diplomat. Formerly Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Ambassador to Argentina and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wayne served nearly four years as Ambassador to Mexico. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in August, 2011. He departed Mexico City for Washington July 31, 2015 and retired from the State Department on September 30, 2015. Wayne attained the highest rank in the U.S. diplomatic service: Career Ambassador. He is currently a Diplomat in Residence at American University's School of International Service and works with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Atlantic Council, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and as an independent consultant, speaker and writer. Wayne worked as an adviser for HSBC Latin America on improving management of financial crime risk from 2015 until 2019 and with the American Foreign Service Association from 2017 to 2019.
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) is a nonprofit organization formed by a coalition of American businesses and NGOs, senior national security and foreign policy experts, faith-based and community leaders from across the United States who promote increased support for the United States’ diplomatic and development efforts among both politicians and the public.
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in its masters and doctoral programs. As of 2017, the student body numbered around 230, of whom 36 percent were international students from 70 countries, and around a quarter were U.S. minorities. The school's alumni network numbers over 9,500 in 160 countries, and includes ambassadors, diplomats, foreign ministers, high-ranking military officers, heads of nonprofit organizations, and corporate executives.
Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York (CCNY) is a nonpartisan educational, training, and research center named for its founder, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Retired), a graduate of CCNY. The goals of the Powell School are to build leaders for the common good, promote civic engagement, and strengthen connections between the campus and neighboring communities. The current dean is Andrew Rich.
The Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership organization that encourages dialogue between business and political leaders in different countries. It holds events, briefings and programs for networking and education. Membership comprises more than 200 companies.
The Russian International Affairs Council is a non-profit academic and diplomatic think tank established by the presidential decree dated 2 February 2010. The founders of the RIAC are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Education and Science, Russian Academy of Science, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and Russian news agency Interfax.