Frances D. Cook

Ms. Frances D. Cook "graduated from the College in 1967. Having been one of our very first graduates to pass successfully the very difficult State Department Foreign Service examination, Ambassador Cook began her foreign service career in Paris where she was a special assistant to Sargent Shriver, then U.S. ambassador to France. In 1970, she became a member of the U.S. delegation to the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam. It was during this period in her life that she became acquainted with some of the legendary American diplomats of the 20th century such as Ambassadors Philip Habib and David K. Bruce of Virginia."

"A former U.S. ambassador to Burundi, to Cameroon and to the Sultanate of Oman, Ambassador Cook also held numerous senior positions in the Department of State, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Programs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Consul General in Alexandria, Egypt, and Director for West Africa. She transitioned to the private sector in May 1999, where she runs an international business consulting firm, The Ballard Group llc. Ambassador Cook currently serves on the boards of Alliant Techsystems (NYSE) and Global Options Group (NASDAQ), and the Corporate Council on Africa. She is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She was educated at the Universities of Virginia and Harvard, and resides in Washington, D.C"


 * Chair, Lonrho plc
 * Director, Arlington Associates
 * Trustee, EnterpriseWorks Worldwide

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 * GlobalOptions, Inc.