News Brief

2019-2020 Kathryn W. Davis Public Diplomacy Fellows

The Council welcomes Kahina Robinson and Mike Pryor as they begin their Public Diplomacy Fellowship.

 

The Council of American Ambassadors is delighted to announce Kahina Robinson and Mike Pryor have officially started the 2019-2020 Kathryn W. Davis Public Diplomacy Fellowship program this week. The Public Diplomacy Fellowship combines on-the-job training with academic study and mentoring by former United States 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 for junior Public Diplomacy officers.

 

Kahina is a staff assistant at the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. From 2016-2018, she worked as a Watch Officer/Senior Watch Officer in the Operations Center – the State Department’s 24/7 communications and crisis management center.  Previously, she served as the Cultural Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassy Niamey, Niger, and as a Consular Officer in Brasilia, Brazil. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2011, she worked in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network at the World Bank. Kahina holds a BA in anthropology from Yale, an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, and studied at Fundação Gétulio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas São Paulo.  Kahina is originally from Washington, D.C., and speaks Portuguese and French.

 

Mike is the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Lome, Togo, where he designs and implements country-wide public diplomacy strategies to advance U.S. foreign policy goals. Mike received a Meritorious Honor Award in 2018 for his efforts to use public diplomacy to promote reconciliation and healing in the violence-scarred city of Sokode, and was also nominated for the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy. He previously served as the American Citizen Services Chief in Nairobi, Kenya, and the Deputy Public Affairs Officer in Vientiane, Laos. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mike spent six years as a public Affairs specialist in the U.S. Army.  He deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan as a military reporter, and in 2008 he received the Paul Savanuck Award, the Army’s highest award for journalistic excellence. From 2000 to 2001 Mike was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston College. 

Date Posted

Jul 1, 2019