Ducks of Impact: Alumni working in diplomacy

By April Miller, UO Alumni Association assistant director of marketing and communications, and Sage Kiernan-Sherrow, MA ’21 (journalism), UO Alumni Association writer/editor

Terence McCulley, BA ’79 (history, French)

Former US Ambassador to Mali, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire; current Senior Managing Director at McLarty Associates and Chairman of US-Nigeria Council for Food Security, Trade and Investment

Terence McCulley is a retired member of the US Senior Foreign Service whose impressive career has spanned nearly four decades and largely focused on Western and Central Africa.

McCulley served as US ambassador to Mali (2005–2008), Nigeria (2010–2013), and Côte d'Ivoire (2013–2016), as well as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at US embassies in Togo, Senegal, Tunisia, and Denmark. He also worked on Central African affairs during the Rwanda genocide, coordination of reconstruction efforts in Iraq, and in other diplomatic roles in India, South Africa, Chad, and Niger. He received four Department of State Superior Honor Awards and was decorated as a commander of the national orders of Mali and Côte d'Ivoire by the countries’ presidents.

Today, McCulley works as a senior managing director at McLarty Associates, a global strategy firm based in Washington, DC. In this role, he leads the firm’s Africa practice, helping clients navigate Sub-Saharan Africa’s markets. He also serves as the chair of the US-Nigeria Council for Food Security, Trade and Investment, an organization dedicated to strengthening business ties between the two countries.

When appointed to chair the US-Nigeria Council in 2018, McCulley said, “Nigeria is an indispensable destination for US investment; the country represents the largest market in Africa with over 180 million consumers and it is attracting an increasing number of US corporations. USNC is doing important work in focusing on deal execution and I am excited to be a part of the team,” in an interview with Nigerian newspaper, the Guardian.

An Oregon native, McCulley earned his bachelor’s degree in European history and French from the UO in 1979.

Katherine Von Ofenheim, BA ’12 (geography, international studies)

Foreign Service Officer at US Department of State

Katherine Von Ofenheim boasts a background in education and youth leadership which later translated into a career in program development for universities and nonprofits with a focus on the Middle East.

Her interest in public policy and the Middle East began at the UO after she chose Arabic to fulfill the language requirement for her international studies program. During her sophomore year, Von Ofenheim traveled to Bahrain to lead youth programs and developed a love for travel which inspired her to spend a semester abroad in Jordan and, later, to intern at an Arab women’s rights organization in Israel. A subsequent experience in Cairo, post-revolution, prompted her to write her senior thesis: “Historical Context for the Responses of the Syrian and Egyptian Armies during the Arab Spring.”

Following graduation from the UO, Von Ofenheim taught at the West Bank, worked with civil society organizations in Tunisia, ran programs for independent artists in Egypt, promoted women entrepreneurship through youth programming, consulted on countering violent extremism, and coordinated humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees in Turkey. In 2021, she was part of a major effort to evacuate foreign citizens and vulnerable populations from Afghanistan after its governmental collapse.

Now, after a short stint as the Near East summer analyst for the US Department of State in 2019, Von Ofenheim has returned to the organization as a foreign service officer living in DC, but her feet won’t stay on US soil for long. Her bio for the Oregon Episcopal School website reports she’s ready to head overseas again, excited for the new adventures and challenges that await.

Bao Le, BA ’01 (history)

International Liaison Officer; International Affairs, Political and Technology Advisor: US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea

Bao Le was in his senior year at the UO when he received the invitation to join the Peace Corps and begin his extensive career representing the United States overseas.

As a former refugee from Vietnam, Le saw the invitation as an opportunity to serve and represent his adopted country. In Burkina Faso, West Africa, Le worked as a health sanitation volunteer, educating locals about parasites and diseases while learning how to live minimally and make meaningful connections. Later, he backpacked across seventeen African countries while participating in his second session in the Corps, this time in Chad where Le acted as an English teacher and soccer coach.  

Le believes his time in the Corps directly impacted his desire to become a diplomat and his efficiency within his role today. After leaving the Corps, Le worked his way up through US government agencies, beginning in defense and space manufacturing before transitioning into IT and security management for the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Defense. His shift into diplomacy at the US Embassy in Seoul represents the latest in his quest to represent his adopted home country while advocating for peace across the globe.  

Now, Le works closely with an international team to craft strategies and identify opportunities that improve technology collaboration and bilateral cooperation. It’s an extremely people-centered role, and Le has immense respect for every member of his team who brings their own unique skills and ideas which streamline the diplomatic process.  

“International relations can, of course, occur at any level, but the most effective ones are built at dinner tables and over coffees and not so much in our office space,” Le said.   

Soon, Le will be relocating to Washington, DC, but he will return with a whole new perspective and continue using his skills to strengthen the USA’s seventy-year alliance with South Korea.  

Sarah Wardwell, BS ’05 (biology)

Foreign Service Officer at US Department of State

Sometimes, feeling adrift post-graduation is what drives people to take big risks that pay off. Just ask Sarah Wardwell, a foreign service officer with nearly a decade of experience in the field.  

Uncertain about the career path she wanted to take and inspired by a cultural anthropology class she’d taken at the UO, Wardwell joined the Peace Corps where she served in Guinea before its political climate became unstable. Her experiences there drove her to get her master's degree in political science before joining Mercy Corps, where she built a name for herself through designing and implementing programming for Western and Central African nations challenged by conflict and climate crises.  

Wardwell’s transition into diplomacy with the US Department of State allowed her to apply her background in science and communications to champion US relations with Indonesia and the Dominican Republic, while also using her passion for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to launch several DEIA initiatives with the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA). She created the first internal policy for reporting sexual assault and the first podcast for the CA and was instrumental in creating a DEIA small funding program that is pioneering changes around the world. Wardwell has served on three different task forces and earned numerous awards for her dedication to excellence including the Superior Honor Award and multiple Meritorious Honor and Franklin Honor Awards. 

In 2020, Wardwell’s assignment in the Dominican Republic abruptly ended due to COVID-19 and after packing her belongings to relocate to her husband’s hometown of Ashland, Oregon, Wardwell was confronted with yet another challenge: the Almeda fire. Immediately, she felt called to action. Wardwell helped the communities of Southern Oregon set up a citizen liaison volunteer network similar to those that consular sections coordinate overseas. Inspired by her experiences in Southern Oregon, Wardwell has opted to remain in the community, where she’s currently working with the Director General’s Innovation Unit to modernize the foreign service. Wardwell plans to continue partnering with the Hometown Diplomat Program and local organizations such as GlobalPDX to bring awareness to the foreign service and encourage people to become involved at a local level. 

Tom Hanson, BA ’80 (marketing)

Commercial Officer – Romania and Moldova at US Department of Commerce

After graduation from the UO in 1980, Tom Hanson got his start in private sector international trade and investment, initially as an in-house international sales and marketing leader and later as a consulting strategist.  

After three decades in the private sector, Hanson made the transition to public service, taking his extensive business knowledge into the commercial diplomacy space. 

"I then learned how the Department of Commerce's corps of foreign commercial service officers act as ‘America's Sales Team’ at embassies and consulates around the world,” Hanson said. “I pursued and won the chance to serve the country in this role.” 

Since 2011, he’s worked as a commercial officer for the US Department of Commerce in Brazil, Western Canada, Louisiana, and since 2020, Romania and Moldova. Based in Bucharest, Romania’s capital and commercial center, Hanson’s role focuses on export strategies and foreign direct investments that help American companies and communities competing in European markets. 

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Romanian people, government, and industries have been aiding their neighbors to the north in a multitude of ways. After visiting the inland port of the Oradea at the Hungarian border and the Black Sea port of Constanta, Hanson wrote a LinkedIn blog post on the experience and the impacts of the war on Romanian commerce that have impacted his role.  

“Indeed, one year into this war, the multinational companies who make these border engines hum have absorbed unexpected volumes through existing resources, all the while sustaining their commitment to Romanian industry and communities,” Hanson said.  

Amy Schenk, BA ’18 (international studies)

Head of Stakeholder Engagement at British Embassy Washington

When Amy Schenk first decided that she wanted to engage in policymaking, she thought it would require becoming a lawyer. Instead, Schenk began her efforts in diplomacy in student government, right here at the UO.  

After serving in four distinct roles for the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, Schenk was elected ASUO president during her senior year in a historic unopposed election. She used her time in office to advocate for student rights, with a particular focus on financial liberation and food security. Schenk created the first ever food security working group for UO and the Eugene community. Schenk was also an accomplished student, entering the UO as a Wayne Morse Scholar and earning both the Vernon Barkhurst Award and the Dean’s Award of Service in 2016 and 2018, respectively. She studied abroad in Oxford and embraced the Arabic language at the Qasid Arabic Institute in Jordan, prompting her to double-minor in political science and Arabic studies. Schenk was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. 

Following graduation from the UO, Schenk became an intern of the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations, where she learned more about multilateral diplomacy and international relations between Jordan and fellow stakeholders. She had a supplemental internship through the Arab Center in Washington, DC, and later was selected as a NextGen Scholar with Foreign Policy for America. In many of her positions, Schenk felt she had to work twice as hard to succeed because of her status as a woman. In a 2017 article by the Daily Emerald, Schenk said, “what hit me most hard was definitely the systematic pressure against all women. People will tell you that of course it’s hard for a woman, but then you get in it, you can definitely see it. I just felt like it pushed me forward to really break down any of those barriers.”  

Nevertheless, she persisted. Schenk was hired at the International Institute for Strategic Studies where she assisted with both operations and events such as the IISS Climate Briefing on water security in the Middle East and North Africa before securing her position with British Embassy Washington. Now, she creates and manages the British Embassy Washington's strategy, outreach and partnerships with all think tanks and academic centers across a variety of policy areas. Some hallmarks of her time in diplomacy have included accompanying and organizing engagement for the UK Chief of Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Sir Richard Moore and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly at the annual Aspen Security Forum, speech writing for Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce , advising senior colleges throughout UK government departments on US think tank and academic center engagement initiating conversations regarding women, peace, and security with the Duchess of Edinburgh, and celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Most recently, Schenk was selected to serve on the Wilton Park Advisory Council. 

Throughout it all, she carries the same passion she had for advocacy that propelled her as the president of ASOU.