We are pleased to announce that Constance (Conny) Mayer, Deputy Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, will be a keynote speaker at the Global Ties U.S. 2022 National Meeting.
Conny is a career civil servant who began her U.S. Government service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. She has held a variety of foreign policy and public diplomacy roles within the U.S. Department of State, including assignments within the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the National Security Council, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
In May 2021, Conny became the highest-ranking civil service officer in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a new position created under the Biden Administration with a mandate to help modernize and make the U.S. diplomatic corps more inclusive of the country it represents.
Speaking to the important role of this new office, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “America’s diversity is a source of strength that few countries can match. When we fail to build a team that reflects America, it’s like we’re engaging the world with one arm tied behind our back. This work is hard, it can be painful, but it’s going to make us better diplomats, and it will help us do right by the people on our team who have for too long waged this battle alone. It’ll also show other countries that we’re practicing what we preach when it comes to working to advance equality and respect here at home.”
Conny will deliver remarks Friday, March 18. She joins U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni Mehwish Abbasi of Pakistan and Adrian Lasimbang of Malaysia for the plenary session: Moving Exchange Forward, which celebrates the work of trailblazing leaders around the world for their commitment to social justice, community engagement, and inclusion.