It's the last day of National Women's History Month. In honor of all the women who make a difference in the world, meet Susan Rice, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Susan Rice is one of Elle's Capital Dames, the 10 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D. C.
"The native Washingtonian is a famously tough, forthright, and passionate advocate who, at 47, is already a veteran of nearly 20 years of foreign-policy and diplomatic service dating back to the first Clinton administration. A Rhodes Scholar, she trails a long list of first-this and youngest-that distinctions in her wake. At the UN she has dedicated herself to the proposition that taking that beleaguered institution seriously is more likely to get results than the scorn and derision dumped on it by previous U.S. ambassadors. And what results! Her hardheaded rallying of international support for toppling Libya’s Muammar Gadhafi was a high-risk play that paid off in spades. Lately, Iran and Syria’s brutal regimes have been in her crosshairs. We can’t wait to see what her ambitions turn out to be when she focuses them on DC itself."
Lesson From Her Childhood:
Her parents always told her to "never use race as an excuse or advantage." As a young girl she says she "dreamed of becoming the first U.S. Senator from the District of Columbia." She also held "lingering fears" that her accomplishments would be diminished by people who attributed them to affirmative action.
Climbing the Career Ladder:
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has been a longtime mentor and family friend to Rice. Albright urged Clinton to appoint Rice as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 1997. Rice was not the first choice of Congressional Black Caucus leaders, who considered Rice a member of "Washington's assimilationist black elite". At a confirmation hearing chaired by Senator Jesse Helms, Rice, who attended the hearing along with her infant son, whom she was then nursing, made a great impression on Senators from both parties and "sailed through the confirmation process". Rice was Assistant Secretary for African Affairs until Clinton left office in 2001.
Family Life:
Dr. Rice was born in Washington, D.C.. Her father, Emmett J. Rice (1919-2011), was a Cornell University economics professor and governor of the Federal Reserve System. Her mother is education policy scholar Lois Dickson Fitt, currently at the Brookings Institution. Her brother, John Rice, received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and is the founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (an organization committed to developing top minority talent for leadership roles in the business and non-profit sector). Her maternal grandparents were born in Jamaica.
Susan Rice married ABC News producer Ian Officer Cameron (born in Victoria, British Columbia) in 1992 in Washington, D.C. at a chapel in The National Cathedral. They met as students at Stanford. They have two children.
How fascinating that Susan Rice seems to have it all and has built a stellar career at such a young age. Keep your eye on this rising star and see what her future holds.
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Susan Rice | ||||
| ||||
Susan Rice is one of Elle's Capital Dames, the 10 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D. C.
"The native Washingtonian is a famously tough, forthright, and passionate advocate who, at 47, is already a veteran of nearly 20 years of foreign-policy and diplomatic service dating back to the first Clinton administration. A Rhodes Scholar, she trails a long list of first-this and youngest-that distinctions in her wake. At the UN she has dedicated herself to the proposition that taking that beleaguered institution seriously is more likely to get results than the scorn and derision dumped on it by previous U.S. ambassadors. And what results! Her hardheaded rallying of international support for toppling Libya’s Muammar Gadhafi was a high-risk play that paid off in spades. Lately, Iran and Syria’s brutal regimes have been in her crosshairs. We can’t wait to see what her ambitions turn out to be when she focuses them on DC itself."
Lesson From Her Childhood:
Her parents always told her to "never use race as an excuse or advantage." As a young girl she says she "dreamed of becoming the first U.S. Senator from the District of Columbia." She also held "lingering fears" that her accomplishments would be diminished by people who attributed them to affirmative action.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has been a longtime mentor and family friend to Rice. Albright urged Clinton to appoint Rice as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 1997. Rice was not the first choice of Congressional Black Caucus leaders, who considered Rice a member of "Washington's assimilationist black elite". At a confirmation hearing chaired by Senator Jesse Helms, Rice, who attended the hearing along with her infant son, whom she was then nursing, made a great impression on Senators from both parties and "sailed through the confirmation process". Rice was Assistant Secretary for African Affairs until Clinton left office in 2001.
Family Life:
Dr. Rice was born in Washington, D.C.. Her father, Emmett J. Rice (1919-2011), was a Cornell University economics professor and governor of the Federal Reserve System. Her mother is education policy scholar Lois Dickson Fitt, currently at the Brookings Institution. Her brother, John Rice, received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and is the founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (an organization committed to developing top minority talent for leadership roles in the business and non-profit sector). Her maternal grandparents were born in Jamaica.
Susan Rice married ABC News producer Ian Officer Cameron (born in Victoria, British Columbia) in 1992 in Washington, D.C. at a chapel in The National Cathedral. They met as students at Stanford. They have two children.
How fascinating that Susan Rice seems to have it all and has built a stellar career at such a young age. Keep your eye on this rising star and see what her future holds.
