Positioned at the intersection of academia and practical statecraft, SFS’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) is dedicated to inspiring students toward careers in global public service. At a time when effective diplomacy and public service face growing scrutiny and challenges, this mission has never been more vital.
To provide a deeper perspective beyond the immediate press coverage of current events, ISD hosts an annual cohort of recently retired practitioners across three distinct tracks: diplomatic fellows, military fellows and non-resident fellows. The diplomatic and military fellows teach a number of undergraduate- and graduate-level courses throughout the academic year, while the non-resident fellows contribute high-level policy research and expert commentary to the ISD community.
Ambassador Barbara Bodine, ISD’s director, says gaining insight into the historical origins and progression of global developments equips students to interpret modern news more effectively and craft viable long-term solutions.
“Part of ISD’s and our fellows’ role is to bring what the service entails on the ground in Washington and in the field and share how to translate theory into effective policy and action,” she says.
When selecting these seasoned professionals across diplomacy, national defense and international policy, key considerations include their geographic and domain expertise, decades of practical service and proven leadership capability in field operations as well as across the Washington interagency framework.
“Diplomacy does not operate in four-year increments but over a long continuum that spans administrations and governments abroad,” Bodine says. “The practitioner can help make sense of that process.”
Diplomatic Fellows
Ambassador John Bass
Ambassador John Bass is a retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He most recently served as Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (2024–2025) and Under Secretary of State for Management (2021–2025) at the U.S. Department of State. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey.
Ambassador Ya’el Lempert
Ambassador Ya’el Lempert is a retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. She currently serves as Vice President for Outreach at the Middle East Institute.
Most recently, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 2023 to 2025. Previously, Ambassador Lempert served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, as well as Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in London. Over her career, she has held senior policy and overseas positions across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Ambassador Michael Ratney
Ambassador Michael Ratney is a retired career diplomat and former member of the Senior Foreign Service. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a Distinguished Fellow with the Israel Policy Forum.
Over his three-decade career, Ambassador Ratney most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His past diplomatic postings include U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, Chargé d’Affaires to Israel, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and assignments in Baghdad, Beirut, Casablanca, Doha, Mexico City, Tunis and Bridgetown. He also served as dean of the U.S. State Department’s School of Language Studies and taught leadership at the National Defense University.
Ambassador Elizabeth Richard
Ambassador Elizabeth Richard retired in April 2025 as a career Foreign Service Officer with the rank of Career Minister. She most recently served as the Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large, serving as the principal adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters and overseeing U.S. engagement in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
Ambassador Richard previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic (2016-2020), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for U.S. Assistance in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (2013-2016) and Deputy Chief of Mission in Sanaa, Yemen (2010-2013). Her earlier overseas assignments include service in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Italy and Southeast Asia.
Ambassador Daniel Rosenblum
Ambassador Daniel N. Rosenblum is a retired career member of the Senior Executive Service. He most recently served as U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan (2022-2025) following his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan (2019-2022).
Prior to his ambassadorial assignments, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for Central Asia (2014-2019) and Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (2008-2014). Before joining the U.S. State Department in 1997, he worked with an NGO supporting independent labor unions in the former Soviet Union.
Ambassador Vincent D. Spera
Vincent Spera is a retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service with deep expertise in African affairs. He most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa and Regional/Multilateral Affairs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs (2024-2026), overseeing strategy across 11 countries in the Horn of Africa, East African coast and Western Indian Ocean.
His previous assignments include the U.S. Consul General in Johannesburg, South Africa (2021-2024), Acting Deputy Chief of Mission and Political/Economic Counselor in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Director of the Office of African Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. He has also served in Mongolia, Canada and Chad.
Joseph Yackley
Joseph Yackley is a career Foreign Service Officer who teaches courses in applied history and diplomatic statecraft at Georgetown University, as well as economic tradecraft and diplomatic writing at the U.S. Department of State’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center.
His Foreign Service assignments have included covering Iraq in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Iranian affairs in Istanbul, consular affairs in Ankara and human rights in Tunis. Prior to joining the State Department, Yackley worked for a decade as a journalist, consultant and academic across Europe and the Middle East, holding fellowships with the Robert Bosch Foundation, the International Center for Journalists and the Fulbright Commission.
Ambassador Andrew Young
Ambassador Andrew Young is a retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. He most recently served as Director of International Study, Missions, and Outreach at the National Defense University.
Over a 30-year career in public service, Ambassador Young previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Chargé d’Affaires in Mali and Deputy to the Commander for Civil-Military Engagement at United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). He has held additional diplomatic and policy positions across the U.S. Departments of State and Commerce, the U.S. Senate and overseas postings in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Military Fellows
Michael Gates
Michael Gates retired from the U.S. Army in 2026 as an Infantry and Special Forces Officer. He most recently served at the Pentagon as Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs and as the Joint Staff Assistant Deputy Director for Special Operations.
Commissioned from West Point in 2000, Gates served in early operational roles in Kosovo and Iraq. After completing Special Forces qualification in 2006, he served with the 10th Special Forces Group in Afghanistan and Djibouti, as SOCAFRICA Director of Current Operations, and as Commander of Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia (2018-2020).
Lieutenant Colonel David R. Kogon
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) David R. Kogon is a strategist in the U.S. Army. He has previously held senior strategic planning roles with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the Department of the Army, U.S. Africa Command and Combined Joint Task Force – Operation INHERENT RESOLVE.
Commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 2004, LTC Kogon transitioned to Military Intelligence (2008), and Strategic Plans & Policy (2013). His operational experience includes serving as a Strategic Intelligence Officer, Counterintelligence Company Commander and Rifle Platoon Leader with the 25th Infantry Division in Iraq. LTC Kogon’s military decorations include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge and Ranger Tab.
Non-Resident Fellows
Meredith M. Ludlow
Meredith M. Ludlow is an international strategy consultant who previously served as director of global advisory at Gensler, an architecture and design firm, focusing on global market expansion and intelligence.
Her career in international commerce and finance includes serving with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Shanghai, advising China’s central bank as a senior consultant with Ernst & Young in Beijing, establishing Shanghai’s first international hospital with Chindex International and serving as vice president at Pacific Epoch. She is also a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy.
Tristen Taylor
Tristen Naylor is Director of the Oxbridge Diplomatic Academy, based jointly at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. An expert in global summitry and multilateral diplomacy, Naylor also serves as deputy director of the G7 and G20 Research Groups and sits on the advisory boards of The Hague Journal of International Diplomacy and London Politica.
Naylor’s previous academic positions include Lecturer in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford, Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at the London School of Economics. Before entering academia, he served as a policy analyst and advisor to the Government of Canada, receiving the Canadian Public Service Award of Excellence in 2008.