Pulaski Times

This month, in honor of Black History Month, we’re posting weekly features of various members of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

Today we present Ambassador June Carter-Perry, a member of the Class of 2016 inductees.

She was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, in 1943, and inherited a love of service from her mother, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia. Carter-Perry earned a bachelor of arts degree from Loyola University in 1965, following it with a master of arts degree from the University of Chicago in 1967.

She worked as director of public affairs for WGMS/RKO Radio Corporation in Washington, D.C., responsible for editorial and programming content, as well as development and event planning. She established the WGMS-FM Art Auction and raised money for the Kennedy Center by broadcasting the National Symphony Orchestra. By the later 1970s, she was over public relations for the Peace Corps and its stateside counterpart, VISTA.

In 1983, she began a 25-year career in the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service. At various times in her career, she worked in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Paris, the Centra Africa Republic and Madagascar. The time spent in Africa prepared her to become senior advisor to the Africa Bureau’s assistant secretary. She also served as director of the State Department’s Office of Social and Humanitarian Affairs, and deputy director for public policy in the Political and Military Affairs Bureau.

She was appointed ambassador to Lesotho in 2004 and initiated the first Lesotho-U.S. trade mission in 2005. From there, she was appointed ambassador to Sierra Leone, where she served until 2009. Her work there brought the Peace Corps back and started a U.S. program providing a grant for agriculture and infrastructure development, helping stabilize and advance Sierra Leone’s economy.

She retired from the State Department in 2010 and has since served as visiting professor and guest lecturer for a variety of universities.

(Photo from The American Academy of Diplomacy)

Original source can be found here.