U.S. diplomacy across Africa has grappled with a number of key challenges over the last several years. Chief among these have been the proliferation of conflict and coups in the Horn of Africa and Sahel, including devastating civil wars in Ethiopia and Sudan, as well as surging militant extremism and army takeovers in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
As the top U.S. diplomat for Africa from 2021-2025, Amb. Molly Phee played a central role in crafting U.S. policy responses toward these crises. In this session, she reflects on U.S. strategic approaches to these challenges; what she learned about effective crisis management and conflict resolution; and the promise and peril of U.S.-Africa engagement in an increasingly complex global landscape.
About the Speaker:
Ambassador Molly Phee is a former senior U.S. diplomat known for her strategic leadership in navigating complex political and security challenges. She led negotiations to end conflicts, build coalitions and arrange humanitarian access across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. She has operated effectively in insecure environments collaborating with the U.S. military, USAID and other government agencies, the UN, international NGOs, foreign partners and civilian stakeholders.
While serving as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2021-2025, Phee led U.S. government engagement in 49 sub-Saharan African countries, driving outcomes in trade and investment, conflict resolution and democracy and human rights. She oversaw 275 domestic employees, more than a thousand overseas employees and 12,000 local staff while monitoring billions of dollars in assistance and operational budgets.
Other key assignments include U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan, deputy Chief of Mission in Ethiopia, deputy Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation, acting Assistant Secretary for International Organizations, director for Iraq at the National Security Council, deputy Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nation and assignments at U.S. embassies in Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan. After leaving government service, Phee researched international conflict mediation as a Visiting Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. A trained Arabist with extensive experience in the Middle East, she was a member of the Joint Strategic Assessment Team headed by Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General David Petraeus that successfully revised the U.S. campaign in Iraq in 2007.
Her work across regions and disciplines has been recognized with the Distinguished Honor Award, the Presidential Rank Award, the Order of the British Empire and other prestigious commendations for leadership in diplomacy and peacebuilding. Phee earned a B.A. from Indiana University and a M.A.L.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.