Madame Ambassador: A nurse-turned-diplomat, Susan Elliott ’74 has most re- cently served as the US Ambassador to Tajikistan.
Growing up in the upstate New York village of Hoosick Falls, Elliott wanted to be a nurse. Skidmore’s unique nurs- ing curriculum of liberal arts in Saratoga Springs and profes- sional preparation in NYC nicely fit her vision. She went on to earn a PhD and teach nursing at the university level. But then she switched gears, joining the Foreign Service with her husband. That choice led her far from New York, to be the US Ambassa- dor in Tajikistan, a mountainous, cultur- ally rich, ethnically diverse nation in Central Asia, where only 22 other coun- tries are represented by ambassadors. Elliott attributes her professional agili- ty to the psychology, sociology, and other courses she took at Skidmore. Diplomats, she says, “communicate, negotiate, and understand other cultures and points of view—I didn’t need to major in international relations to get those skills.” Her current role encompasses public speaking, sit-downs with dignitaries, dancing with Tajiks at village celebrations, steering a project to combat tuberculosis, and discussions with visitors from Washington, D.C., about extremism, reli-
gious freedom, narcotics trafficking, regional energy, and economic cooperation. After three years in Dushanbe, she is slated for redeployment in September as deputy civilian commander and political advisor for the US European Com- mand, in Stuttgart, Germany. Scope had a lot of questions for her.
Q: Is your job political?
IT WAS FASCINATING TO SEE PEOPLE WITH RADICALLY DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW COME TOGETHER AND GOVERN.
A: My job transcends politics. I have worked for both Re- publican and Democratic presidents. My approach is strictly based on US foreign policy and the demands of the bilateral relationship between the US and the country where I serve. Q: You are in dangerous territory—are you scared? A: Any American embassy employee anywhere in the world needs to be cau- tious. Tajikistan shares a long border
with Afghanistan, which in many areas is rugged and diffi- cult to guard. I am not afraid, but must be cautious and vig- ilant. I have bodyguards and 24-hour security at my resi- dence.
Q: Does being a woman hinder you in Tajikistan’s traditional
patriarchal society? A: No. US-Tajik relations are good, and US security and development assistance is extremely important to the
AMBASSADOR SUSAN ELLIOTT ’74, AT RIGHT, REPRESENTS THE US AT ONE OF MANY TAJIK FUNCTIONS AND CEREMONIES.
SPRING 2015 SCOPE 27
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