The Fourth Annual Betty Lou Hummel Memorial Lecture will feature distinguished SAIS Alumna and leading global thinker, Ambassador Mary Ann Peters, who will address the topic “Why America Matters”. Betty Lou Hummel (1925-2001) was a member of SAIS’s first graduating class of 1946 and the endowed series presents perspectives on international policy challenges. Ambassador Mary Ann Peters is currently Ambassador in Residence and Professor of Practice at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. She spent more than 30 years as a career diplomat, including as US Ambassador to Bangladesh. Additionally, she served as CEO of the Carter Center and Provost of the Naval War College.
Join the Johns Hopkins SAIS Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) for its fourth annual Betty Lou Hummel Memorial Lecture on “Why America Matters,” featuring guest speaker U.S. Ambassador Mary Ann Peters. Opening remarks will be provided by Dean James B. Steinberg, with moderation by FPI Executive Director Ambassador Cinnamon Dornsife. Her remarks will be followed by a Q&A session, moderated by Amb. Dornsife, with a brief reception to follow.
Betty Lou Hummel was a member of the school's first graduating class of 1946. Her close friends endowed a generous gift in her name to the Foreign Policy Institute that funds this annual lecture as well as additional programming and research.
Ambassador Mary Ann Peters recently retired from The Carter Center where she served as CEO from September 2014 until June 2020. As CEO, Ambassador Peters led the implementation of a $120- million project portfolio and a worldwide team of 3000 people.
Prior to joining The Carter Center, Mary Ann was Provost of the U.S. Naval War College from September 2008 to July 2014. Earlier Ambassador Peters served as Dean of Academics at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
Ambassador Peters spent more than 30 years as a U.S. career diplomat. From 2000 to 2003, she served as U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, leading the Embassy response to the September 11 attack and earning a Presidential Meritorious Service Award for that work. Prior to her posting in Dhaka, Ambassador Peters was the Deputy Chief of Mission in Ottawa, Canada, responsible for managing the embassy and supervising six U.S. consulates general.
From 1995 to 1997, Ambassador Peters served as Director for European and Canadian affairs on the National Security Council staff, where she worked on the Northern Ireland peace process. Ambassador Peters’ earlier postings include Sofia, Bulgaria, Moscow during the Soviet era, Rangoon and Mandalay in Burma (now Myanmar) and Frankfurt, Germany.