By Reverend Claire Dobbs, First United Methodist Church, Gulfport, MS Every leader has her own story and approach. I wanted to explore the wisdom of two clergy friends by asking them to respond to the same questions. This is the first of two articles. Please enjoy and learn. Leaders Need Leaders In this COVID … [Read More...] about Seven Lessons from Leading a Mississippi Church Community During COVID-19.
Leadership Matters
In times of crisis and in everyday life, leading with intention and integrity makes a difference.
Recent Articles
Influencing as a Black Man in his Twenties
By Kevin Alexander 4 Things I’ve Learned Just start As the saying goes: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” There are ways to start in the direction of your dreams without having all of the necessary resources. Though you may not have everything or all the support you need to complete your … [Read More...] about Influencing as a Black Man in his Twenties
What are the Characteristics of an Effective ‘Role Model’?
BY SUE M. COBB, U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Many individuals who achieve important leadership roles in business, government and philanthropic organizations, when asked about their paths to challenging and rewarding positions of influence, will include in their responses a reference to one or more ‘role models’. What is a … [Read More...] about What are the Characteristics of an Effective ‘Role Model’?
About Pru
Ambassador Prudence Bushnell (Ret.) is an acclaimed speaker on transformational leadership, national security, crisis management and leading as a woman. The lessons she recounts come from serving in leadership positions in the Department of State as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to the Republics of Kenya and Guatemala. She also trained others in leadership as Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute.
After leaving the Foreign Service, Pru founded the Levitt Leadership Institute at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY in 2012. She has continued to promote practical approaches to innovative thinking and ethical leadership to a range of audiences and universities. She is also collecting stories for the Marketplace of Leadership Stories to show how others practice leadership in real life.
Sharing Leadership Insights Learned Through Personal Experience
Drawing from experiences as a policy maker during the Rwanda genocide in 1994 and chief of mission during and after the al Qaeda attack on the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in 1998, she shares lessons and observations about managing and leading, doing things right and doing the right thing.
Speech topics include:
- S.M.A.R.T. Leadership: Strategic. Moral. Achievable. Reliable. Transformative.
- Crisis Management and Resilience
- Diplomacy and National Security
- Women and Leadership
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Terrorism, Betrayal, & Resilience
My Story of the 1998 US Embassy Bombings
On August 7, 1998, three years before President George W. Bush declared a War on Terror, the radical Islamist group al-Qaeda bombed the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, where Prudence Bushnell was serving as U.S. ambassador, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Terrorism, Betrayal, and Resilience is her account of what happened, how it happened, and its impact twenty years later.
What People Say
Kathleen Cole
You are a role model for women and men, Prudence. As we hear your story, not one of us can fail to consider how we would have responded. And, not one of us can fail to consider if we would have the strength to do the right thing when contemporary challenges present themselves. I believe, by remembering your story, Federal women will be far more likely to answer and act with a resounding “Yes”.
Kathleen Cole
Adjunct Faculty for the Office of Personnel Management, Federal Executive Institute
Dr. Janne Nolan
“Ambassador Bushnell has never failed to elicit standing ovations from military leaders, seasoned journalists and skeptical graduate students — whether her topic is 21st century security challenges, successful leadership or crisis management. Her ability to touch the hearts as well as the minds of her audience is both moving and highly effective, leaving indelible impressions on those who are fortunate enough to share the wisdom she has developed over the course of a truly extraordinary career.”
Dr. Janne Nolan
Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University, Chair of The Nuclear Security Working Group and author of nine books including Tyranny of Consensus published by the Brookings Institution Press in 2015.
Mesmerizing Speaker
“Ambassador Prudence Bushnell is a mesmerizing speaker who consistently earns rave reviews from the Colonels and civilian equivalents who attend my Senior Manager Course in National Security Leadership at the George Washington University. Her insights concerning the costs and rewards of ‘doing the right thing’ as an interagency leader, based on her experiences in high-stakes crises such as the Rwandan genocide and the Nairobi Embassy bombing, make an indelible impact on her audiences.”
Dr. Matthew Levinger
Director, National Security Studies Program, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University