On the Departure of Elizabeth Allen

When Liz Allen rejoined the Department of State as Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs almost three years ago, it marked her fourth role at the Department, having previously served in positions ranging from intern to director. Today, after traveling to dozens of countries and meeting with countless world leaders, students, advocates, and academics to advance our policies and reinvigorate our partnerships, she leaves as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy.

As Under Secretary, Liz has embodied a fundamental truth of our work: that public diplomacy is central to every foreign policy priority and foundational to U.S. global leadership. This is especially clear in our approach to the information space, where thanks to Liz’s vision, data-driven, audience-informed public diplomacy and policy solutions are driving global efforts to counter foreign malign influence. Her team’s work – including completing over 20 bilateral agreements to fight information manipulation; launching new people-to-people networks in Latin America, the Pacific, and South and Central Asia; leveraging English language programs; supporting independent media and media literacy, and more – has left our country more protected from and resilient to the national security threat of disinformation and foreign malign influence.

Perhaps most importantly, Liz has lived the mantra that our people are our greatest asset. A tireless advocate for the almost 5,000-person strong global public diplomacy team, she has equipped and empowered them to navigate an increasingly complex media environment, including through enhanced training opportunities, emerging technology, and the use of artificial intelligence. More broadly, she has helped infuse a public diplomacy perspective across our entire workforce.

Through it all, Liz has been an indispensable advisor and sounding board to me and so many others across the Department. I am deeply grateful for her leadership, and on behalf of her colleagues, I thank her for her service.