A lunchtime presentation in Room 2355 on Thursday, May 24, will feature Heather Joy Thompson, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomat in Residence for the Southern California region, which includes Southern California, Nevada and Hawaii. She also manages outreach to the LatinX and LGBTQI communities. She will present “Careers in Diplomacy: An Insider’s Perspective.”
Thompson is a lawyer and foreign affairs professional with nearly a decade of international and domestic experience in the U.S. diplomatic service. She most recently worked as an economic officer at the U.S. Embassy Mexico City, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic missions in the world. She received numerous awards and accolades during her time with the Department of State, including several Individual Meritorious Honor Awards.
A Michigan native, Thompson was raised in Southfield and is an alumna of The Roeper School. She earned a B.A. in Studio Art from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and, she studied Renaissance Art and Italian in Florence, Italy, during her junior year. She speaks Spanish and has studied French and Italian. In 2005, Thompson received a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University School of Law, where she was the Kenneth B. Cockrel Scholar, a member of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team, and a summer associate at Fieger Law. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also a UCLA Luskin Senior Fellow.
For more information about Thompson, please visit her UCLA Luskin profile page.
For more information on U.S. State Department programs or to inquire about office hours, please contact Thompson.
Space is limited. Sub sandwiches and chips will be provided. Remember to bring your own drink!
