Dr. Ann L. Stanford's distinguished career in public service, foreign affairs and academia spans three decades. Her interest in public service was first aroused in Misawa, Japan in the early 1960s. There she challenged the Civilian Personnel Officer's policy against hiring Blacks for Civil Service jobs at the Misawa Air Force Base. Her successful challenge of this policy resulted in three Blacks obtaining jobs, she being the first to obtain one.
Encouraged by her first challenge to institutional discrimination against Blacks, when she returned to the United States in 1963, she integrated the US Civil Service in Duluth, Minnesota; two years later she integrated the US Civil Service in Wichita Falls, Texas. During the early 70s Stanford honed her skills in organizational development, management and policy implementation. During the years she implemented laws, policies and regulations in the US Department of Health and Human Services programs for which she had oversight, she discovered that she possessed effective change agent talents that she decided could be best used in government service.
As Stanford's intellectual interest in world affairs increased so did her desire to serve the United States more broadly in an international capacity. She wanted to combine her hobby of international travel with international professional work. This desire was the impetus for pursuing a career as a Foreign Service Officer. As such, in addition to several tours in Washington, DC, she served in Africa and France. Working in Washington, DC provided her opportunities to work with many federal departments, Congress, White House, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations,colleges and universities, political organizations and the enormous international community.
Dr. Stanford's multiple identities as an internationalist, public servant, diplomat and academician enabled her to achieve the dream she had at age 12 of becoming a "universal woman." Midway through her public service career she achieved her identity as an internationalist. As a diplomat, she served as First Secretary-Consul at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and Consul General, head of the American Consulate General in Lyon, France. Her extraordinary people skills enabled her to win many friends for the United States. She held other positions in the Federal Government in three states and the District of Columbia. For several years Dr. Stanford was a Visiting Fellow with The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey. In the mid-90s, Congress created an Institute for International Public Policy and Dr. Stanford established it in Fairfax, VA, and served as its first Executive Director. Throughout her career she performed roles on college and university campuses, most recently as a graduate level professor. Other roles have been serving on committees, lecturing, encouraging and coaching students, helping faculty and administrators understand diversity issues and implement diversity programs and initiatives. One notable role was assisting with the creation and installation of the Institute of Public Service, Seattle University, in Seattle, WA. Her numerous awards and honors for her outstanding achievements span her entire career.
Stanford's diverse background and accomplishments place her in a class nearly by herself. She is an outstanding role model for young women and men who aspire to careers in public service and international service. She holds a Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations; a M.P.A., Master's Degree in Public Administration; a B.A., Bachelor of Arts in Community Services (magna cum laude); and she has completed post graduate studies in public policy and international affairs
