Profile: Pamela White

Distinguished Careers in U.S. Diplomacy

I’m sharing sketches of the U.S. diplomats featured in Profiles in Service (Moonshine Cove Press, Dec 2025) every Tuesday; later in the week I’ll share a related moment linking Peace Corps service to diplomatic efforts, some simple, some strange, some extraordinary.

Today’s profile comes with three special features: an opportunity to hear directly from Pamela White through her participation in the exceptional podcast by Christopher Wurst, SoftPower/FulStories. Check out all the episodes, including the two featuring White’s reflection on Peace Corps service (below) and a Companion Piece about efforts to engage with African strongman Yahya Jammeh.

Lessons in literacy and honesty

Peace Corps service taught Pamela White that learning English was no fun in Cameroon when all the texts came from the former colonial masters, the French.

Rather than use books filled with poodles and Caucasians taking train trips to Germany, she generated her own materials based on local customs, life in the rainforest, and tribal beliefs.

Her students loved it, inspiring White years later while serving as USAID Mission Director to Mali. There she inspired Tuareg warriors by touting a girls’ literacy program that built a written record of family histories, customs, recipes, and divisions of labor.

Not long after, as U.S. Ambassador to The Gambia, White navigated a narrow path between pressure from Washington to criticize human rights abuses in the country and her need for high level access to the president to assist U.S. citizens.

I can almost tell instantaneously if people I’ve worked with have had that Peace Corps experience. You learn patience, you learn to take the time to look at problems through somebody else’s eyes, and you take the time to listen—such an important part of interacting. Knowing that you don’t have all the answers is okay.

-Pamela White

She developed a reputation for straight talk in ways that even President Yahyah Jammeh’s closest advisors didn’t dare. This reputation for directness and honesty would play an important role years later when the international community looked for help convincing the strongman to step aside after his first electoral loss in over two decades.

Read more from White’s oral history with the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training:

Full Career

To follow White’s and other diplomats’ stories from the forthcoming Profiles in Service, consider subscribing below. And please share your thoughts in the comments section. Thank you.

##