July 8, 2020 | Watch Video
Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall, Author of Protocol
Ambassador Dina Kawar, Ambassador of Jordan to the United States
Ambassador Audrey Marks, Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States
Welcome by Ambassador Cathy Russell, WFPG Board Co-Chair

On July 8, 2020, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group hosted a discussion on the Power of Diplomacy and Importance of Protocol with Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall, author of Protocol: The Power of Diplomacy and How to Make it Work for You; Ambassador Dina Kawar of Jordan; and Ambassador Audrey Marks of Jamaica. The ambassadors highlighted the critical power of protocol in diplomacy in both small and large international deliberations, and illustrated their points with personal anecdotes. The three women also shared some of the unique challenges that they and their diplomatic colleagues are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how protocol and other tools can be used to promote respect and civility during crises. 
For over two decades, Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall has been facilitating diplomatic meetings at the highest levels of government, setting the tone and overseeing the invisible gestures meant to build trust between heads of state and top officials around the world. In her new book, Protocol: The Power of Diplomacy and How to Make It Work for You, Marshall offers an analysis of the power in detail and nuance—the micro-moves that affect the macro-shifts. She is currently president of Global Engagement Strategies, which advises international public and private clients on issues relating to the nexus of business and cultural diplomacy, and serves as Ambassador-in-Residence at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council. In her post under the Obama administration, she reinvented modern protocol by building relationships between industry leaders worldwide creating strategies to transform global engagement. During her service she oversaw the details of diplomacy during six State and Official Visits, countless Working Visits, and the G20, Nuclear Security, APEC, G8, NATO and Sunnylands Summits. Previously, she served as Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary (1997-2001) and Special Assistant to First Lady Hillary Clinton (1993-1997). She serves on several boards including the Women’s Foreign Policy Group. | @AmbassadorCPM

Ambassador Dina Kawar was appointed as Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the US in June 2016. Previously, Kawar served as Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations, during Jordan's non-permanent membership of the Security Council (2014-2015) and was the first Arab woman to preside over the Council. In February 2016, she was appointed by the President of the UN General Assembly as a co-facilitator for the high-level meeting of the plenary of the General Assembly on the large movement of refugees and migrants to take place in September 2016. From 2001 to 2013, Ambassador Kawar served as the Ambassador of Jordan to France, and concurrently to UNESCO and to the Holy See (2002-2013), and to Portugal (2005-2013). Ambassador Kawar was awarded the Medal of Independence of the first degree by His Majesty King Abdullah II and holds a number of other decorations and awards. | @AmbKawar

Ambassador Audrey Marks has served as Jamaica's thirteenth Ambassador to the US and the Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the OAS since 2016. She previously served in the same capacity from 2010 to 2012, where she became Jamaica’s first woman ambassador to the US. Prior to assuming her Ambassadorial role, Ambassador Marks, an entrepreneur by profession, started and operated six businesses, including a 100-acre banana exporting farm, a transportation company, and a real estate sales and development company. She is perhaps best known for having founded Paymaster (Jamaica) Limited, an online paymaster system which was the first multi-transaction agency in the Caribbean. She has the distinction of being the first woman president of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica and received numerous citations and recognition for her pioneering work, entrepreneurial endeavors and commitment to social causes. Marks has also served on and led numerous private and public-sector boards. | @AmbAPMarks