Howard University News September 27, 2011 Howard Alumna Reed Sworn in as Ambassador to Fiji WASHINGTON - Today, Howard alumna Frankie Annette Reed was sworn in as the next United States ambassador to the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Nauru in a ceremony at the U.S. State Department. In August, President Barack Obama tapped Reed for the ambassadorship. In the post, Reed will be in charge of diplomatic relations for the islands. In addition, Reed was recently elevated to the Minister-Counselor within the Senior Foreign Service, a high-level diplomatic rank. "I am honored with my appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the Republics of Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, the Kingdom of Tonga and Tuvalu," Reed said. "The road to becoming an ambassador is very different for each individual. However, none of us accomplishes this alone." Reed credited the leadership principles she learned from journalism professors during her student days in the School of Communications. She also said her tenure as editor-in-chief of The Hilltop gave her the management background and public diplomacy skills that are important to running an embassy. Reed earned a bachelor's in journalism from Howard in 1975. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1983, she was a Peace Corps volunteer and a journalist. Reed's mother is a graduate of the School of Social Work and her daughter, Brett Calhoun, earned a bachelor's degree in international business and is now working in Ghana. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.