“Africa after Obama: A Reflection on the U.S., Africa, and the United Nations”
Colin Thomas-Jensen
Senior Policy Advisor
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
Time and Location
12:00pm, 206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI
Description
Mr. Thomas-Jensen will discuss the state of play of the United States’ policy in Africa as the Obama Administration comes to a close and a new administration prepares to take over the White House. Drawing on 20 years experience working on Africa–from Peace Corps Volunteer to humanitarian worker to senior U.S. official–Mr. Thomas-Jensen will reflect on President Obama’s legacy in Africa, outline the current trends in U.S. Africa policy, and offer some thoughts for how to strengthen the U.S.-Africa relationship.
Bio
Colin Thomas-Jensen currently serves as Deputy Director of the Washington office for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where he helps guide the overall policy direction of the Mission, serves as a principal advisor to Ambassador Samantha Power on a range of global peace and security, counterterrorism, humanitarian, and governance challenges, and represents the Mission at Deputies Committee, Interagency Policy Committee, and other senior level meetings. Before joining USUN, Colin was the Special Advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, managing day-to-day operations for the Special Envoy and leading the team that supported African Union-mediated negotiations between the governments in Khartoum and Juba and culminating in a milestone September 2012 Cooperation Agreement. He has held senior positions and developed advocacy campaigns for the Center for American Progress and the International Crisis Group and authored or co-authored numerous research papers, book chapters, essays, and commentaries, including for Foreign Affairs and Current History. Earlier in his career, he worked for USAID on the humanitarian responses for Darfur, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and the Haiti earthquake. Colin has an MA from University of London’s School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia and Mozambique.