Davidson selected to serve on State Department advisory group

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has named Metropolitan State University of Denver President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., to serve on the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board, which delivers independent policy and diplomacy advice to the department.

A State Department announcement said the board, led by co-chairs Thomas Donilon and Cecilia Muñoz, will focus on issues such as “emerging technologies, climate and energy, international economics, global health and strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China.”

Before becoming president of MSU Denver, Davidson served as the 32nd undersecretary of the U.S. Navy, a position she was appointed to by then-President Barack Obama. Davidson also served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans from 2009-12 and began her career as an Air Force officer and cargo pilot, where she was the first woman to fly the Air Force’s tactical C-130.

Davidson is also the interim chair of the Department of Defense Policy Board, which she joined in December 2021.

Joining Davidson on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board are members David Autor, Sameer Bhalotra, Hal Brands, Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., Cathy Feingold, Margaret Hamburg, Jon Huntsman, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Kristie Kenney, Gilman Louie, Katherine Maher, James Manyika, Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Annise Parker and Vincent Stewart.