Dr. Tracy Carson is a career member of the Senior Executive Service. Prior to joining the Eisenhower School, she served as the Director of Foreign Assistance, an assistant secretary-equivalent position in the U. S. Department of State. In this role, she provided resources, strategic planning and performance management advice directly to the Secretary of State and other senior leadership across government agencies. Prior to this, she served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance (principal deputy assistant secretary-equivalent).
During her 15+ year tenure in the State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, Dr. Carson has held several key leadership positions, including Regional Director for Africa and Managing Director for Regional and Global Programs. Her portfolio included coordinating the strategic allocation of more than $40 billion in foreign assistance resources across more than 170 countries. Dr. Carson began her federal career as a Presidential Management Fellow and has served in multiple USG agencies and offices, including the U.S. Embassy in Windhoek, Namibia; the Broadcasting Board of Governors; and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Carson graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with honors from Northwestern University before completing her master’s and doctoral studies at Oxford University as both a British Marshall and U.S. Fulbright (South Africa) Scholar. She has published peer-reviewed research and served as an adjunct Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University’s School of International Service. Currently, Dr. Carson serves as adjunct faculty in the State Department Foreign Service Institute’s Leadership and Management School, providing executive coaching to colleagues in Washington and overseas.
Throughout her federal career, she has received numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, as well as the Secretary’s Distinguished Honor Award, one of the highest decorations a Secretary of State can bestow on a civil servant.
Dr. Carson is married to a fellow civil servant who is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer.