A Century of Service: Portraits of American Diplomacy
Event Description
Join WorldDenver and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training on October 13 at Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus for A Century of Service: Portraits of American Diplomacy, an inspiring traveling exhibit and panel discussion celebrating the profound impact of global engagement and diplomacy. Featuring prominent American diplomats, global leaders, and volunteer service advocates, the event will explore how diplomacy and international initiatives advance social, economic, health, environmental, and national security outcomes worldwide. Attendees will gain firsthand insights into the crucial role of cross-cultural leadership and discover how individual service shapes international stability.
Free and open to everyone!
Location: Tivoli Turnhalle (900 Auraria Pkwy)
Event Agenda:
5:45 p.m. | Doors Open
6:00 p.m. | Registration, Networking & Refreshments
6:30 p.m. | Program Followed by Audience Q&A
8:00 p.m. | Event Concludes
Meet Our Panelists
Ms. Spahn led the Peace Corps through a historic rebuilding and revitalization following its first-ever global evacuation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her leadership, more than 3,000Volunteers returned to service in 61 countries, and new country programs were launched in Vietnam, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Palau. She also served with the Peace Corps as Country Director in Malawi, Chief of Operations for the Africa Region, and Small Business Development Volunteer in Romania following the fall of communism.
Beyond the Peace Corps, Ms. Spahn has led initiatives across sectors to drive sustainable social change. As Executive Director of Accordia Global Health Foundation, she worked to strengthen health systems and fight infectious diseases in Africa at the height of the HIV pandemic. At Women for Women International, she spearheaded strategic initiatives and operations to support women survivors of war. Her leadership at Small Enterprise Assistance Funds facilitated private equity investments in small and medium enterprises in emerging markets.
Ms. Spahn was the 2026 Presidential Executive in Residence at Colorado State University and sits on various boards and advisory committees. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of changemakers and actively engages in promoting civic bridge building and public service.
Ambassador Eric Rubin is a Senior Fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Ambassador Rubin was elected to serve as the President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) after his recent posting as US Ambassador to Bulgaria (2016-2019). Joining the Foreign Service in 1985 after graduating from Yale, he started as a political and human rights officer in Honduras (1985-1988). In 1989, he was assigned to the State Department’s Operations Center. From 1989 to 1991, he worked in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs where he monitored and reported on the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ambassador Rubin then served as the security affairs officer for Central and Eastern Europe.
He left Washington in 1994 for Kyiv, Ukraine as Deputy Political Counselor. While there, he was a recipient of AF- SA’s William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent by Mid-Level Officers for his work on the Bosnia crisis.
In 1996, he returned to Washington to work as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. From 1997-1998, he served as an Assistant White House Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs and in 1998 he was the special assistant to Ambassador Thomas Pickering—then the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. From 1999-2000 Ambassador Rubin was a Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University where he enjoyed teaching about diplomacy.
In 2001 he was posted to Chiang Mai, Thailand as Consul General. In 2004 he returned to Washington as the director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In 2006 he served as the executive assistant to R. Nicholas Burns—the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, at the time.
From 2008 to 2011, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow. And from 2011 to 2015, he served as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Ambassador Rubin is married with two children.
Catherine Ebert-Gray (Cassy) is a career Minister-Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. She was sworn into office as U.S. Ambassador on January 22, 2016.
Prior to her confirmation as Ambassador, she served four years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Logistics Management and Co-Chair of the Defense – State Executive Steering Group supporting U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her responsibilities included oversight of the State Department’s global supply chain, acquisition, and contract risk management.
She has served over half of her career in the South Pacific region, starting as an analyst in the Hawaii State Legislature. Since entering the Foreign Service in 1988 she has served in Mali, Morocco, Togo, Egypt, Germany, The Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. She and her family have immersed themselves in the cultures and history of each nation.
Other tours in Washington have included positions in the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs Bureaus during Operation Desert Shield and the re-opening of embassies in Kabul, Baghdad and Tripoli. She also served as an Analyst in the Center for Administrative Innovation and Director of Overseas Employment in the Bureau of Human Resources.
Throughout her career, Cassy participated in overseas American Chambers of Commerce and volunteered on the boards of international schools. Originally from Wisconsin, she received her bachelor degrees in international relations and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in national resource management from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She is the recipient of multiple awards and enjoys water sports and playing golf.
Meet Our Moderator
Tom Selinger served 27 years in the Foreign Service, most recently as executive director of ADST. His overseas tours included Kyrgyzstan, Denmark, Croatia, Albania, and Trinidad and Tobago. His portfolios cover issues ranging from security cooperation to American citizen services. In Washington he worked in the Bureaus of European and Eurasian Affairs and Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and at the Center for the Study of the Conduct of Diplomacy as well as Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Prior to the Foreign Service, Tom was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and worked as a locally employed political specialist at the Canadian Consulate General in Minnesota.
Note: As a nonpartisan convener of global affairs programming, WorldDenver provides an unbiased forum for experts, world leaders, diplomats, and representatives from the public and private sectors to share their expertise and views on a broad spectrum of issues that matter to the world. We aim for our events to inspire curiosity and further reading, discussion, and civic engagement among our members and the Denver community on the global issues that we present.
Join WorldDenver and the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training on October 13 at Tivoli Turnhalle on the Auraria Campus for A Century of Service: Portraits of American Diplomacy, an inspiring traveling exhibit and panel discussion celebrating the profound impact of global engagement and diplomacy. Featuring prominent American diplomats, global leaders, and volunteer service advocates, the event will explore how diplomacy and international initiatives advance social, economic, health, environmental, and national security outcomes worldwide. Attendees will gain firsthand insights into the crucial role of cross-cultural leadership and discover how individual service shapes international stability.
Free and open to everyone!
Location: Tivoli Turnhalle (900 Auraria Pkwy)
Event Agenda:
5:45 p.m. | Doors Open
6:00 p.m. | Registration, Networking & Refreshments
6:30 p.m. | Program Followed by Audience Q&A
8:00 p.m. | Event Concludes
Meet Our Panelists
Ms. Spahn led the Peace Corps through a historic rebuilding and revitalization following its first-ever global evacuation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her leadership, more than 3,000Volunteers returned to service in 61 countries, and new country programs were launched in Vietnam, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Palau. She also served with the Peace Corps as Country Director in Malawi, Chief of Operations for the Africa Region, and Small Business Development Volunteer in Romania following the fall of communism.
Beyond the Peace Corps, Ms. Spahn has led initiatives across sectors to drive sustainable social change. As Executive Director of Accordia Global Health Foundation, she worked to strengthen health systems and fight infectious diseases in Africa at the height of the HIV pandemic. At Women for Women International, she spearheaded strategic initiatives and operations to support women survivors of war. Her leadership at Small Enterprise Assistance Funds facilitated private equity investments in small and medium enterprises in emerging markets.
Ms. Spahn was the 2026 Presidential Executive in Residence at Colorado State University and sits on various boards and advisory committees. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of changemakers and actively engages in promoting civic bridge building and public service.
Ambassador Eric Rubin is a Senior Fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Ambassador Rubin was elected to serve as the President of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) after his recent posting as US Ambassador to Bulgaria (2016-2019). Joining the Foreign Service in 1985 after graduating from Yale, he started as a political and human rights officer in Honduras (1985-1988). In 1989, he was assigned to the State Department’s Operations Center. From 1989 to 1991, he worked in the Office of Soviet Union Affairs where he monitored and reported on the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ambassador Rubin then served as the security affairs officer for Central and Eastern Europe.
He left Washington in 1994 for Kyiv, Ukraine as Deputy Political Counselor. While there, he was a recipient of AF- SA’s William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent by Mid-Level Officers for his work on the Bosnia crisis.
In 1996, he returned to Washington to work as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. From 1997-1998, he served as an Assistant White House Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs and in 1998 he was the special assistant to Ambassador Thomas Pickering—then the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. From 1999-2000 Ambassador Rubin was a Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University where he enjoyed teaching about diplomacy.
In 2001 he was posted to Chiang Mai, Thailand as Consul General. In 2004 he returned to Washington as the director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. In 2006 he served as the executive assistant to R. Nicholas Burns—the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, at the time.
From 2008 to 2011, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow. And from 2011 to 2015, he served as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Ambassador Rubin is married with two children.
Catherine Ebert-Gray (Cassy) is a career Minister-Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. She was sworn into office as U.S. Ambassador on January 22, 2016.
Prior to her confirmation as Ambassador, she served four years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Logistics Management and Co-Chair of the Defense – State Executive Steering Group supporting U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her responsibilities included oversight of the State Department’s global supply chain, acquisition, and contract risk management.
She has served over half of her career in the South Pacific region, starting as an analyst in the Hawaii State Legislature. Since entering the Foreign Service in 1988 she has served in Mali, Morocco, Togo, Egypt, Germany, The Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. She and her family have immersed themselves in the cultures and history of each nation.
Other tours in Washington have included positions in the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs Bureaus during Operation Desert Shield and the re-opening of embassies in Kabul, Baghdad and Tripoli. She also served as an Analyst in the Center for Administrative Innovation and Director of Overseas Employment in the Bureau of Human Resources.
Throughout her career, Cassy participated in overseas American Chambers of Commerce and volunteered on the boards of international schools. Originally from Wisconsin, she received her bachelor degrees in international relations and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in national resource management from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She is the recipient of multiple awards and enjoys water sports and playing golf.
Meet Our Moderator
Tom Selinger served 27 years in the Foreign Service, most recently as executive director of ADST. His overseas tours included Kyrgyzstan, Denmark, Croatia, Albania, and Trinidad and Tobago. His portfolios cover issues ranging from security cooperation to American citizen services. In Washington he worked in the Bureaus of European and Eurasian Affairs and Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and at the Center for the Study of the Conduct of Diplomacy as well as Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Prior to the Foreign Service, Tom was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and worked as a locally employed political specialist at the Canadian Consulate General in Minnesota.
Note: As a nonpartisan convener of global affairs programming, WorldDenver provides an unbiased forum for experts, world leaders, diplomats, and representatives from the public and private sectors to share their expertise and views on a broad spectrum of issues that matter to the world. We aim for our events to inspire curiosity and further reading, discussion, and civic engagement among our members and the Denver community on the global issues that we present.