Women in Diplomacy: An Inside Look at the Work of Women Serving as Consul General in Houston

AJC Houston is partnering with the congregations and Sisterhoods of Beth Israel, Beth Yeshurun and Emanu El to host ‘Women in Diplomacy’ at Congregation Emanu El on Wednesday, April 6.

The program will start off with a reception at 9:00 a.m. in Feld Hall before moving into the Barish Sanctuary at 9:30 a.m.

The “Women in Diplomacy” panel discussion will provide an inside look at the work of the consul generals of Canada, Mexico, Israel and Norway in addition to the United States’ regional director of the state department – all women.

The bios of the panelists can be found below:

Katherine “Kit” Ho, the regional director of the U.S. Department of State. Ho oversees diplomatic services and security issues for more than 150 foreign missions in 8 states: Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, New Mexico and Kansas.

Rachel McCormick is currently the Consul General of Canada to the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. She was head of the Energy and Environment Section at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC from 2014 to 2019. She joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2004. In Ottawa she worked in divisions responsible for sustainable development, energy, climate change and circumpolar affairs. She represented the Government of Canada in a range of international forums, including the Arctic Council, the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the United Nations.

Alicia Kerber Palma has served as Consul General of Mexico in Houston since June 2019 and has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service (SEM) since 1991. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), she has served as Advisor in the Coordination for the Environment and Natural Resources, Director of Liaison with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Director for the Organization of American States (OAS). She was part of the first work team of the National Human Rights Commission as Director of Studies, Projects and Events, in addition to having held other positions in the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR), Ministry of Public Education and the Security Institute at the Service of State Workers (ISSSTE). She has served as Head of Political Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Colombia, Titular Consul of the Mexican Consulate in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Representative of Mexico to the Organization of American States (OAS), she served for two years as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Mexico in Ireland. He has also been Consul Principal of the Consulates of Mexico in Kansas and in Philadelphia.

Consul General Livia Link- Raviv began her post in August of 2021 to lead the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest United States, which is responsible for the five-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Consulate’s departments include academic, cultural, Hispanic, press, political and strategic affairs. A career diplomat in the Israel MFA for the past 20 years, Consul General Link-Raviv has served in Caracas, Venezuela, as Deputy Ambassador, and in Rome, Italy, as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consul General Link-Raviv has worked in the Department for International Organizations, coordinating policy vis-à-vis the United Nations; directed the MFA’s Cadet Course, leading the training and preparation of the next generation of diplomats; and in the Legal Adviser Division in charge of economic affairs. She has also served as the Director of the Pacific Department.

Hilde Skorpen took up her position as Consul General of Norway in Houston on September 2, 2019. Prior to her current posting, Dr. Skorpen served as Director of the Section for Business Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo. She held the position of Consul General in San Francisco from 2013 to 2017, serving the thirteen western most states. She has also served as Ambassador for Disarmament and Deputy Head of the Norwegian Mission to the UN in Geneva, and has been posted to the Norwegian mission to NATO in Brussels, and the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She served as the Foreign Ministry’s Senior Faculty Advisor to the Norwegian National Defense College in Oslo from 2011 to 2013. The Houston region is home to approximately 6000 Norwegians, the largest contingency of Norwegians anywhere outside of Norway with many working in the offshore and onshore oil and gas sector, the maritime sector, innovation and technology, financial services, space and medical sectors, as well as higher education, research and development.

To help the event coordinators plan, please RSVP online or by reaching out to AJC Houston Region Director Randy Czarlinsky at czarlinskyr@ajc.org. An event logistical email which will include details on utilizing the covered parking facility at Emanu El will be sent to all registrants of the event on Monday, April 4.

For more information, contact Czarlinsky at the email listed above.