The Villages Daily Sun

WILDWOOD — It was a thrill for Jackie Stephenson to watch her daughter Barbara take the next step in her 20-year career with the U.S. Department of State.

With her mother watching, Barbara was sworn in as the next ambassador to the Republic of Panama on July 11 in Washington, D.C.

While Jackie was excited and very proud of Barbara for her achievements, she wasn’t surprised at her success.

“Barbara has made me and her dad Vernon proud of her all her life,” Jackie said. “He passed away in 2007, but I know he would be so proud of her.”

Barbara was always focused and determined, even as a little girl, Jackie said.

“She was an ‘A’ student all through school and I never had to worry about her studying or doing her homework. Cleaning her room maybe; after all she was a typical kid, but never did I worry about her grades.”

Barbara, recently named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, loved school, worked hard and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1976 as class valedictorian. She went to the University of Florida where she studied to be a teacher, according to Jackie.

“In college one of her professors suggested she think about a career in the state department,” Stephenson said. “That was the beginning of a career of travel around the world. In the past 20 years I’ve visited her in Holland, Panama and in Curacao.”

Barbara received her first taste of travel to a foreign country during high school, when she was one of several Wildwood High School students to travel to Colombia for six weeks one summer.

“The goal for the kids was to live with a Colombian family and improve their Spanish-speaking skills,” Jackie said. “She just loved the experience. All through college she traveled, including trips to Europe and an extended stay in Austria.”

According to the state department profile, Stephenson began her career with the state department in Panama almost 20 years ago, where she served as an economic officer and then as a political officer.

In her arrival speech upon her return to Panama on Aug. 4, Stephenson expressed her pleasure in being back in Panama after 20 years.

“I am looking forward to visiting the city and the rest of the country and taking in all the changes,” she said. “My husband Matthew and I have very dear memories of our first time in Panama as newlyweds. We can barely believe our luck in being able to return now with our children …”

Barbara began her career in Panama, but during her more than 20 years with the state department she traveled the world.

Prior to her confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Panama, Stephenson served as deputy senior adviser to the secretary and deputy coordinator for Iraq at the U.S. Department of State.

Before taking up duties in Iraq, Stephenson was director for planning in the office of the coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization in the Department of State. Stephenson served from 2001-2004 as American consul general in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she worked on the Northern Ireland peace process.

From 1998-2001, she served as consul general and chief of mission in Curacao, where she was responsible for the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles as well as Aruba.

Stephenson served as special assistant to Under Secretaries for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff and Tom Pickering, covering European affairs, including the Balkans. Other assignments have included desk officer for the U.K., political-military officer in South Africa, and political officer in The Hague and San Salvador.

A career member of the senior foreign service, Stephenson holds a Ph.D. in English literature, speaks Spanish and Dutch and reads French.

Stephenson is married to Matthew Furbush and has two children, Claire and Brewster.

Patricia Steele is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 7992, or patricia.steele@thevillagesmedia.com.