Penelope A. Thomas has a passion for promoting diversity and strongly believes in the professional development of the USAID work force.
Prior to joining the Office of External Outreach and Strategic Recruitment in the Office of Human Capital and Talent Management (XOSR/HCTM) in January 2023 as the new Development Diplomat in Residence-South, Ms. Thomas served as a Supervisory Executive Officer in Pakistan, Nigeria, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Bangladesh, and Mali and Egypt. Her previous assignments also include serving as the Operations Chief in the Management Bureau’s Overseas Management Division (M/MS/OMD) responsible for supervising, training, mentoring, coaching, and hiring new Executive Officers. She also worked for the Office of Security as the Operations Chief of the USAID Command Center in USAID/Washington.
She has experience studying, living, and working overseas since 1979. With a bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College in French and Spanish, she speaks both at native levels which gives her greater access to diverse populations.
After graduating from St. Olaf College, Ms. Thomas joined the United States Peace Corps in Gabon, Central Africa, where she taught English in a rural village from 1989 to 1991. She has worked with several international development organizations including Africare and the Service and Development Agency Inc. of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME-SADA).
Ms. Thomas is an accomplished singer and was a member of the renown Gospel group called The Sounds of Blackness. She was also a backup singer for Prince.
Karen Klimowski, Development Diplomat in Residence (DDIR) in XOSR. Karen’s new office will be at California State University, Long Beach, where she will serve as the DDIR-West.
Karen is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service and has worked in development for over 30 years. Her last assignment was as Deputy Mission Director for USAID/India. Prior to that, she served as Indo-Pacific Coordinator for South Asia. She has also served with USAID in the Philippines, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia, focusing on complex development challenges in health, education, democracy and governance, environment, and clean energy.
Prior to joining USAID, Karen worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Zimbabwe, and Malawi; the Orange County Health Care Agency in Santa Ana, California; and various non-governmental organizations. She started her career in development as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa.