Donald M. Bishop

publicdiplomacycouncil.org

Donald M. Bishop

Donald M. Bishop is the Bren Chair of Strategic Communications at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. 

Mr. Bishop served as a Foreign Service Officer – first in the U.S. Information Agency and then in the Department of State – for 31 years.  Specializing in Public Diplomacy, political-military affairs, and East Asia, he attained the rank of Minister-Counselor in the career service.  He was President of the Public Diplomacy Council from 2013 to 2015 and is now a member of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Bishop's first round of Foreign Service assignments included Hong Kong; Taegu and Seoul, Korea; and Taipei, Taiwan. In Washington, he was a Congressional Fellow on the staff of a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he also directed the training of the Foreign Service's incoming Public Diplomacy officers.

Returning overseas, he directed U.S. Public Diplomacy programs in Bangladesh, Nigeria, and twice in China. In 2004, Mr. Bishop received the Secretary's Award for Public Outreach from Secretary of State Colin Powell, who cited him for "committed and effective speaking and advocacy on the war on terrorism and American freedoms, especially religious freedom, in two challenging public diplomacy environments, Nigeria and China, since September 11, 2001."

In 2006, Mr. Bishop was detailed to the Pentagon as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway, and then to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, General Norton Schwartz. Traveling with these two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he visited five continents and joined service planning to develop strong relationships with the armed forces of other nations.

In 2009, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke asked Mr. Bishop to lead communication and Public Diplomacy at the American Embassy in Afghanistan as the "civilian surge" began. He arrived three weeks later to direct the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section, to help develop the Afghan government's relations with the media, and to cooperate with the U.S. and NATO commands.  Other Public Diplomacy portfolios included media relations, education and exchanges, English teaching, the preservation of cultural heritage sites, and the network of Lincoln Learning Centers throughout Afghanistan. For his work in Afghanistan, he received the Distinguished Honor Award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Before entering the Foreign Service, Mr. Bishop was an Air Force officer. He served in Vietnam in the 37th Security Police Squadron, defending Phu Cat Air Base, and at the forward deployment base at Kwang Ju, Korea, home of the College Eye Task Force flying the EC-121. From 1975 to 1979, he taught history on the faculty of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was a member of the summer training cadre for the first Academy class that included women. Earlier, he worked on Wall Street for Smith, Barney & Co. and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company.

Mr. Bishop's degrees in history are from Trinity College and Ohio State University.  His languages are Korean and Chinese (Mandarin). He and his wife, Jemma, have three adult sons and seven grandchildren.