Amb. Kathleen Stephens is the Chair of The Korea Society and the Pacific Century Institute, and the incoming Chair of The Asia Foundation. She was a career diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service (1978-2015). She served in Korea three times over a span of four decades: as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008-2011), as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and principal officer at the U.S. Consulate in Busan (1982- 1989), and as a Peace Corps volunteer (1975-1977). Her other overseas postings included China, the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Portugal, and India. Her Washington assignments included Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC). Amb. Stephens has taught at Stanford University and at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.