Women in Leadership: An Evening with the Ambassador of Ireland to the US, Geraldine Byrne Nason

Each year, the Future Forum hosts a discussion on Women in Leadership, a series that has explored a variety of topics, including building diverse and inclusive teams, women in government, featuring a conversation with Madeleine Albright, the historic mobilization of women in politics, and the next generation of changemakers.

This year, the Future Forum welcomed the Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, Geraldine Byrne Nason, for a conversation moderated by Corrie MacLaggan, Statewide Managing Editor of The Texas Newsroom. Topics of discussion included Ambassador Byrne Nason’s experiences as a diplomat, including chairing the UN Commission on the Status of Women and as an elected member on the UN Security Council; Ireland’s unique, enduring relationship with the United States; and the remarkable cultural changes she’s witnessed over the course of her career.

About the Speakers

Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason assumed her role as Ireland’s 19th Ambassador to the United States in August 2022. Geraldine was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York (2017- 22). Previously, she served as Ambassador to France (2014-17), Second Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) (2011-14), Ambassador and Ireland’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU (2005-11)), and Director of the National Forum on Europe (2004-05).

Ambassador Byrne Nason has served in Brussels, New York, Paris, Vienna and Helsinki. As Second Secretary-General in the Department of the Taoiseach from 2011-2014, she was the highest ranking female public servant in Ireland. During that period, she also was Secretary General of Ireland’s Economic Management Council.

Ambassador Byrne Nason led Ireland’s successful campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council and led the New York Security Council team for the 2021-2022 term. Geraldine was Chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for 2018 and 2019. She has also co-chaired high-level political negotiations on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela and on the ‘Samoa pathway’ for Small Island Developing States.

A native of County Louth, in 2020 Ambassador Byrne Nason was awarded the Freedom of Drogheda, the town’s highest honour. In 2014, Geraldine was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s highest academic honour. Ambassador Byrne Nason holds an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Maynooth University as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Literature from Saint Patrick’s College in Maynooth (NUIM). Ambassador Byrne Nason is married and has one son.

Corrie MacLaggan is the statewide managing editor of The Texas Newsroom, a public radio journalism collaboration that includes NPR, KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media, KUT in Austin and Texas Public Radio in San Antonio. She is based in Austin. Previously, she was managing editor of The Texas Tribune. In addition, she served as a national correspondent for Reuters, covered Texas government and politics for the Austin American-Statesman and worked as a reporter and editor in El Paso and Mexico City. Corrie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a director of the Texas Lyceum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide leadership organization.