Scott Kilner

"A Stanford Political Science major, coupled with study at a Stanford Overseas Program, provided a superb intellectual foundation for a career in U.S. foreign policy. On top of this foundation I added a Masters degree in International Affairs and three years of practical experience in banking before joining the State Department. But during the three decades in international diplomacy that followed, I found myself time-and-again returning to the frame of reference that the Political Science program had given me."

Scott served for 32 years as a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, retiring with the rank of Minister-Counselor. In addition to several Washington assignments in the Bureau of European Affairs, he had nine overseas postings in Europe, Turkey and Afghanistan. These included Consul General in Istanbul, Turkey; Deputy Chief of Mission in Vienna, Austria; and Director for Provincial Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan.