Brenda Brown Schoonover (born 1939) was the

United States Ambassador to Togo This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Togo. Until 1955 French Togoland was a United Nations Trust Territory mandated by the U.N. to France. In 1955, French Togoland became the administrative Republic of Togo within the French Comm ...

, from January 1998 to July 2000. Schoonover was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...

in Baltimore, and did graduate studies at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She is fluent in French; and is married to Richard C. Schoonover, a former

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

officer retired from the former United States Information Agency (now known as the Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs section of the State Department). She began her overseas service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1961 in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

with the first groups to go abroad. She later served in the Peace Corps' Office of Talent Search, then as associate director of the Peace Corps in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, followed by an appointment as director of the agency's School Partnership Program. In the 1970s, Schoonover worked for two years as

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

's affirmative action officer. Schoonover has been with the Department of State for 21 years in a variety of administrative positions in the Philippines; Sri Lanka;

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

; and in the Bureau of Near East and South Asian Affairs. From 1988 to 1991, she was the chief of personnel for the Bureau of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Affairs. From 1992 to 1996 she was administrative officer and deputy director for the Office of Joint Administrative Services, U.S. Embassy,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. She completed the Senior seminar for foreign affairs required by the U.S. State Department. Since her arrival in Togo in January 1998, the Ambassador has spoken at several conferences on the Government of Togo's hospital and school supplies donated by the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

. The Ambassador has also welcomed several groups of Peace Corps Volunteers to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and in April 1998, participated in the Peace Corps All-Volunteer Conference in Pagala, Togo. Her term ended in July 2000 and was given presented credentials on January 7, 1998. Ambassador Schoonover was a Diplomat in Residence at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill from 2000 to 2001. She retired in 2004.

References

1939 births Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Togo Diplomats from Baltimore American women ambassadors United States Foreign Service personnel 21st-century American women {{US-diplomat-stub