Edward O'Donnell

Ambassador O’Donnell is a Co-Founder of the ASU Lab for Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security and is a Professor of Practice in the School of Politics and Global Studies and the Barrett Honors College.  He teaches the ASU undergraduate course Diplomacy/Policy Design Studio 1 (POS 494 and Washington Internship POS 484) online and The Holocaust and WW II Today, a graduate level MA online course (MA IAL MA WWS).  He teaches additional graduate courses, Diplomacy in Action, the Embassy Country Team, International Negotiations and Diiplomacy, Human Rights and Preventing Genocide. 

He is on the Board of the Genocide Awareness Week (2022).

Ambassador O’Donnell retired from the career U.S. Foreign Service in 2007, after 33 years in Latin America, German-speaking Europe and other positions in Washington, D.C. He served in Germany, Austria, Panama, Colombia and Paraguay, as Charge, Deputy Chief of Mission, Consul General (Principal Officer), Economic Counselor and Commercial Attaché. In Washington D.C., He was a negotiating Ambassador concentrating on Holocaust issues; a Democratic Charter for the Americas and civil aviation rights. He was Executive Assistant to three Under Secretaries and Special Assistant, U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff.

O’Donnell served in the active U.S. Army Reserve for 30 years with tours in Germany, Panama and the United States. A Foreign Area Officer in Europe and Latin America, as Colonel he commanded two Military Intelligence Detachments, supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was commissioned in Military Intelligence at Fort Belvoir, Engineer Officer Candidate School and was airborne-qualified.

Since retirement from the State Department, he was Senior Strategy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security (2014-2018), Senior Mentor/Advisor to the Afghanistan Government Minister of Counter Narcotics in Kabul (2011-2014) and State Department inspector (2010 – 2011) in the Middle East Regional Office of the Inspector General. From 2009 – 2011 he was Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Congressional Relations Bureau and earlier managed the State Department Liaison Office to the House of Representatives.