Former UTEP Staff Member Named Ambassador To Venezuela

President Barack Obama has nominated Larry L. Palmer, Ed.D. a former assistant to UTEP President Diana Natalicio, to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela.

“Larry Palmer’s nomination by President Obama as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela is great news,” Natalicio said in a news release. “The expertise and experience that he’s gained during his distinguished career in the Foreign Service, including two years at UTEP as a State Department Pearson Fellow, have prepared him exceedingly well for this important assignment. Ambassador Palmer’s many UTEP Miner friends join me in wishing him a smooth confirmation process and success in this fascinating new post.”

Obama recently nominated Palmer and three other men to ambassadorships, which still must be confirmed by the Senate. Palmer would replace Patrick Duddy, who began serving as ambassador in Caracas in August 2007.

“I am proud to nominate such accomplished and dedicated individuals to fill these important roles,” Obama said. “They will be valuable additions to my administration as we work to confront our challenges at home and abroad.”

Palmer worked at the University of Texas at El Paso from 1989-91. During that time he was named a Pearson Fellow, an honor bestowed on individuals with an outstanding record of national and/or international public service. His portfolio included advancing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating faculty and student exchange opportunities in universities throughout Mexico, and serving as University consultant for international affairs.

Palmer is the president and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation, a U.S. foreign assistance agency which channels funds to nongovernmental organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and self-reliance to empower impoverished communities.

Most recently, he spoke at the opening reception for Picturing Grassroots Development: An Exhibit in Celebration of the Inter-American Foundation’s 40th Anniversary at the UTEP Centennial Museum in October 2009. His relationship with UTEP remains strong and Natalicio serves as an advisory council member for the Inter-American Foundation. He also was a speaker for the University’s Millennium Lecture Series in 2008.

Palmer is a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Honduras from 2002 to 2005, and as president of the 41st Senior Seminar before becoming the Charge D’Affaires in Quito, Ecuador from 1999 to 2002.

Palmer acted as vice consul in the Dominican Republic from 1982 to 1984, and then as personnel officer in Montevideo, Uruguay and Asuncion, Paraguay, from 1984 to 1986. He worked in the State Department as staff assistant to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs from 1986 to 1987 and then as counselor for administration in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 1987 to 1989.

Palmer left UTEP to serve as personnel officer in Seoul, Korea, from 1991 to 1994 and went on to become counselor for administration in the Dominican Republic from 1994 to 1998.

Born in Augusta, Ga., Palmer graduated from Emory University in 1970, and completed his graduate training at Texas Southern University (M.Ed., African History, 1973) and Indiana University Bloomington (Ed. D., Higher Education Administration and African Studies, 1978).

Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1982, Palmer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa (1971-73); as assistant director of financial aid at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1973-74); as a professor of history at Cuttington College in Suakoko, Liberia (1974-76); and at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina (1978-81).