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October 4, 2000

Globetrotter Settling in Capital

By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer
    Ellen Shippy has been traveling the world as a diplomat for more than 30 years. But her ties to the Land of Enchantment remain taut.
    "It's always nice to get back to New Mexico and get some good Mexican food," says Shippy, who grew up in Silver City.
    Shippy, 56, most recently held the post of ambassador to the Republic of Malawi. This month, she will become the dean of the School of Professional and Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, D.C.
    The State Department school is a training ground for diplomats and government workers.
    Shippy was in Albuquerque recently visiting family, and she provided a snapshot of what has been a colorful life in the foreign service.
    "I had always wanted to get into a job where I could live and work overseas," she says. "I joined the foreign service to see the world."
    And that she has done.
    After receiving her bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1968, Shippy entered the foreign service.
    Since then, she has served in Guatemala; Tanzania; Lisbon, Portugal; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Karachi, Pakistan; and Kampala, Uganda.
    She also received a law degree from George Washington University in 1977 and speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili.
    In 1997, President Clinton nominated her as the new ambassador to Malawi, a small country in southern Africa, east of Zambia.
    Malawi is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania, with a subtropical climate, rolling plains and rounded hills and mountains.
    "People are very, very friendly," Shippy says. "Malawi is known as the 'warm heart of Africa.' ''
    With all the places she has been, selecting the best is difficult.
    "I have never been able to select my favorite," she says. "I've enjoyed every place I've been."

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If there's a former newsmaker you would like us to track down, contact Ellen Marks at 823-3842 or emarks@abqjournal.com