This biography is no longer current; at present, no other official Department of State biographical information is available.
Barry L. Wells, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, was sworn in as Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on December 10, 2007. Ambassador Wells joined the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute in 1988 where he served in a number of capacities including Associate Dean of the School of Professional Studies, Associate Dean of the Senior Seminar and Deputy Director of the Institute.
Ambassador Wells was a key member of teams that designed and established the School of Applied Information Technology and the Leadership and Management School. In 2006 Secretary Rice appointed him Director of The Office of Civil Rights; he was later named as the Department of State’s first Chief Diversity Officer. Earlier in his career, Ambassador Wells served as a Country Director for the Peace Corps in Belize and Jamaica. He also served as Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at Howard University Graduate School of Social Work from 1972-1978.
Ambassador Wells is the recipient of three Superior and two Meritorious Honor Awards and Senior Performance Pay. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Masters in Social Work. He also attended the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar in Aspen, Colorado.
