Joyce E. Leader is a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who served as deputy chief of mission in Rwanda and as a U.S. observer to the Rwandan peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, in the years that culminated in the 1994 genocide. She ended her State Department career as ambassador to the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. Her assignments, including also postings to Geneva, Marseille, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Washington, centered on political affairs in Africa, refugee affairs, human rights, conflict resolution, and international organizations.
After retiring, she returned to the State Department to coordinate a U.S. peace-building initiative involving multiple attempts to resolve recurring threats to peace and human rights in the Great Lakes region of Africa. She holds an M.S. in Journalism (Columbia University School of Journalism), an M.A. in International Relations (University of Chicago), and a B.A. in Government (Denison University, Ohio).