Gayleatha B. Brown
Gayleatha Beatrice Brown (June 20, 1947 – April 19, 2013) was a United States foreign service officer and ambassador. She served in several diplomatic posts during her career with the U.S. Department of State including U.S. ambassador to Benin. President Obama nominated Brown for the ambassadorial post to Burkina Faso on July 2, 2009. She was confirmed by the Senate on August 4. Education. Brown was educated at the Red Jacket Elementary School, Matewan Elementary and High Schools in Mingo County, West Virginia. She was senior class president and graduated from Edison High School in Edison, New Jersey . She has BA and MA honor degrees from Howard University. She conducted post-graduate work in international relations at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. Career. Before joining the Department of State, Ambassador Brown was a Special Assistant to the Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Africa and a legislative assistant in the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress. Brown's postings with the Department of State included: Honors. Ambassador Brown spoke English, French and Swahili. She wrote poetry, enjoyed reading (particularly mystery novels), and loved dancing, tennis, t'ai chi, and music  (especially gospel, soul, jazz, classical). She was a member of the Shiloh Baptist Church (Pilgrim Circle) in Washington, D.C. and was associated with the Community Church of Iselin, New Jersey.