Ambassador Johnnie Carson served as a Senior Fellow at Jackson from 2014 – 2016. Carson is the former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs (2009-2013). Prior to this he was the National Intelligence Officer for Africa at the National Intelligence Council, after serving as the Senior Vice President of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Carson's 37-year foreign service career includes ambassadorships to Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. He also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs. Earlier in his career he had assignments in Portugal, Botswana, Mozambique, and Nigeria. Carson also served as desk officer in the Africa section at State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Staff Officer for the Secretary of State, and Staff Director for the Africa Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the recipient of several Superior Honor Awards from the Department of State and a Meritorious Service Award from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and a second Meritorious Service Award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2013. The Centers for Disease Control presented him with its highest award, "Champion of Prevention Award," for his leadership in directing the U.S. government's HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Kenya.