Susan Rice is a veteran American diplomat and public policy expert whose career has spanned several presidential administrations. Born on November 17, 1964, in Washington, D.C., Rice was raised in the Shepherd Park neighborhood. Her father, Emmett J. Rice, was a Cornell University economics professor and Federal Reserve governor, and her mother, Lois Dickson Rice, was a noted education policy scholar.
Rice attended the elite National Cathedral School and later earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University in 1986, graduating with honors and membership in Phi Beta Kappa. As a Rhodes Scholar, she studied at Oxford University, where she received both a Master’s and Doctorate in International Relations.
Rice began her public service in the Clinton administration, becoming Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 1997. In this role, she managed U.S. relations with 48 Sub-Saharan African nations and was instrumental in responding to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Under President Barack Obama, Rice served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2009–2013), where she advanced U.S. interests on the global stage. From 2013 to 2017, she was National Security Advisor, overseeing foreign policy, intelligence, and defense strategy. She was the first African American woman to hold this role.
In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed Rice as Director of the Domestic Policy Council. In this position, she led key initiatives including health care access, student loan reform, and immigration policy. She stepped down in May 2023 after more than two years in the role, becoming the only person in U.S. history to have served as both National Security Advisor and Domestic Policy Advisor.
After leaving the government, Rice joined Stanford University in 2024 as a visiting fellow at both the Freeman Spogli Institute and the Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She continues to contribute to public discourse through writing, speaking, and academic work.
Rice is the author of the bestselling memoir Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For (2019), which details her upbringing, professional challenges, and service in high-level government roles. Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards for her leadership and expertise in international and domestic policy.
She is married to Ian Cameron, a former television producer, and they have two children. The family resides in Washington, D.C.
