Jessica Lapenn

Jessica "Jessye" Lapenn is an American career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, who was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the African Union and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on August 27, 2019. Immediately prior, Lapenn served as the Chargé d'Affaires at U.S. Mission in South Africa from 2016 to 2019.

Born and raised in New York City, Lapenn earned a BA in Women's Studies from Harvard College and an MPhil in International Development from Cambridge University.