By Winnie Yu
When the U.S. was attacked on 9/11, Rachna Korhonen ’90 was inspired to rise to her
country’s defense. She knew she was too old to join the military, so she set her sights
on the Foreign Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of State. In 2004, she left
her job managing a sales team for a telecommunications firm and moved her family to
Mumbai, India.
Today, she is the U.S. ambassador to Mali, a landlocked nation in west Africa. Korhonen, who came to America from India at 12, says she wants the world to see that the U.S. is diverse. “I want people to see Americans can look like me,” she says. “We’re not all blonde and white. We speak different languages, we eat different kinds of food, and we’re still all very American. We’re different people and as proud of being American as anyone else.”
Her immigrant experience, she says, makes her perfect for the job. “I’m the embodiment of the American dream, I lived the American dream, and I get to sell the American dream,” she says.
A New Career
Korhonen had just dropped off her daughter at daycare and was driving to work when
she heard a radio report about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. She
headed home, where she turned on the TV in time to see the second plane strike the
WTC.
“When 9/11 happened, our country was getting support, but we were also getting criticized from all sides,” she says. “It felt like I needed to give something back to my country.”
Six months later, Korhonen went to a job fair featuring government agencies. After getting turned down by other agencies, she visited the table for the U.S. Department of State, where she learned about the Foreign Service.
Korhonen aced the written and oral exams — both on the first try — and got a job offer to work as a foreign service officer at the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai. She took a pay cut and moved her family to India. Her next assignments led her to the Middle East, and she spent multiple tours in Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Years later, she returned to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, as the first woman to serve as consul general and principal officer. She rose through the ranks and was appointed ambassador to Mali in 2022.
Overseeing U.S. Interests
As ambassador, Korhonen wears multiple hats. Her priority is ensuring the safety and
well-being of American citizens in Mali, which involves working to protect Mali from
terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS.
She also represents the U.S. at events. One day, she may be meeting with the president of Mali, the next she’ll be talking to Malian students who studied in the U.S., celebrating the opening of a new orphanage, or attending a party commemorating the birthday of Britain’s King Charles III.
Part of her job is fostering business relationships between the two countries. She encourages Malian companies to invest in the U.S. — she’s already enlisted more than 20 — and urges American businesses to invest in Mali, where an abundance of gold, uranium, and lithium present mining opportunities.
“For centuries, Malians have been the entrepreneurs of the region,” Korhonen says. “It’s in their DNA and of course it’s in our DNA, so it works out very well.”
Selling people on the U.S. isn’t difficult, says Korhonen, who admits to wearing rose-colored glasses. “We are still the best country in the world,” she says. “People still want to come to the U.S.”
Living the Dream
Korhonen grew up in Flemington, N.J, and learned English in ESL classes. By the end
of her first school year, she was done with ESL and had developed a passion for history,
math, and science. She went on to master several languages including Hindi, French,
Arabic, and Finnish. Her husband is of Finnish descent.
At 19, Korhonen landed an internship as a programmer for IBM. The internship turned into a full-time job, making it difficult for Korhonen to attend her classes at Pace University. Her advisor suggested she transfer to Empire State University.
The move enabled her to continue her studies even after she was transferred to New Delhi, India for a stint, and later, when she got pregnant. “Empire State was just amazing,” Korhonen says. “I have to thank my professors and mentor who helped me get through the last year to make this happen.”
Korhonen graduated with a B.S. in math and computer science. But her lessons from SUNY Empire went deeper than that and still serve her today.
“SUNY Empire made me a very flexible person that goes with the flow,” she says. “They taught me by example that you can always find a way around to get what you need. You don’t always have to fit into a certain box.”