[1][2][3][4] She received a Bachelor of Science from West Virginia State College in 1965 and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan in 1967.

[10][11] President Bush officially appointed Rendor the 12th United States Ambassador to the Gambia on 22 October 1990,[1][3][4][6][12] and she presented her credentials on 31 December of the same year.

[1][13][14] In Render's first briefing on the situation in the Rwanda and Burundi, the unrest was blamed on "common bandits" who were taking advantage of a weak government and unsettled political climate.

[15] On March 24, 1994, she arrived in Burundi and would later travel to Rwanda with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Prudence Bushnell to support peace efforts.

[1][16][17][18][19][20][21] On that first day, Render went to the house of the American Ambassador to Burundi, Robert Krueger, and met with Burundian government officials, all the while shooting was exploding in area around the city.

[1] One of the first ways Render and Bushnell addressed the growing tensions was to urge Rwandan Hutu military and police officials to cease broadcasting anti-Tutsi radio messages[1][23] and renew their focus on providing basic security services, which had become lax.

[1] Later, released memos and other documents revealed their frustration with the inaction of both the administration of President Bill Clinton and the United Nations in response to the growing violence.

In a memo dated 11 April 1994, sent by Render to Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs George Moose titled "Political Strategy for Rwanda," some noted strategies were to "complete evacuation of all Americans wishing to leave," "urge the [Rwandan Patriotic Front] to agree to a new ceasefire," reaffirm the potential of the Arusha Accords, "monitor the security situation," "if the security situation permits, resume Embassy operations," and "examine options for a confidence-building multilateral military presence of some kind.

[1][17][26] Render left her position as Director of the Office of Central African Affairs in 1996, when on 13 May President Clinton nominated her to be the US Ambassador to Zambia.

[1][17][27][32] Render was especially vocal on the issue of introducing auditing standards to ensure that American aid would be used only for its intended purposes.

[34]Even so, some have criticized her effectiveness in her efforts against corruption and human rights abuses in Zambia, claiming that despite the strong stance she presented in her nomination hearing, she had become less vocal in her opposition.

[40] Their purpose was to implement the Bush Administration's foreign policy in Africa, which was driven mainly by security concerns, primarily the Global War on Terror and the protection of oil supplies.

[1] In September 2015, Render was one of more than 100 former ambassadors and State Department officials who were signatories of a joint letter sent to President Barack Obama praising the Iran deal.