[2] She was formerly the Dean of the Leadership and Management School of the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia.

Formerly, she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in London, and acted as Chargé d'Affaires following the departure of Ambassador Louis Susman.

For her work - particularly the development and implementation of the civilian surge in Iraq - she won the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award.

[10] In August 2009, Stephenson wrote in a leaked diplomatic cable that Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli had asked her for wiretaps on his political opponents in which she noted his "bullying style" and "autocratic tendencies".

[11] Martinelli's administration stated after the leak that "help in tapping the telephones of politicians was never requested" and that Stephenson was "mistaken" in her interpretation.