Her father was a career member of the United States Foreign Service and as a result of her family's travels, she grew up in Iran, Germany, France and Pakistan.

On October 3, 1993, 18 U.S. soldiers were killed and 73 wounded in an attempt to apprehend warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid at the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia.

Bushnell used her office to push Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi to institute democratic reforms and to root out corruption in his government, a major drag on Kenya's economy.

At the time of the bombing, Bushnell was attending a meeting with the Kenyan Trade Minister, Joseph J.Kamotho in the Cooperative Bank Building next to the embassy.

Upon regaining consciousness a few minutes later, Bushnell was evacuated to a nearby hotel where she received medical treatment and began overseeing rescue operations.

She responded by appearing on Kenyan state television to point out the inherent danger the devastated compound posed to untrained searchers and the need to preserve evidence.

In 2001, four al-Qaeda agents, including Wadih El-Hage, the leader of the cell that planned the attack, were put on trial in New York City.

It is extraordinary to overcome race, culture, language, sometimes gender, economic issues, and simply connect as human beings.

What is extraordinary about being an ambassador is that you have the power of the United States Government to make a difference.These are policies that are Strategic, Moral, Achievable, Reliable, and Transformational.

Bushnell conceived this framework for examining approaches to global challenges in the wake of her book about the 1998 al Qaeda terrorist attacks.

[4] Ambassador Bushnell also references the failures of diplomatic actions during the Rwandan genocide in an article published in The Brown Journal of World Affairs.

Ambassador to Guatemala in July 2002 to become Dean of the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute, a position she no longer holds.