Alexandria J. Maloney

Named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent and a Forbes 50 Champion for Black and Brown Communities. She utilizes her vast network to build an ecosystem designed to educate, prepare, and empower over 60,000 underrepresented professionals.

By: Bianca Chardei
Photography: Isaiah Decruise

MONARCH: Where are you from?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I’m from Charles County, Mary- land, and grew up in the suburbs. I am a Maryland girl through and through.

MONARCH: When did you become aware of the importance of diversity and inclusivity? Did you have an experience, or did someone educate you?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I had a French teacher who was very intentional in wanting to expose us students to all things international. So while learning the French language, she was also very intentional in teaching us about the world. She traveled a lot and had a very full life and I thought that was fabulous, and I wanted to be fabulous like that. So that’s where my initial inspiration sprung from to pursue the international space.

Pursuing my undergrad degree in Rome, Italy, transformed my understanding on the importance of diversity and inclusion. Italy is a pretty diverse place. Rome is an international city, cosmopolitan. But when I was there and in the classroom and going to these different governmental events or multi- national events and conferences, I would always look around and be the only one and say, I know people from my community directly who would thrive here, who have the skills, who have the outlook and the ability. So that was one way. The other was when entering my professional career, the research I did at Cornell really helped me look at the importance of diversity and inclusion from a data perspective in terms of foreign affairs agencies, why we must continue to build and grow our entire apparatus and landscape.

MONARCH: What is the mission of the Black Professionals in International Affairs, and how did you get involved with the organization?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: So the mission of BPIA is to increase the involvement and engagement of African Americans and those of African descent in the international affairs field at large. Our member- ship is based all around the world. It ranges from high school students up to senior elected officials, re-tired ambassadors. I first got involved with the organization about ten years ago when I was literally doing Google searches, looking for associations and organizations and communities where I felt that I could get the mentorship and the direction that I desperately needed as an aspiring foreign service officer. And I stumbled upon BPIA and began as an intern, then elevated to student member, then general member, then was invited to serve on the board of directors, and now, for my third year’s term, serving as the president of the organization. BPIA is very personal for me; I attribute much of who I am to BPIA. It’s not just an organization or a support group; it’s a mechanism of what we do. Really, we are here to amplify, develop, and expand Black leaders in foreign affairs. We help train and prepare through our Colin Powell Leadership Institute. We help to identify the next step, the next lines of talent and leadership, through our mentorship program, through our Madam Ambassador exposure program that’s in partnership with the Arlington, Virginia, chapter of the Links Incorporated. We have a number of different programs and initiatives that help Black professionals at every stage of the professional journey to ensure our continuation on the path to leadership in the foreign affairs space.

MONARCH: How do you describe diversity and inclusion?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I broadly in terms of race, gender across the board. Then inclusion as opportunities in ways all voices can be heard, where all positions and views are included in an organization’s happenings and decision-making processes in a community. I also like to touch on equity and being equitable in that there is a fair opportunity, again, for all voices to be heard. We’re not prioritizing certain voices. Certain voices are not making decisions for a community group.

MONARCH: Do you find it challenging to discuss inclusivity with men and women of a certain age?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I love that question. I don’t know if I would define it by a gender thing that causes the challenge. I think it’s a mentality thing, and I think it’s also cultural. I can definitely say that last part. Cultural is a thing. The challenge from a domestic sense is, how do we look at culture, whether it’s as Americans or as the Black community in America? It could be regional as well. I think the most challenging part of discussing inclusivity across the board is, the reality is, some folks don’t want to accept that we are moving in the direction of progress, so the world does not work and operate in the same way that it did in the 1960s, or 1970s, or the ’90s, or even 2010. We are in a new time, and the way our world works is continuing to expand and include the voices, expertise, opinions, and the brilliance of communities that may not traditionally have had the opportunity to be able to engage in some of these organizations and communities at large.

MONARCH: On this journey, what have been the biggest hurdles you faced?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I’ll say there’s two things: The first biggest hurdle that I believe I have faced on my journey is the limitations that I may have already had and the ones I put on myself. When I look back on my career, there are times where I could have taken my career even further. I could have gone all the way with that.

MONARCH: Do you believe there are more opportunities internationally for Black and Brown people versus in the U.S.?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: Absolutely. So how I like to de- scribe the opportunities that exist in the international space is if you think about all the different roles and industries that we may have domestically in the U.S.—so whether it’s medical, corporate, health, communication, any- thing you can think of—there is an international scale to that work, a multinational, C-suite organization, whether it’s with our government and federal entities, whether it’s in trade, business, commerce, communications, medical. And so the opportunities are there.

MONARCH: What are your thoughts on the candidates running for office?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: These are my personal thoughts. I am thrilled to see the support and the rallying around our Vice President and now presidential candidate, Kamala Harris. Absolutely. One, the growing support for her I think is definitely attributable to the intensity behind the deepening of the divide between the Republican and the Democratic party but also her accolades and her accomplishments as one of the highest-ranking leaders in the United States. And so I woke up today feeling invigorated. As soon as we get off this call, I’ve got to handle some things because I’m supporting the Kamala Harris campaign in my role as chief of staff of a coalition called United Ethnic Women for Harris 2024. And so I’m all in. I think that we as leaders across industries do have a responsibility and a stake in what happens in our nation and thus in our world. And the leadership matters. You know, it concerns me, the idea of having Donald J. Trump as our President and what that can mean, the international implications of what that will mean for the safety and security of our nation as a people broadly as well as our people as Black people in this country. Who is going to best speak for us and represent us?

MONARCH: You have access to young minds all over the globe. How do you manage the responsibility?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: First off, I love this question. And thank you for asking that because some may see a lot of the activity or they see the highlights; they see the exciting things happening, but they, the general public, may not understand the responsibility that we as leaders sometimes face over organizations and institutions and the weight that comes with that responsibility.

For me, what brings me solace is when I wake up and do my morning prayer, I say, “God, thank you for the opportunity for another day to fulfill this work.” Then when I go to bed at night, I can go to sleep knowing that I’ve done everything in my power to try to make this world open to more opportunities for our people. My ultimate goal is to help make the world a more peaceful place by expanding cultural understanding and preparing leaders to work together across our differences. So when you ask, how do I manage that responsibility, I manage it with gratitude.

MONARCH: You have experienced a considerable amount of success. What is next for you, Ms. Alexandria J. Maloney?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: I get that pretty often, and I al- ways say what’s next for me or what my end game is, is to continue to do what I’m doing but at the highest level of impact. If I can reach every Black American of the African diaspora and they can say they know BPIA or they’ve been touched by an aspect of BPIA in some way, that’s when I know that I’ve reached my pinnacle.

MONARCH: What advice can you provide our readers to encourage them to create positive change within their communities?

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: The advice that I would give is don’t let anyone limit you. Don’t let anyone, society, or social media dictate what you should be doing or how you should be doing it. Listen to your inner voice, and follow it in the best way you know how, with the resources you have. Also, remember that you don’t have to do it alone. I’ve achieved what I have with the help of dynamic team members. In every project I undertake, I find good, capable, and creative people who encourage and support the project rather than stifle it.

MONARCH: Please share how we can stay connected with you and in the know with everything you have going on.

ALEXANDRIA J. MALONEY: Visiting my personal website, alexandriamaloney.com. There you’ll find all my social media handles as well as sign up for my monthly newsletter, “Alexandria’s Adventures,” just launched to keep folks abreast of what’s happening and all the causes that continue to drive me and my communities that I’m involved with. But also please follow Black Professionals in International Affairs. We’re on all platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. You can also join us as a member and find out more about our events and what we have coming up at our website, www.IABPIA.org.

President of Black Professionals in International
Dedicates Her Life To Ensuring That We All Have A Seat At The Table With Equal Say And Equal Pay.