LAURIE FULTON
You know you’re a big deal when the Queen wants to see you. Such was the case for 1971 UNO graduate Laurie Fulton when she was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark in July 2009 — followed one month later by presentation of her credentials to Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II. Other dignitaries would follow. Months later Fulton welcomed a U.S. delegation that included first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah. Then came visits by President Barack Obama when Denmark when Denmark hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Fulton came to the ambassadorship after a distinguished career with high-powered Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, where she specialized in antitrust, mass tort, white-collar criminal defense and product liability litigation. In 2004 she was named one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” by Washingtonian magazine. President Obama’s nomination of her to the Denmark ambassadorship continued Fulton’s long-standing ties to Denmark. Her maternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1910 and her great-grandfather served in the Danish parliament from 1918 until 1940. Fulton relinquished her term as ambassador in February 2013 and retired from Williams & Connolly in 2014. Today she serves organizations including Meridian Board of Trustees and the National Democratic Institute.