Ambassador James Goodby received the Heinz Award for Public Policy. Virtually unknown to his countrymen or to the world, Ambassador Goodby is a quiet titan in the delicate, high stakes arena of international nuclear weapons negotiations.

Both the esoteric and security-sensitive nature of his specialty have required him to work almost entirely behind the scenes. But, for more than four decades under nine Presidents, James Goodby has made the world a safer place, beginning with his leadership of the effort to achieve a nuclear test ban treaty in the 1950s and 1960s. After retiring from the Foreign Service in 1989, Ambassador Goodby was called back in 1993 to serve as Chief U.S. Negotiator for the Safe and Secure Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons. During his tenure, he negotiated over 30 agreements with several former Soviet Republics to assist in the dismantling of nuclear weapons, preventing weapons proliferation, and converting military facilities to civilian enterprises.

As Secretary of Defense William Perry has written, “Jim’s life has been dedicated to serving the public and humanity. He is an unselfish individual who is touched by the needs of others and responds in a vigorous way to bring about change.”