WASHINGTON - With Jeanine Jackson moving swiftly along the path to becoming a U.S. ambassador, her hometown of Sheridan soon may be able to boast of a direct link to Ouagadougou, the capital of the west African nation of Burkina Faso.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday held a nomination hearing for Jackson, a career civil servant who was born and raised in Sheridan.

Her extensive Foreign Service experience includes positions in Afghanistan, Kenya, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Switzerland and Vietnam. But she and her husband, Mark Jackson, still keep a cabin in Wyoming and return there whenever they get a chance.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate as expected, Jackson said she will put together an art exhibit in the ambassador's residence featuring Wyoming and Montana artists, as part of the Arts in Embassies program, and maintain it for as long as she stays in Burkina Faso.

Most recently Jackson served at the State Department as the management coordinator for opening the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, which required her to travel to the country twice.

She also spent 15 months in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban opening the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. She describes the experience as "hard, hard, hard" but says she wouldn't trade her time there for anything.

"Every morning I woke up and thought, 'Why would anybody want to be in Paris?'" she said. "Because it was so interesting being in Afghanistan. It was interesting every day, a challenge every day. It was so fascinating."

If confirmed as ambassador to Burkina Faso, Jackson will face another challenge. She testified Wednesday that the country is on a path to multiparty democracy and improving its human rights record.

"Laws, organizations and programs have been put in place to address several key human rights problems - trafficking in children, female genital mutilation and corruption," she said. "But progress remains tentative, and in order to advance, the government of Burkina Faso must embrace a higher level of accountability and demonstrate increased respect for human rights and the rule of law."

She also said that while the government is now playing a constructive role in the region, it must continue to demonstrate its commitment to do so "in order to overcome the damage to its reputation caused by more than a decade of support for regimes and movements harmful to regional security."

Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced his longtime friend to the committee, noting that they went to the same high school and that his wife and the nominee were classmates and "best friends" there.

Enzi said Jackson's childhood in Wyoming "prepared her for the adventures and the challenges of Africa," but also noted some of the highlights of her impressive career.

"In 2001, Ms. Jackson became the first senior U.S. diplomat to serve in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban," Enzi said. "In Kenya, in the years after the al-Qaida bombing, she played a major role in rebuilding the staff, operations, and infrastructure. In Hong Kong, she protected the interests of U.S. government agencies and employees at the time of reversion to Chinese sovereignty."

Jackson also completed 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserves as a full colonel.

Enzi noted that Jackson's husband also served in the Foreign Service but now is retired, joking, "You kind of get two for the price of one."

Jackson credits her success to her upbringing in Wyoming.

"I had a lot of great teachers in the Sheridan public school system," she said. "I was in 4-H and other organizations that gave me a great basis for doing what I'm doing today."