I once asked myself the same question. My conclusion: There are two ways to truly change a society. 1. CHANGE THE POLICIES OF A NATION. This can have an immed

I once asked myself the same question. My conclusion: There are two ways to truly change a society. 1. CHANGE THE POLICIES OF A NATION. This can have an immediate impact. It also means being in politics. I'm awful at politics, so I didn't opt for that path. 2. IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF UPCOMING GENERATIONS. This is a slower, yet more fundamental way to shift a society. If you can't cure cancer, maybe you can help set up an environment to educate someone else who can. This is the path I choose. I'm not a teacher. I opted for the education technology (also known as "edtech") industry. Technology isn't a panacea for all the problems you may see in the education system, but since it's a system fraught with inefficiencies, there are many opportunities for technical improvements. The trick is, of course, finding the right opportunity that can also develop into a self-sustaining process/organization. That was my own assessment, at least. With your experience in the US State Dept, politics may also be a viable path for you. Either way, we definitely need more people like you! Cheers for asking this question.