Alumni Conversations: Foreign Service

Hear from Bronx Science alumni whose passion for public service has led them to forge their paths in the Foreign Service:

• Andrea Gastaldo ’84 - US Department of State Political-Military Affairs director, Office of State-Defense Integration
• Alexander McLaren ’90 - Foreign Service Officer in the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Cairo
• Anne Benjaminson ’99 - Senior Indonesia Desk Officer

Our Foreign Service alumni will share their experiences and insights into international relations work today.

Alumni Conversations: Foreign Service

Date: Monday, May 17, 2021

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EST

Venue: Online Event

We invite all Bronx Science alumni to join us!

About Our Speakers

Andrea Gastaldo ’84 is a Foreign Service Officer for the Department of State. When overseas, she is one of America’s diplomats. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Gastaldo ’84 backpacked around the world and worked odd jobs before entering the Foreign Service. She has been posted in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Australasia, as well as Kansas. Her work has helped advance democracy, strengthen bilateral ties and increased the role of women in diplomacy.

Alexander McLaren ’90 is a Foreign Service Officer serving in the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Cairo, where he coordinates more than 40 educational and cultural exchange programs bringing Egyptians to the United States and Americans to Egypt. A specialist in public affairs, McLaren '90 has previously served in India, Trinidad and Tobago, China and Guyana as well as in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in Washington, DC. Before joining the Foreign Service Alexander worked for Scholastic Books in New York City and taught in Japan for three years.

Anne Benjaminson ’99 joined the Foreign Service in 2004 and has served in US Embassies in Hungary, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as the State Department in Washington. She is currently the senior desk officer for Indonesia.