From CR to the Department of State: Finding a Path that Works for You

Kevin Greer (G ’14) will discuss his career trajectory from being a Georgetown grad student desperate for [unpaid] internships to tackling some of the most challenging policy and management issues at the U.S. Department of State, including how lessons from the MA in Conflict Resolution program resonate (or not) with his work. Kevin will offer his views on careers in the various pieces of the foreign affairs community and how they fit together, such as humanitarian NGO work, international organizations like the United Nations, think tanks/academia, and of course, the State Department’s civil and Foreign Service.

Bio

Kevin Greer is a civil service foreign affairs officer with more than nine years of experience at the Department of State and currently serves as a Venezuela Desk officer responsible for sanctions and energy policy in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He previously served in the Office of the Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as a policy advisor for U.S. efforts with Russia and Israel as they pertain to Syria and briefly served as a political officer at the Iran Regional Presence Office at U.S. Consulate General Dubai reporting on the 2021 Iranian presidential elections. Kevin was a “Line Officer” in the Executive Secretariat, where he worked for Secretaries Kerry, Tillerson, and Pompeo coordinating more than 30 secretarial trips on four continents, including within the United States, and reviewing briefing materials for senior State Department officials. Kevin was also a staff assistant in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, a Cuba Desk officer, and interned at the Foreign Service Institute while getting his master’s degree in conflict resolution at Georgetown University. Prior to joining the Department of State, Kevin worked as both an intern and a program assistant at the NGO Search for Common Ground on their Iran, Syria, and Western Sahara track II diplomacy programs. Originally from Long Island, NY, Kevin has traveled to 42 countries on 6 continents and speaks Farsi, Spanish, and basic Russian.

CR Alumni Talk: Kevin Greer (G'14)