The Ambassador spoke to us via zoom on July 9 and shared his experiences in Guatemala and Venezuela. He is now at the National defense University (until his next posting).
Ambassador Robinson is the current Director of the International Student Management Office. He last served as Senior Advisor for Central America in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs in Washington. D.C. Ambassador Robinson was previously Chargé d’Affaires in Caracas, Venezuela from December 18, 2017 to May 22, 2018, when he was expelled by President Maduro. He was previously U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Guatemala from September 16, 2014, to September 20, 2017. Ambassador Robinson is a career diplomat with the rank of Minister Counselor.
Ambassador Robinson previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. From 2009 until 2011, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. Prior to that, he was Consul General and Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, Spain and Chief of the Political and Economic Section in the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania. Other overseas postings include the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Vatican City, Italy, El Salvador, and Colombia. In Washington, DC, Ambassador Robinson served in the Department’s Operations Center and as a Special Assistant to former Secretary of State Albright. He is the recipient of two Department Superior Honor Awards.
A native of New Jersey, Ambassador Robinson was a professional journalist before joining the Foreign Service. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Class of 1985.
Along with the talk by Ambassador Robinson, Consul General Virginia Staab and Former Consul Chad Cummins, along with retired Foreign Service Officer, Peter Becskehazy, shared their stories about the experiences they had while serving.
It was an amazing zoom session and we look forward to more (as soon as we get the speakers lined up.)
We look forward to everyone joining us for these informative sessions and will make sure to get the word out as to when the next opportunity will be available.