Carissa Gonzalez

Carissa is a U.S. Foreign Service Officer with over a decade of service throughout the Middle East, Latin America, and Washington. Most recently, she was the Chief of Public Affairs (2016-2019) in Qatar, the epicenter of an unprecedented diplomatic standoff between U.S. allies in the Gulf. She simultaneously served as the U.S. Embassy’s Spokesperson and principal interlocutor with the world’s largest Arabic media network Al Jazeera and oversaw public messaging for all seven U.S. federal agencies operating in Qatar. Carissa has received numerous U.S. State Department awards, including commendations for ensuring American citizens’ safety in the midst of the Arab Spring in Yemen (2009-2011), where she volunteered to serve as the primary Department liaison to all Yemeni and U.S. military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies. The Council of American Ambassadors selected her as a Davis Fellow (2014-2015) for “demonstrated superior leadership, character, and potential to become a leading communicator for the U.S. government.” Carissa speaks Arabic and Spanish, and her research interests include strategic communications, national security policy, organizational behavior, grey zone conflicts, and the role of media and technology in identity and narrative formation. A former business strategy consultant, Carissa is an advocate for intelligently adapting best practices from the private sector to government agencies to better serve citizens’ interests. Carissa earned her bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs at Princeton, and is looking forward to returning to the School, this time with her husband and young daughter. In her elusive free time, Carissa enjoys reading, hiking, photography, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.