Rian Harker Harris is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. During her more than twenty-year career she has served at the U.S. Embassies in Georgia, Serbia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Guatemala, Armenia, and the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia. She also previously served at U.S. Embassy Madrid as the Press Attaché. Most recently, Ms. Harris was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia.
In Washington, D.C, she served as a Director for European Affairs at the White House on the National Security Council staff where she was responsible for nine countries in Southern Europe and the Caucasus, including Spain. She also served as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
During her career, Ms. Harris has focused on public diplomacy and political-military affairs. She has served as Mission Spokesperson at three embassies and represented the U.S. on NATO Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan, including Herat, led by Italy, and Badghis, led by Spain.
Ms. Harris holds a master’s degree in public policy from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies and environmental science from the College of William and Mary. She has studied Spanish, Georgian, Russian, Serbian, and Dari. Ms. Harris was raised in rural Nelson County, Virginia. Her husband, Christopher, is also a Foreign Service Officer. They have two daughters.