Senior Leadership
Vacant, Assistant Secretary of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Vacant, Prinicipal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
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Maura M. Pally
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Maura M. Pally serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). She oversees a broad range of professional, cultural, youth, and sports exchange programs to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people around the world. Programs include the International Visitor Leadership Program, which for 70 years has brought established or potential foreign leaders and opinion makers to the United States to meet with their professional counterparts and to experience America firsthand, as well as initiatives supported by the Office of Citizen Exchanges such as The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, academic year youth exchanges, including Youth Exchange and Study (YES) and Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX), and the American Public Diplomacy Envoy program. Led by Ms. Pally, the Office of Professional and Cultural Exchanges also supports major public-private partnerships, including the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists and the FORTUNE/State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership.
Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Pally worked for then-Senator Hillary Clinton as Deputy Counsel for her 2008 presidential campaign and as Research Director for her 2006 Senate re-election campaign. During the Clinton Administration, Ms. Pally served in the Office of the White House Counsel. Ms. Pally has also worked in the private sector, including as Manager of Politics and Public Policy at Oxygen Media, managing the network's on-air and on-line efforts to engage women in the political process.
Ms. Pally graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University and holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California. She is a member of the District of Columbia and New York State Bars.
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Stanley S. Colvin
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Private Sector Exchange
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Stanley S. Colvin serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Private Sector Exchange in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). He oversees public-private partnerships, private sector exchanges, and the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. Mr. Colvin coordinates partnering opportunities with the private sector, academic and NGO communities and leads the policy formulation, management and regulation of the 1450 governmental, NGO, and corporate entities participating as sponsors in the Exchange Visitor Program. These sponsors facilitate the entry into the United States each year of more than 450,000 foreign nationals and account for some six billion dollars of the national economy. Mr. Colvin, an attorney, has acquired a highly regarded expertise in regulatory and administrative law issues. He serves as ECA’s lead with the Congress and the press on issues relating to Department of State -designated private sector exchanges.
Mr. Colvin is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he received his B.Sc. in Commerce and Juris Doctor degrees. He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
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Alina L. Romanowski
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Ms. Alina L. Romanowski was appointed in May 2009 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Academic Programs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) where she oversees all academic programs, including the Fulbright Program, the Humphrey Program, Gilman Scholarships, English Language Programs, and international marketing of American education resources and advising. Prior to her appointment to lead the Office of Academic Programs, she served for almost four years as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges in the same Bureau where she oversaw professional, cultural, sports and high school international exchanges, including the launch of several new programs, notably the Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program, the FORTUNE/State Department International Women Leaders Mentoring Partnership, the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), the Global Cultural Initiative and the American Public Diplomacy Envoy program.
She came to the Department of State in June 2003 to establish a new office to oversee and manage the President’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and served as its first Director. She also served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs for nine months.
Prior to her appointment at the State Department, Ms. Romanowski served at the Defense Department for almost 14 years in various senior positions involving the Near East and South Asia. She was the founding Director of the Near East-South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University from December 2000 through June 2003. She served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from August 1997 to December 2000 where she was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on all matters relating to Near Eastern and South Asian affairs. Prior to serving as Deputy, Ms. Romanowski served as the Office Director from January 1995 to August 1997. Previously she served as the Country Director for Israel from February 1990 through December 1994. She came to the Department of Defense from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1990 after serving 10 years as an intelligence analyst on the Near East and South Asia region.
Ms. Romanowski has received several awards and citations during her career. She is a 2001 recipient of the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award for Senior Executive Service, a 2008 and 1999 recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award for Senior Executive Service, and a 2005 recipient of the Department of State Superior Rank Award. Her other awards include two Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Awards for her contributions during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM and again for developing and executing national security goals and force protection initiatives in the post-Gulf War Middle East Region as well as the CIA Exceptional Performance Award.
In 1985-86, Ms. Romanowski attended Tel Aviv University in Israel to pursue postgraduate work in Middle East studies and learn Hebrew.
Ms. Romanowski is a graduate of the University of Chicago where she received her Bachelors Degree in History in 1977 and a Masters Degree in International Relations with a concentration in the Middle East in 1980. She speaks French and has studied Arabic and Hebrew.