Britta Bjornlund

Britta Bjornlund, Branch Chief, Office of Educational & Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State - Britta Bjornlund is Branch Chief in the Study of the U.S. Branch, Office of Academic Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. As Branch Chief, Ms. Bjornlund oversees more than 35 Study of the U.S. Institutes hosted by more than 25 U.S. colleges and universities. This year, Ms. Bjornlund also manages the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the new flagship program of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Having joined the State Department in February 2009, Ms. Bjornlund previously worked as the executive director of the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation from 2006 to 2008. Ms. Bjornlund also worked as a program manager at the Library of Congress where she directed high-level exchange programs for leaders from Eurasia. She has also managed international economic development and technical assistance programs in Ukraine for the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; in Kazakhstan for Ernst & Young; and in Russia for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, among others. Ms. Bjornlund has authored four books on the Cold War and the Russian Revolution for middle and high school students. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College.