Alaina B. Teplitz was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Administration on December 6, 2021.
Previously, Teplitz served as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives from 2018 to 2021. She served as Ambassador to Nepal from 2015-2018. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, she joined the State Department in 1991 and is the recipient of numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. In Sri Lanka, she built upon seven decades of partnership and cooperation to encourage enhanced prosperity, strengthened democratic institutions, and stability.
Focused on laying the foundation for successful 21st century American diplomacy, Teplitz held the Assistant-Secretary ranked position of director of the Office of Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI) at the Department of State from 2012-2015. Under her leadership, M/PRI found innovative ways to reform our bureaucracy and improve the way that our diplomatic service operates. Teplitz championed efforts to improve knowledge management, data use, and risk management.
Prior to leading M/PRI, Teplitz was minister counselor for management at U.S. Embassy Kabul from 2011-2012. Teplitz also served as the deputy executive director of NEA’s joint executive office from 2009-2011, where she handled the South and Central Asia portfolio, including Afghanistan and Pakistan. She was the director of the management training division at FSI from 2007-2009. Previous assignments include management counselor in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and deputy director of the Joint Administrative Services supporting three U.S. Missions – the U.S. Mission to NATO, the U.S. Mission to the EU, and the U.S. Embassy to Belgium. Her previous posts also include Ulaanbaatar, Tirana, and Sydney.
Teplitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a Master’s in Public Administration from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.