Sylvia Curran's term ended on August 19, 2021.
Sylvia Reed Curran was the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and concurrently served as the Near East Affairs Bureau’s Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator. She served abroad in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Ottawa, Canada; Beijing, China; Moscow, Russia; and Tel Aviv, Israel. In addition, Ms. Curran served as Pol/Econ Chief in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Consul General in Vladivostok, Russia, and Minister Counselor for Political Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq.
In addition to her overseas assignments, Ms. Curran served as Special Assistant for Europe and Eurasia for the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, the Special Advisor on Indigenous Engagement in the Race, Ethnicity, and Social Inclusion Unit of the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau’s Office of Policy and Planning Coordination, and Office Director in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research’s Office of Analysis for Near Eastern Affairs.
Previous to joining the United States Foreign Service, Ms. Curran worked in cytogenetics at the University of Chicago where she focused on leukemia research and in biotechnology research for a private company.
Ms. Curran speaks Russian, Spanish, and Mandarin and has studied Arabic. She received a BS in Biology and AAS in Chemistry from the University of Alaska, studied medical technology at the University of Hawaii, and received an MS in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University. She has received a number of Meritorious Honor Awards, Superior Honor Awards, performance pay awards, and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.