Cristine Pedersen

Crissy Pedersen is a career U.S. Diplomat and 2017 Tillman scholar. After serving as an enlisted Arabic Cryptologic Linguist in the Marine Corps for five years, Crissy pivoted to a career focused on protection of civilians in conflict and displacement. She earned an Associate’s degree from the Defense Language Institute in Arabic and transferred to Georgetown University School of Foreign Service after leaving the Marine Corps in 2015. Crissy received her BS and MS degree from Georgetown during which time she interned at humanitarian NGOs, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva, and briefly worked for U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton.

After graduation, Crissy was invited to join the 203rd class of U.S. Foreign Service Officers. She served her first tour on the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana focusing on labor rights, gender-based violence, and migration. She is set to depart for her second tour in Islamabad Pakistan in April where she will focus on immigrant and special immigrant (SIV) visas. Crissy is a 2018 Truman Scholar, has been published in the NYTimes, and teaches stand-up comedy to veterans through Armed Services Arts Partnership.