Iris Froeba is the 2015 recipient of the Walter Roberts Award for Public Diplomacy Studies. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Global Communication with a focus on Public Diplomacy at George Washington’s Elliott School of International Affairs. Taking classes at night allows her to work as Program Manager for the Transatlantic Dialogue Program of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom during the day.
Originally from Germany, Iris moved to Washington, DC in 2011. She discovered her love for the United States, intercultural exchange and transatlantic relations during her year as an au pair in Washington. Based on her experiences abroad, she decided to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Intercultural Management at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. In addition, she spent a semester abroad in Spain on the Erasmus Mundus scholarship program and gained substantial work experience in the field of public diplomacy with her internships at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt am Main, the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
Upon her graduation, Iris plans on taking the Foreign Service Office test in her native Germany.
The other recipients of this award are: