Frank J. “Joe” Wierichs (WEE-RIX) is the 2024-2026 visiting State Department Public Diplomacy Fellow at the George Washington University’s Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communications.
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Wierichs has served overseas in Public Diplomacy positions in Shanghai, Brussels, Ankara, Islamabad and, most recently, in Jerusalem, where he served for four years as the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy. Other overseas assignments include service as a consular officer in Chennai and as a political-military officer in Baghdad. He has served domestically in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and as deputy foreign policy advisor (POLAD) to the Commander of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, FL. He is a four time recipient of the State Department’s Superior Honor Award.
Mr. Wierichs is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, where he served in intelligence and electronic warfare positions as a cryptologic linguist. Attending college on the GI Bill, he earned a B.A. in Business from the University of South Florida. As the State Department’s selectee for the Organizational Management Fellowship program, he earned an M.A. from the George Washington University.
Other Public Diplomacy Fellows over the years are: