Stephen R. Sestanovich

Stephen Sestanovich joined SIPA's faculty in the fall of 2001 as the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of International Diplomacy. He is also the director of the International Fellows Program and the author, most recently, of Maximalist: America in the World from Truman to Obama (Knopf, February 2014).

Professor Sestanovich has had a long and diverse professional career, serving both in and out of government. From 1997 to 2001, he held the position of ambassador-at-large and special advisor to the Secretary of State on the New Independent States (NIS). In this role, he was responsible for the overall coordination of U.S. policy toward the states of the former Soviet Union, both within the State Department and with other agencies of the U.S. Government. He served as the principal public spokesman for the administration and the Department of State before Congress and the public on policy toward the NIS.

[email protected]


Contributions: 

  • Served on the Advisory Board from 2003-2020