Europe and the Soviet Union
Marina Grayson: From Ukraine to American Diplomacy
Came from Kyiv as a refugee and won AFSA's Mark Palmer Award for anticorruption work in Bulgaria.
- Fled
- Ukraine
- Status
- Refugee
- Arrived in the U.S.
- not stated
- Service
- Foreign Service Officer; political-economic officer, U.S. Embassy Sofia (2020 to 2023)
- Region
- Europe and the Soviet Union
Marina Grayson was born in Kyiv and came to the United States as a refugee with her family, settling in San Antonio, Texas.
As a Foreign Service Officer she served in Tegucigalpa and Santo Domingo, on the Armenia desk, and as a political-economic officer in Sofia. In 2023 the American Foreign Service Association gave her its Mark Palmer Award for her work against corruption in Bulgaria, including judicial reform and sanctions.
Read the history behind this story on the Ukraine page, or browse all the diplomats.