Irina Karmanova

Irina Karmanova is a strategic communications and public affairs leader currently with the United States Department of the Air Force, where she serves as a Branch Chief on the Public Affairs Strategy and Assessment team (SAF/PAX), covering the U.S. Space Force and space strategic communications.

Previously, Irina held key positions across 16 years at the U.S. Department of State, most recently serving as a Public Diplomacy Officer in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, where she focused on advancing U.S. foreign policy through space diplomacy. Prior to that, Irina served in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs where she led outreach campaigns and programs that communicated U.S. foreign policy priorities and the importance of diplomacy to American audiences.

Irina also served as Communications Director for the Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy and the Subnational Diplomacy Unit, which led and coordinated the Department's engagement with mayors, governors, and local officials in the U.S. and around the world. She is a recipient of three Meritorious Honor Awards, two Franklin Awards, and is a graduate of GSUSA’s Executive Leadership Program.

Her other Department of State experience included positions in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Irina completed diplomatic assignments in U.S. Embassy Kyiv, U.S. Consulate General Kolkata, U.S. Embassy Canberra, and U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires. Before joining State, Irina worked at the National Archives and Records Administration and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Irina Karmanova received both a Master of Arts (MA) in Global Communication with a concentration in Public Diplomacy, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Affairs and Russian Language and Literature, from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. In her spare time, Irina enjoys travel, photography, attending cultural events, hiking, yoga, and painting. Irina has taught Global Capstone at GW's Elliott School since 2019.