Sheila Gwaltney was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic on August 5, 2015. She served as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Moscow from 2011-2014. Prior to that assignment, she served as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg (2008-2011).

Since joining the Department of State in 1984, Ms. Gwaltney has held a variety of positions. She served as Deputy Director for the Office of Russian Affairs at the Department of State, as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and as the Director of Country Affairs for Eurasia in the Office of the Coordinator for Assistance to Europe and Eurasia.

Other overseas assignments include: Panama; Pretoria, South Africa; St. Petersburg, Russia. She served as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine (2004-2007) and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (1999-2001). Under the auspices of the Department of State, she spent one year as a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Ms. Gwaltney graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is the recipient of several Department of State Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.