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Originally from Nebraska, Mr. Rohrich and Ms. Gaul have long careers with Department of State. As experts focused on Eastern Europe and Russia, they will also discuss the current conflict in Ukraine and it’s implications on U.S. national security.

Kyle Rohrich serves as a political officer in the State Department’s Office of Russia Affairs, where he covers Russia’s relations with countries in Europe and Central Asia. A career Foreign Service Officer, Kyle previously served as Russia Watcher in Embassy London, where he worked to align U.S.-UK efforts to deter and respond to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyle has also served as an economic and commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan and as a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Kyle holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University. He hails from Pierce, Nebraska and speaks Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Azerbaijani, and Kyrgyz.

Courtney Gaul is a foreign affairs officer in the State Department’s Office of Eastern European Affairs, where she has served as the senior Ukraine desk officer covering conflict diplomacy since 2020. Previously, she served on the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs’ NATO desk, and in the Office of Central Asian Affairs as coordinator for the C5+1 diplomatic platform and as desk officer for the Republic of Tajikistan. She has also served long-term temporary tours of duty in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Courtney received her M.A. from George Washington University in International Science and Technology Policy and her B.A. in Russian Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Courtney was born in Omaha, Nebraska and speaks Russian and French.