John Grondelski
John M. Grondelski returned to Consular Affairs to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services. John retired after a 26-year career as a consular-coned Foreign Service Officer with a primary focus on European affairs. He served as a Pearson Fellow on the National Security Team of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas; as Senior Fellow in the Center for Applied Strategic Learning at the National Defense University; Analyst for Russian Affairs in Europe in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Deputy Director of the Office of Central European Affairs (EUR/CE); Senior Poland Desk Officer; and Desk Officer for Russian Relations with Third States (EUR/RUS). His overseas assignments included: Chief of the Visa Section, Consulate General Shanghai (PRC); Deputy Chief of the Consular Section, U.S. Embassy Bern (Switzerland); Chief of American Citizen Services, U.S. Embassy Warsaw (Poland); and Vice Consul, U.S. Embassy London (UK). He also served in Taiwan as part of language training.
John holds a BA in philosophy and theology from St. Mary’s College (Orchard Lake, Michigan), and an MA and PhD in theology from Fordham University (Bronx, New York). Prior to his State Department career, he worked in higher education: at St. John’s University, New York and as associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He was also Kościuszko Foundation Fellow at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski) in Poland. He has strong interests and background in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Catholic theology and ethics and their interface with public policy. A New Jersey native, he is married with three children.