Five Tools for Engaging Foreign Media
Program Overview
Join the Bureau of Global Public Affairs (GPA) for an informational webinar and Q&A session on working with foreign correspondents based in the United States, hosted by staff from GPA’s Foreign Press Centers (FPC). This webinar will provide an overview of FPC initiatives – from press credentialing to reporting tours – and tips on taking advantage of U.S.-based journalists to inform your overseas audience. You will learn five ways that the FPC can support your efforts (in the field or in Washington) to take your messaging strategies to another level.
Speakers
Ryan J. Roberts
Director, Foreign Press Centers
Ryan Roberts is the Director of the Foreign Press Centers in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs. In this capacity, he oversees State Department engagement and programs aimed at international media on assignment in the United States and oversees the State Department’s Washington and New York press centers. Previously, he served as Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the Netherlands (2019-2022) and as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Albania (2015-2018). From June 2011- 2014, he was the Cultural Affairs Officer at the American Institute in Taiwan. A career member of the United States Foreign Service, his other postings include the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China (2004-2007), and the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia (2007-2010). Mr. Roberts began his professional career as a television production specialist at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He holds an Associate Degree in Television Production from Milwaukee Area Technical College, and a B.A. in Political Science from Brigham Young University – Hawaii. He has studied Latvian, Albanian, Mandarin Chinese, and Dutch. He is married and has three children.
Doris Robinson
Media Relations Officer, Washington Foreign Press Center
A Media Relations Officer at the Foreign Press Center since 2006, Doris Robinson previously worked for USAID and the Office of Public Liaison. In 2021 she worked on the Afghanistan Task Force, and in 2017, she did a TDY to Consulate General Mumbai. She started her State Department career working on FOIA requests. Prior to joining the Department, she worked in the Admissions Office and Office of Student Services at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. A native of Michigan, Doris holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and sociology from Trinity College and studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo.