Emilia A. Puma, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. She provides regular counsel to the CSAF, as well as to other senior Air Force leaders, on all matters of U.S. foreign policy and international politics, and serves as liaison between the State Department and Air Force leadership.
Ms. Puma entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1991 as an officer in the U.S. Information Agency. Prior to joining the Air Force team at the Pentagon, Ms. Puma served as Public Affairs Officer in Madrid, Spain, and spent five months as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. She has handled a variety of overseas and domestic assignments, including Office Director for Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, filling in as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy for a period of six months. Earlier public diplomacy assignments include tours in Europe, the Western Hemisphere and South Asia. Ms. Puma served in several tours outside of public diplomacy, including as U.S. Government Coordinator for the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy; as desk officer for Serbia, Montenegro and Albania in the Office of the Assistance Coordinator, Bureau of European Affairs; and as Congressional Liaison Officer in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Ms. Puma speaks French, Italian and Spanish, and is the recipient of several Superior Honor Awards. She is a member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of Minister Counselor.
EDUCATION
1981 Bachelor of Arts, English and French literature, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
1983 Master of Arts, English literature, University of California, Los Angeles
1992 Master of Arts, French literature, Columbia University, New York
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1992-1995, Program Officer, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi, India
1996-1997, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
1997-1999, Deputy Branch Public Affairs Officer, U.S Consulate, Calcutta, India
1999-2001, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Bridgetown, Barbados
2001-2003, Congressional Liaison, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Washington, D.C.
2003-2005, Desk Officer, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, European Bureau, Washington, D.C.
2005-2006, U.S. Government Coordinator for the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy
2006-2009, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada
2009-2011, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Pristina, Kosovo
2011-2012, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Rome
2012-2014, Office Director, Press and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Washington, D.C.
2014- 2017, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy, Madrid, Spain
2017- present, Foreign Policy Advisor, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
AWARDS
Superior Honor Awards (2003, 2006, 2009, 2014)
Meritorious Step Increase (2004)
(Current as of November 2017)