IOA Diplomatic Fellowship Program

Diplomatic Fellow: August 2025 – July 2026

Chris Nyce

Chris served as the first-ever Energy & Environment, Science, Technology and Health (ESTH) Officer for the United States Mission to the African Union from 2022-2025.  He was responsible for developing and leading diplomatic initiatives and programs to advance the US Mission to the African Union’s energy and ESTH engagement strategies by working with the African Union (AU) Commission and with like-minded Missions to the AU to coordinate and leverage joint diplomatic engagements to advance shared objectives and identify opportunities to enhance U.S. influence.  During his tour in Addis Ababa, Chris led USAU for considerable periods as both Chargé d’Affaires and Acting Deputy Chief of Mission.

Chris joined USAU after serving as the Deputy Political and Economic Counselor in Juba, South Sudan, where he focused on public financial management reform efforts and its linkages with corruption in the oil sector.  Previously, Chris served from 2017-2021 as the Regional Environment Officer for East Africa, where he developed and implemented strategies and initiatives on transboundary environment, science, and global health issues in a 15-nation region.  

Chris studied biology at Reed College, received his Master of Environmental Management from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and served in the Peace Corps for three years where he worked for the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Lake Mburo National Park.  After graduate school, Chris worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, D.C.—as a Presidential Management Fellow—and then moved back home to San Diego, California, where he worked on the Palomar Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest.  Chris joined the Foreign Service in 2005 and has served in London, Managua, Lilongwe, Basrah, Santiago, Addis Ababa, and Juba.

Chris joined the IOA team as Economic Competitiveness Program Director, effective August 1, 2026.

Diplomatic Fellow: August 2024 – July 2025

Bridget Premont

Bridget Premont comes to the Institute from a tour as Deputy Chief of Mission in Bangui, Central African Republic (2023-2024), where she was responsible for embassy operations, staff development, and efforts to strengthen democratic governance and counter hostile disinformation.  Prior to that assignment, she coordinated foreign assistance at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau to boost cooperation on port security and financial investigations.  Across her career, Bridget has also managed political, economic, and public relations at U.S. embassies and one consulate in Tijuana, Ottawa, Brussels (the U.S. Mission to the European Union), Quito, and Nicosia.  She served as a consular officer in Port-au-Prince.  In Washington, Bridget worked in the Western Hemisphere bureau and in the Department’s Executive Secretariat, where she developed U.S. interagency policy on global crisis management.  Bridget speaks French, Spanish, and some Haitian Creole.  She has received numerous performance awards from the Department of State. 

A native of California and Idaho, Bridget earned a B.A. in Political Science and French from Gonzaga University and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.  Prior to joining the Department, she worked as a translator and a research assistant at the Brookings Institution.

Diplomatic Fellow: August 2023 – July 2024

Shane Christensen

Shane was the first U.S. diplomatic fellow at the Institute of the Americas. He came to the Institute  from Porto Alegre, where he was the U.S. Consul General responsible for diplomatic relations with  southern Brazil from 2020-23. Prior to that, Shane served as chief of staff to the State  Department’s Western Hemisphere Affairs bureau and also as senior watch officer in the  Operations Center, which is the Department’s crisis management center. Outside of the United  States, Shane has served at the U.S. embassies in Mexico City, Havana and Kabul, the U.S. missions  to the United Nations in New York and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and  Development (OECD) in Paris, and the U.S. Consulate General in Dubai. Shane is a trained  executive coach and has also taught leadership and negotiation at the Foreign Service Institute. 

A California native, Shane earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California,  Berkeley, an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge University, where he was a  Fulbright Scholar, and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School, where he  was a Harvard Presidential Scholar. Shane speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and French. Prior to  joining the State Department, he worked as a freelance travel writer and is the author of past  Frommer’s guides to the Grand Canyon, Dubai, and Argentina and co-author of other Frommer’s  books, including on Mexico. Shane is married to Romy Christensen and has two wonderfully  mischievous children, Jake and Matilda. They are thrilled to join the Institute and San Diego  community this year.